Dedication - a family tradition - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

In an era when some people change career paths in their lifetime, it is remarkable to learn of a family whose members pursued their individual vocations for several decades each.

 

John Shaw Sr. was born in Argyleshire, Scotland and immigrated with his parents to North Carolina. When he was 16, his father was approached by the local school board to have him teach school. Once he took an accreditation course, John began his teaching career. After his second term in the profession, John’s father passed away, and his mother, whose maiden name was Darroch, had relatives in Hullett Township and moved her family north.

 

John taught in schools in Hullett Township, and also in Walton, Brussels, Collingwood and Teeswater. Some years his charges numbered from 70 to 120 students. He held the principalship in several schools and also mentored many future teachers. His career spanned almost 50 years, during which time he influenced many young folks.

 

One of the seven children of John and Eliza Jane (McKnight) Shaw was John William Shaw, who was born in July of 1861 at Lot 9, Concession 2 of Hullett Township. He attended elementary schools in Hullett and Brussels and then secondary school at the Clinton Collegiate Institute. He went on to graduate from the Model School in Clinton (where best teaching practices were demonstrated) and Normal School. John W. taught for five years in Hullett Township schools and then was principal at Blyth for two years. It is assumed that his teaching career was a means to earn money to finance his further education. He attended Trinity College Medical School in Toronto from whence he graduated in 1891. He returned to the area to set up practice in Clinton that same year. He had an office in several locations before he had a home and office built on Rattenbury Street in 1906 where he practiced medicine for nearly 50 years more.

 

Dr. Shaw was named the Huron Medical Officer of Health in 1893 (a post that he held until 1948). By 1899, he was elected as mayor of Clinton. In addition, he served as a town councillor, a commissioner with the Public Utilities Commission and was one of the early members of the Library Board.

 

As early as 1889, he was a member of the 33rd Huron Regiment, where he served as a Lieutenant and was the Captain of the Goderich Township Company. With the advent of World War I, Dr. Shaw served overseas with the 161st Huron Battalion as a Medical Officer from 1916 until 1919. In his tour of duty, he was assigned to hospitals in Shorncliffe and Witley in England. During World War II, he was active in civilian efforts in Clinton and he played a prominent role in the reception of returning military personnel post-war.

 

This must have been a man with a tremendous amount of energy, as he took on several roles to better his community. He was a member of the Collegiate Institute Board for several years, the physician for the Canadian National Railways in this district for over 30 years and the physician for the County Home for over 50 years, as well as serving as the Huron County coroner for 45 years.

 

Dr. Shaw also found time to foster the organization of the Huron Central Agricultural Society and especially promoted the annual Clinton Spring Fair. Athletics were of interest to this dynamo as well. Having played all sorts of sports in his younger days, he was particularly interested in sports for young people.

 

John William Shaw and Frances Harriett Rance were wed in January of 1897. She was a granddaughter of William Isaac Rattenbury, one of Clinton’s early settlers. To this union were born Harry Farron Rance Shaw (1898-1980), Madeline (1900-1987), William McKnight Shaw (1900-?) and Grace Eleanor (1906-1908). 

 

The family tradition of dedicated service to one’s profession continued with Harry Shaw, who was a professor of Economics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire for over 40 years.

 

Many events were held throughout the years to honour Dr. Shaw and to recognize his attention and interest in the affairs of Clinton and area.

 

In 1941, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, the celebration included a guest list that included many people who were babies that he had brought into the world.

 

When Dr. John William Shaw passed away at his home on Rattenbury Street in May of 1955, he had been a doctor in the community of Clinton for 64 years. The previous year, he had been recognized as one of Canada’s oldest practising physicians. He was cited as being an ardent Liberal and a staunch Presbyterian. One of the officiants at his funeral was Rev. John Hutton of Pine River United Church, who had been Dr. Shaw’s stretcher bearer in World War I. The large funeral service was attended by many dignitaries both from the local area, as well as from further afield.

 

The modest grave marker for Dr. Shaw in Clinton Public Cemetery does not reflect the tremendous influence this man had on almost all aspects of life in Clinton during his lifetime.

 

Dedication was a family tradition borne through the careers of a teacher, a doctor and a professor.