Shaw. The Shaw family with which the Beal and Reed families are allied by marriage, was founded in this country by Abraham Shaw, who came to America before 1636.
Abraham Shaw, the progenitor of this family in America, a resident of the village of Northowram, in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, married June 24, 1616, Bridget Best, and their children baptized there were:
- Joseph, March 14, 1618
- Grace, Aug. 15, 1621
- Martha, Dec. 1, 1623
- Maria, June 18, 1626
- John, Feb. 16, 1628
- John (2), May 23, 1630
- Martha (2), Jan. 6, 1632
Mr. Shaw came to this country before 1636 and was admitted a freeman March 9, 1636. He was a proprietor of Watertown in 1636, and removed to Dedham. He signed the famous compact and was constable of Dedham, elected Sept. 6, 1638. He died in 1638, leaving a will in which he bequeathed to his eldest son Joseph, children Mary, John and Martha, the two latter being infants, Joseph and John to have his lot at Dedham.
Joseph Shaw, Jr., son of Joseph and Sarah, and descendant of Abraham Shaw, married May 29, 1733, Ruth, born March 15, 1711, daughter of Edward and Rebecca Darby. She died Oct. 6, 1794, in her eighty-fourth year, her death being of the Weymouth town record. Their children of Weymouth town record were:
- Sarah, born April 10, 1734
- Ruth, born Aug. 10, 1736
- Benjamin, born March 8, 1739
- Joseph, born Feb. 17, 1742
- Elijah, born Aug. 26, 1745
- Absalom, born April 18, 1748
- Jane, born March 7, 1749-50
- Chloe, born April 29, 1753
Elijah Shaw, son of Joseph, Jr. born Aug. 26, 1745, died June 26, 1823, aged seventy-seven years, ten months, and was buried in the old North Liberty street burying ground. He made his home in East Abington (now the town of Rockland), where he owned land and followed farming, cultivating what is now known as the Reuben Loud place. He was a member of the Congregational Church. He served as a soldier in the Revolution, being a lieutenant and having fought from Bunker Hill to Yorktown. He married Jan. 12, 1769, Hannah Smith, daughter of Nehemiah and Hannah North (Bennett) Smith, and they had children born as follows:
- Hannah, Sept. 24, 1769
- Elijah, Jan. 13, 1773
- David, May 18, 1775
- Jared, April 22, 1778
- Rowena, March 20, 1780
- Melvin, Nov. 23, 1782
- William and Folly, twins, Aug. 19, 1792
- Cynthia, in March, 1799
- Diantha, who married Nathan Gurney
- Marilla, who died unmarried
Jared Shaw, son of Lieut. Elijah, born April 22, 1778, lived in East Abington. He married Lydia Whiting, who was born Jan. 17, 1780, daughter of Jotham and Susanna (Wilder) Whiting, of Hingham, and died Dec. 5, 1819. Children:
- Jared, born Dec. 6, 1802
- David, Jan. 20, 1805
- Elijah, Aug. 14, 1808
- Jotham Whiting, July 14, 1811 (died young)
- Lydia, Nov. 12, 1813
- Goddard, 1815 (died aged sixteen years)
- Henry, who died young
