Maricopa County AZ Archives Biographies.....Shaw, L. R. 1838 - living in 1896
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 7, 2005, 6:09 pm

Author: McFarland & Poole

p. 551-552

  L. R. SHAW. This wideawake man of affairs and substantial, intelligent citizen
has for a number of years devoted his time and attention to stock raising and
the dairy business two miles east of Phoenix, Arizona, and in pursuing this
branch of human endeavor has met with more than the ordinary degree of success.
He is a native of Novia Scotia, born in Hants County July 2, 1838; son of David
G. and Mary J. (Johnson) Shaw, both born in Nova Scotia, but of English
parentage. The great-great-grandfather of our subject was a Royalist and came
over from England in about 1711, settling his family in Nova Scotia. Later he
went to Rhode Island and there died. The property is still in the hands of the
Shaw family. Many members of this family were prominent politicians,
professional men and ship builders and all were well-to-do. For twenty-five
years the father of our subject was a successful Baptist minister and home
missionary, and his cousin, Professor William Shaw, elder, was professor in one
of the New England universities. The father died in Nova Scotia in April, 1888,
but the mother had passed away in 1869. They were the parents of three children,
two sons and one daughter, of whom our subject was the eldest. The next in order
of birth is Mrs. Bessie Kennedy of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then Wilburforce,
also of Halifax, where he was engaged in merchandising. L. R. Shaw was educated
in his native place, supplementing a common school education by a course in
Acadia Academy, and in 1861 sailed for California by way of the Isthmus. He
engaged in farming and stock raising in the West, and for four years was in
Petaluma, California. Later he was in the Willamette Valley as traveling agent,
following this for a number of years. Going to Nevada, he spent about a year
there, nearly all the time in the saddle, and experienced many hardships. For
two or three months at a time he was only out of the saddle long enough to eat
and sleep and often during his lifetime stopped at night with Indians, by whom
he was always fairly treated and by whom he was called "Mr. One Hand" from the
fact that he has but one hand. In the year 1877 he came to Arizona and took the
first train that ever left Dos Palms. About twelve miles from the Colorado River
they unloaded and put their wagons together and made the rest of the way in
these, going by way of the Gila River into Arizona. They came to a place known
as the Salt Wells Station, and here Mr. and Mrs. Shaw stopped and kept a station
for the weary traveler for about three months. On the 1st of September, 1877,
they reached Phoenix, and Mr. Shaw purchased a quarter section of railroad land.
When the land in Arizona was thrown open for settlers by the Government Mr. Shaw
made his tract a homestead. He has a fine tract of land now, all under
cultivation, and it is considered one of the best ranches in the vicinity. Stock
raising and dealing in horses and hogs has been his principal occupation, but he
finally drifted into the dairy business, and has been very successful in this.
At the present time he has •about fifty head of fine cows and sells all the milk
from the wagon. He also deals in horses, chickens, goats, in fact most anything
in the stock line, and gives all his attention to his business, declining all
political honors that have been tendered him. On the 2gth of November, 1869, he
married Miss Annie Smith, a native of Nova Scotia, where their union was
celebrated, and they have one child living, Victoria B., who is a school
teacher. Mrs. Shaw's ancestors came from England during the Revolution, and some
of them were prominent in political affairs. They, like Mr. Shaw's ancestors,
were British Royalists, and as a rule all thrifty, well-to-do people. Mr. and
Mrs. Shaw were charter members of the Baptist church at Phoenix and have ever
been interested in church work. In his dairy business Mr. Shaw has introduced
advanced methods, new machinery, etc., and owns the only butter extractor in the
valley, this machine extracting butter from the new milk. He also brought into
the Territory the second, or third, cream separating machine. In company with
Mr. Bowell he has brought into the Territory the first Babcock testing machine.
Mr. Shaw is a member of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa Dairy Produce Company, and is a
charter member of the Citizens' League, which is revolutionizing political
economy in Arizona. In politics Mr. Shaw is Independent and Mrs. Shaw and
daughter are members of the W. C. T. U. and the Independent Order of Good
Templars.


Additional Comments:
From:

A Historical and Biographical Record of the Territory of Arizona
Published by
McFarland & Poole, Chicago, 1896



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