Shaw family
England to Canada
Jabez Shaw said on his marriage record that he was born in London, England
about 1866, the son of Charles R. and Jane Shaw. I searched the
1871 and 1881 census of England and though there are very many Charles
Shaws and Jabez Shaws, none were father and son. I think, after
comparing all the records available, that Jabez's mother died and Charles
R. went to Canada, remarried in Toronto in 1880, then sent for his son Jabez
in 1882, who came to Canada with his aunt and uncle (Charles' sister, Mary
Jane).
I'm sure that George and Jane Shaw were Jabez's 
grandparents. Jabez was living with them in 1881. Jabez was named for
an uncle by that name.
1841 England census, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire, Bradley Haverstoe
(a seaport town, 168 miles north of London on the east coast of England)
Shaw, George - 36 (b 1805)
. . . . Jane - 33
. . . . George - 10
. . . . Charles - 5 (Charles R. b abt 1836, father of Jabez))
. . . . Jabez - 3 (b abt 1838)
. . . . Mary - 2 (Mary Jane)
. . . . William - 3 (prob should be 3 months; b 1841)
Lincolnshire County, England in
red. Great Grimsby is on
the coast.
also in 1841, Great Grimsby was:
Charles Shaw - 70, b Lincolnshire about 1771, occ: grocer
living with Joseph (29) and Jane (25) Molineux.
Jane was b in Lincolnshire abt 1816 and maybe she is Charles' daughter.
Maybe this Charles is the father of George Shaw (b abt 1805)
also in 1841, Great Grimsby was:
Charles Shaw - 30, b 1811 Lincolnshire, Mary - 25, his wife. Their children
Elizabeth (5), William (3), and Thomas (1)
This may be a brother of George Shaw (b abt 1805). George also named his
sons William and Thomas.
1851 England census, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Shaw, George - 46, b Great Grimsby; occ: master tailor
. . . . Jane - 42, b Great Grimsby, tailor's wife
. . . . George - 20
. . . . Charles - 16 (b 1835)
. . . . Jabez - 14 (b abt 1834)
. . . . Mary J. - 11 - in school
. . . . Wm. H. - 9
. . . . Fanny Maria - 5
. . . . Thomas W. - 3
The Grimsby Dock Tower competed
in 1851
I wonder, since their descendants were Methodists if this Shaw family was
connected to the Wesleyan Chapel in Great Grimsby. The schools in Great Grimsby
were all by fee. In 1851 the Wesleyan Day school
had 200 students; by 1858, they had 800 students! The Methodists were very
active in this area and had several churches.
Birth records show a Jabez Shaw, b 1859, 1st qtr in Caistor, Lincolnshire
(Vol. 7a, p832); and William Jabez Shaw, b 1857, 2nd qtr in Spilsby, Lincolnshire
(Vol 7a, p505). (Neither of these seem to be the right age). Also in Vol.
7a were Charles William Shaw, b Lincoln (p44); and Joseph Edward Shaw, b
Silsby, Lincolnshire (p503), but no dates. I don't know how these were related.
None seem to match this family. I guess there were lots of Shaws around the
area.
1861 England census, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Shaw, George - 56, b Great Grimsby; occ: tailor
. . . . Jane - 51
"
. . . . William Henry - 20 "
. . . . Fanny Maria - 16 "
. . . . Thomas Charles - 13 ", in school [this must be the Thomas
W. in 1851. Jabez's father, Charles would have been 26 and probably married.]
. . . . Kezia Johanna - 6 ", in school
[probably married are: George Jr. (30), Charles R. (25), Jabez (23),
Mary Jane (22)]
1861 England, Westminster, St. Margaret, Middlesex Co,
Shaw, Charles - 27, b Grimsby, Lincolnshire; occ: house painter (father of
Jabez Shaw)
. . . . Jane - 34, b Burlington, Yorkshire
. . . . Jane Elizabeth - 1, b Grimsby, Lincolnshire
On the 1881 census Jabez is shown to have been born about 1867 in Chelsea,
London, Middlesex Co. I can't find Charles on the 1871 census yet,
so I don't know if Jane died before then.
1871 England census, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire:
Shaw, George - 66; occ: tailor
. . . . Jane - 63; occ: tailor
. . . . Henry - 30; occ: tailor
. . . . Kezia - 16; occ: tailor
[Fanny Maria (26) prob married]
It looks like Jabez's father Charles R. Shaw emigrated to Canada at least
by 1880, leaving his son Jabez with his grandfather. Maybe his wife, Jane
died in England and he went alone to Canada to start a new life. I found
this marriage record on the Ontario
Marriages website on the page called: "Toronto
1880". It is a record of Charles' second marriage:
"13676-80 Charles R. SHAW, 46, widower, glazier, Lincolnshire England,
Toronto, s/o George SHAW & Jane, married Mary D. REID, 32, widow, Cornwall
Ont, Toronto, d/o Alva S. EASTMAN & Sarah, witn: H. Edwin Trent &
M. A. Charlton , both of Toronto, 22 Dec 1880" [If he was 46 in 1880, then
he was born in 1834]
These 2 web pages (short bio1,
bio2) shows
a Charles R. Shaw, b Aug. 20, 1834, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire Co,
England , a college-educated Methodist preacher who emigrated to
Toronto in 1869 with a wife and 2 children, then to Burnaby (Vancouver),
British Columbia in 1889, becoming Burnaby's first mayor; sold his property
there in 1894 and moved to Kamloops, BC where his wife died; and later died
at age 82 (abt 1916) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. -- Interesting!!
