THE SHAW FAMILY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 26, 31 January 1934, Page 6

THE SHAW FAMILY.

In your issue of the 10th inst. an article appeared, entitled "Old Family"—the Shaws— to which I have the honour to belong. For 46 years I have resided in The record referred to is intensely interesting to me, and, I am sure, equally so to all the descendants of E'lihu Shaw, who came from Lewes, Sussex, England. Will you kindly allow me to add one or two items, and also to query part ofi the information supplied! It is my impression that Elihu Shaw and a Mr. Bellingham, with small families, landed at Port Jackson (Sydney), where they were employed for a time as sawyers. Later they crossed over to Kaipara in a cutter and settled (as reported in your article) in the northern part of the province of Auckland. My father, the late William- 'Shaw, was the first white child born in that locality, in 1840. In due course the family moved to the outskirts, of the small township of Auckland to a place with a name rather lacking in poetic dignity— Cabbage Tree Swamp. It now bears the worthy name of Morningside. Until the line was constructed past their home, my grandparents had never seen a train. When the ballast engine drew near for the first time and sounded the whistle, my grandmother remarked, "That man must have very strong lungs." The farm consisted of sixteen acres of scoria land, and is now part of a beautifnl suburb, its streets bearing some of the flamily names. The item lam constrained to query with much curiosity is the statement that Elihu Shaw's "descendants now number upwards of 1000"! With meagre information, and calculating in approximate terms only, I cannot make the total more than 600. My father's family number not more than 70, children, grand and great grandchildren, and though my Uncle John's family was exceptionally large, several branches would -show a much lower average than 70 persons up to 1933. Perhaps the respected member of the family responsible for the statistics will correct me if I am wrong. Elihu Shaw died at 87, and his wife at 84 years. Accept my hearty thanks for your most interesting article. (REV.) A. D. SHAW. The Manse, Upwey, Victoria.