Married twice. ?? children.

Missouri Shields Priest was the Daughter of William B. Shields.
Missouri married Leander S. Hooker on February 13, 1855.
Their children were:

1. Mary Jane Hooker (Cox) (1857 - 1940)
2. William Bryant Hooker (1859 - 1928)
3. Camilla Hooker (1860 - died as an infant)
4. Laura Hooker (1861 - 1934)

After the death of Leander, Missouri married William Richard Priest about 1863 in Mexico.
Their children were:

1. George F. Priest (1864 - 1924)
2. Skelton T. Priest (1866 - 1944)
3. Joseph Arron Priest (1867 - 1922)
4. Louis Priest (1869 - died as an infant)
5. Lonnie D. Priest (1871 - 1931)
6. Talitha Priest ( 1872 -1922)
7. Wiley Richard Priest (1873 - 1950)
8. Ida Mae Priest (1874 - 1973)
9. Abigale Jane Priest (1876 - 1917)
10. James S. Priest (1878 - 1955)
11. Maud Priest (1880 - 1937)
12. Georgett Priest (1881 - 1962) (Not on the bio but attached at FaG memorial)
13. George Priest (1882 - 1914)
14. Arie Priest (1884 - 1937)

Missouri is buried in the Priest Cemetery, Oakley, Bear County, Texas.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 10 2021, 20:07:19 UTC

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97614070/missouri-priest

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Mar 9 2021, 4:34:58 UTC

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I originally set up this page to document what I’ve done to find my 3rd great grandmother Missouri Priest and inform relatives about our family.

Missouri Shields Hooker Priest was born to a slave and William Bryant Shields (plantation and slave owner). He did something rare: he did not raise them as slaves and gave them his last name. He moved them to Texas even going to Mexico to protect them.

William Richard Priest was her 2nd husband, one of their children was Abigale Priest Nockolds, my 2nd great grandmother.

Mammie Ballard wrote an account of this mixed race community called Positos/Oakley Texas 1886. She did a phenomenal job on her genealogy research.

The family legend was that Missouri was buried under Texas State Hwy 37. In doing research I think the originally Priest Cemetery was on the West side of WR Priest land instead of the east side (highway side).

Us being a mixed race was kept a secret for at least 2 generations.

I want to find them and to honor them. If is wasn’t for them a lot of us would not be here.

Finding Missouri Priest Facebook group