I wonder if he Jabez's father? This man was from the same town and about
the same age as our Charles R. Shaw. However, there were lots of Shaws in
Lincolnshire Co., England including a Charles Shaw b abt 1771, who might
have been a grandfather both were named for. It does seems doubtful that
our Charles could have been college educated when he was a 27-year-old house
painter in 1861, but you never know!
In the 1881 census Jabez is living with his grandparents George &
Jane Shaw in Lincolnshire, England (he had been born in Chelsea, London,
Middlesex County abt 1867).
1881 England, Lincolnshire County, Great Grimsby, South West,
St. James, #4 Yarborough St. (This was probably on the west side of town,
away from the docks)
Shaw, George - 76 (head), b Lincolnshire, occ: tailor
. . . . Jane - 72 (wife), b Lincolnshire
. . . . William H. - 40 (son), b Lincolnshire
. . . . Keziah I. - 26 (daug, unmarried), b Lincolnshire
Thayers, James - 52 (son-in-law), b Middlesex
. . . . Mary Jane - 42 (daug), b Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Shaw, Jabez - 15 (gr-son), b Chelsea, Middlesex, occ: printer's
office
It appears that Jabez's father went to Canada sometime between 1869 and
1880, remarried, then sent for his son, who came with his aunt Mary Jane
and her husband.
Jabez emigrated to Canada in 1882, arriving at the port of Quebec
July 4th. (A website with
the voyages of the Parisian says that it left Liverpool on June
29 and arrived in Quebec July 7.) He was 15 years old and came with "Mary
J. (42) and James (53) Thayers" (all 3 were on the same ticket). This must
be his aunt and uncle. All 3 embarked June 29th at Liverpool, England on
the ship Parisian, making a stop the next day in Londonderry, Ireland,
with their final destination listed as Toronto.
It was in Toronto where he met and married Letetia Mary Baxter.
Letetia was born in Tyrone, Ireland about 1870, the daughter of John Baxter
& Margaret Barnes. The Baxter family had emigrated to Canada in 1888
and must have got to know Jabez Shaw soon afterward because in 1889 Jabez
Shaw was a witness at the marriage of Letitia's brother:
"Joseph Barnes BAXTER, of Toronto, s/o not given, married Salome
JONES, of Toronto, d/o not given, witn: Jabez SHAW & Ruth A.
HILTON, 26 March 1889" [Records from St. John the
Evangelist, Anglican, 1858 - 1897, p 30]
Though Joseph Baxter's parents names are not listed on his marriage record,
they are on his death record.
The next year, April 23, 1890, Jabez Shaw married Letitla Mary Baxter in
York, Toronto, Canada.
1891 census of Canada, Toronto City, St. Stephens Ward
Shaw, Jabez - 25, occ: printer
. . . . Letitia - 21
. . . . Florence L. - 2 mos
1901 census
of Canada, Toronto West
Shaw,
Jabez (head) - 32, b Nov. 3, 1868 (link has page with this family)
. . . . Letitia (wife) - 26, b July 19, 1875
. . . . Flora (daug) - 11, b Feb 17, 1890
. . . . Albert (son) - 7, b Apr 24, 1893
. . . . Clara (daug) - 6, b Oct 27, 1894
. . . . George (son) - 4, b May 27, 1896
1911 census of Canada, Toronto West, Ward 6
Shaw, Jabez (head) - 43, b Jan 1867, England, immigrated 1900 (link
has page with this family)
. . . . Letitia Mary (wife) - 40, b July 1870, Ireland, immigrated 1888
. . . . Florence (daug) - 19, b Feb. 1891
. . . . Albert (son) - 18, b Apr 1892
. . . . Clara (daug) - 16, b Oct 1894
. . . . George (son) - 14, b March 1896
Platt, James (boarder) - 25
. . . . .Robert (boarder) - 30
Jabez was a Methodist. He was also a member of the Orangemen,
a Protestant group in Canada. His name is on a 1926 list of officers,
as District Master for Toronto West. "In the 1920s and 1930s when
the Orange Association was at its peak, Toronto was known as 'the Belfast
of Canada' and parades in the city were known to take some four hours to
pass a given point. . . . No club, organization or group has produced more
leaders in Canada at the federal, provincial and municipal level of government
than has the Orange Association." (from OrangeNet). The Orangemen
were named for William of Orange who restored protestantism to England in
1688. (See also pictures
of OrangeMen). Here is a Orangemen letter from
1926 that Jabez would undoubtedly have read.
Jabez and Letitia died some time around 1937 in Toronto. In a listing
of Ontario cemetery
records, there is a Mary L. Shaw buried at Toronto Necropolis, 200 Winchester
St., but there are no dates on the web listing so I don't know if this
is her.
They had 4 children:
1. Florence L. Shaw, b Feb. 1891, Toronto
2. Albert Shaw, b Apr 1892, Toronto
3. Clara Louise Shaw, b Oct 1894, Toronto; d 1961; m John Wylie "Jack" Webster.
4. George Shaw, b Mar 1896, Toronto; d abt 1975 in Vancouver; m
Lila ?