John Shaw (1805 - 1903)

Born 1805 in County Fermanagh, Ireland

Husband of Mary Ann (Thorn) Shaw — married 1837 in St Paul's Church, Cavan, Durham Co., Ontario

Descendants

Died 1903 at about age 98 in Cavan, Durham, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

John was born in Fermanagh, Ireland in 1805. He was the son of [[Shaw-7574|].

I don't know for sure if the immigration record is for my John Shaw but family lore does say his father was a weaver and wanted his sons to be weavers as well. This document lists his birth year as 1802.

St. Paul's Church on the 4th line of Cavan was erected in 1830s and the minister was Rev. Joseph Thompson. The present St. Paul's Church was built in 1837 on land set aside for a church and burial ground on conc 10. lot 17 with Rev. Samuel Armour. In 1885 it became a mortuary chapel.

He is a private mentioned on the Pay List for the Durham Militia with John Thorn who was a sergeant. They were paid for duty from Dec. 5 to 17, 1837. They fought in the Upper Canada Rebellion---a rebellion against the British colonial government that lasted from Dec. 1837 to Dec. 1838. The rebellion was mostly because of the allocation of the land into Clergy Reserves--- large tracks of unworked land given to the Protestant Church. The British ended up winning and Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada. However, according to the book This Green and Pleasant Land none of the local volunteers got within the sound of gunshot.

The 1840 census lists 3 males under 16, 2 males over 16, 2 females under 16 and 1 female over 16.

According to the Land Registry in 1848 he bought 100 acres at con. 2 lot 14, E 1/2 which he sold to William Shaw in 1874. Con. 2 lot 13 he sold for the Carmel Church and a road. In 1850 he bought the land at con. 1 lot 14 (original grant in 1826) and in 1865 he bought more land at con. 1 lot 13 (original grant in 1822).

By the age of 50, the 1861 census has him listed as owning 200 acres of which 60 are cultivated. They live in a 1.5 story log/stone house either at con. 1 lot 14 or conc. 2 lot 14 .

According to a personal letter by Kathleen Shaw John followed his brother Samuel to Elderslie Twp. sometime after 1862 and they took up 900 acres of land. John didn't stay but returned to Cavan. He gave 3 of his daughters a hundred acres each in Elderslie Twp. Apparently John was a great money maker.

He outlived his wife by 18 years. He died at the age of 98 and is buried in St. Paul's Cemetery, Millbrook, Ontario

Sources

Marriage Bond for John Shaw and Mary Thorn

• "Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFSB-S6F : 13 March 2018), John Shaw in entry for Ellen Jane Shaw Gainor, 03 Feb 1929; citing Bloomfield, Huron, Michigan, United States, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing; FHL microfilm 1,972,735.