About the year of 1790, Thomas O'Shea, Sr. lived in Dublin, Ireland. He and his wife, Bridget, sold their property expecting to move to America. Thomas died before they got ready to move. After the funeral, His wife and two sons, James and Benjamin, set sail from Dublin, bound for America. They were six months on the water and, before they landed, there was another son born on March 11, 1791, and she named him Thomas. They landed in Baltimore, MD, and moved from there to a village called Morgantown, Virginia, which is now West Virginia, where she succeeded in raising her three boys to manhood.
After coming to America, the Irish name O'Shea was changed to Shay. Benjamin went to California to work in the gold fields and his mother never heard from him after he left home. James and Thomas stayed with their mother. James learned the tailor's trade and lived all of his life in Morgantown. He raised a large family, educated them, and died at a good old age of eighty years. Thomas learned the blacksmith's trade and when the War of 1812 started, he enlisted in the Army, served as a private until the end of the War, and was Honorably Discharged. When he returned from the War, he came home and married Phoebe Sidwell, daughter of Henry Sidwell of Morgantown. They moved to a farm between what is now Austen and Fellowsville, in Preston County and on which the Shay's Church and Cemetary now stand.
Bridget lived with her son, James, until her death. James inherited the home property and spent the whole of his life there. Thomas and his wife moved from Morgantown to this farm, where he worked the Blacksmith's trade, farmed, raised a family of eight children, and died at the age of eighty years and five days. He had raised six boys and two girls, namely: Mary, Deborah, Ezekiel, Hugh, Benjamin, Jessie, James, and Reese.
Mary wed Alfred Moreland (a farmer), and raised a large family, and died at the age of seventy-five. Deborah married William Shannon, a farmer, with whom she raised a large family. She was sixty-seven when she died. Ezekiel, who was also a blacksmith like his father before him, married a woman named Coburn and lived in Eason, five miles from Morgantown. Together they raised a large family and he died at the age of seventy- four. Hugh married Margaret Squires with whom they raised a large family, and then died at the age of seventy-nine years, two months, and ten days. Reese was a successful farmer and was married thrice: to Elizabeth Grim, to Elizabeth Brown, and lastly to Nancy Trickett. He died at the age of fifty-six years and twenty-six days. Benjamin was also a blacksmith, like his father and brother. He also worked the land as a farmer. He married Susan Pierce, who was mother to his seven children. When the Civil War started, he enlisted and served to the end of the war. He was the Regimental Blacksmith. he died at the age of seventy-nine years, six months. Jesse was a farmer and he married Nancy McGee. To this union was born five children and he died quite young, at thirty- eight years, three months and 10 days. Lastly, James was a successful farmer who married Mary Hanaway. They raised a large family and he took care of his father and mother until they died.
"Per pale erm. and gu. on a chev. three roundles all counterchanged."
[ed. note: What the hell does that mean?]
Above the shield and helmet is the Crest which is described as: "A tent or."
When translated, the blazon also describes the original colors of the Shay Arms and Crest as it appeared centuries ago. Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. A motto was not recorded with this Shay Coat of Arms. The surname Shay appears to be patronymical in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Irish, meaning, "grandson of Seaghdha (majestic or learned)." Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations of Shay to be Shea, Shee, and O'Shea.
Some Shays include:
Odoneus O'Shea, 1381, Lord of Sheesland in County Tipperary.
Sir William Shee, 1804-1868, first Catholic Judge in Ireland since the revolution of 1690.
Danial Shea, 1772-1836, Orientalist. He became Professor at Haileyburg College and made a
translation of Mirkhond's "History of the Early Kings of Persia".
John Augustine Shea, 1802-1885, an Irish Poet who immigrated to New York in 1827.
He wrote for several journals and magazines, and produced several volumes of poetry.
Frank Shay, 1888-1954, Originator of the Caravan Theatre and Frank Shay's Traveling Bookshop.
Daniel Shay, 1747-1825, a Captain from Massachusettes in the Revolutionary War.
This account was compiled from many sources and the only person I know who to give credit to is Mertie. She assembled the above information and packaged it in 1973. I believe this woman's full name is Myrtle (Williams) Greene-Bradley, but I can't be sure.
The full text of her note at the end of the Historiography follows.
"We have been compiling this account for about eight years. Mary Shay Blake gave me the account that Henry Shay had printed in the paper. She had typed it. Mary Pyles gave me a history of her family. Carolyn keener Lantz gave me their immediate family history as did Everett Shay, Shirly Maier Shay, Daisy Shay Cox, Dale Shay, Mable [sic] Spahr, and others. (Esther Moore) The last information came from Mary Pyles and was a very complete history of the Samuel Nelson Shay Family and the Virginia Mary Knott Shay Family. This was researched by Maxine Shay Peters.
Some space has been left where names were unknown. Will you Please [sic] see that I get any information you can get for me. There are still names that should be added before an attempt is made at printing the account which I found can be very expensive.
Thank everyone for their help.
Mertie
1973"
I hope I have given adequate and accurate credit where due for the above information. Please drop me a line if I have omitted proper credit and I will make the appropriate adjustments to this page.
Thanks for your interest.