Shields, Peter J., 1862-1962

Biography

Peter J. Shields was born on April 4, 1862 in Hangtown Crossing, a small farming town near Sacramento, California. At the age of fourteen, Shields attended the Christian Brothers College in Sacramento and at seventeen he began to study law in Amos P. Catlin's law office. After being admitted to the Bar in Los Angeles in 1884, Shields established a small law office in Sacramento. At age twenty-three, he quit his law practice to travel. After ten years, he returned to Sacramento and started working as a library assistant at the California State Library. Later Shields was promoted to become one of the Trustees of the State Library. From 1896 to 1898, he worked for the Secretary of the California Code Commission and as a secretary in Governor Budd's office. In 1899, Shields was the secretary of the State Agricultural Society. Shields and Hiram Johnson shared an informal law partnership circa 1900. In 1900, Shields was elected as Judge of the Superior Court of Sacramento. He married Carolee Wilsey on August 1, 1901. Shields sought the office of U.S. District Judge, in 1913, but did not get chosen for the office. Shields retired in 1949.

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