Guide to the James D. Shaw Papers, 1827-1896 AIS.1968.08

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
James D. Shaw Papers
Creator
Shaw, James D.
Collection Number
AIS.1968.08
Extent
1.88 Linear Feet (3 Boxes)
Date
1827-1896
Abstract
James D. Shaw was a small business entrepreneur who was engaged in the lumbering business in Western Pennsylvania and newspaper publishing in West Virginia. Shaw's papers consist primarily of business records and correspondence from 1860-1893 relating to the lumbering business. The collection also contains documents relating to his office of Justice of the Peace, Tyler County, West Virginia, 1889-91.
Language
English .
Author
Archives Service Center staff. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process on June 3, 2003.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Biography

James D. Shaw was a small business entrepreneur in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia during the last half of the 19th century. In the 1870's, Shaw engaged in the lumber business and was a partner in Hahn and Shaw, manufacturer of all kinds of rough and dressed lumber, at Blairs Corners, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. While in Western Pennsylvania, he served as board secretary of the Beaver Township School District.

During the 1880's, Shaw moved to West Virginia where he founded the newspaper West Virginia Echo at Middlebourne in Tyler County. The newspaper remained here for only a short time and then was removed to Moundsville, West Virginia, and renamed the Moundsville Echo. Shaw continued to operate the Moundsville Echo until his death in 1917.

Shaw served as a Justice of the Peace in Tyler County, West Virginia, from 1889-1891.

Scope and Content Notes

The papers of James D. Shaw provide a history of the lumbering industry in Western Pennsylvania during the 19th century. The collection consists primarily of business records relating to the Hahn and Shaw lumber company from 1867-1892. These records include bills, orders, receipts, and business correspondence. For many of these years, ledgers and account books were kept that described the workings of a lumber company. The account books in Box 3, folders 36-38 are both ledgers and daybooks of the Hahn and Shaw Lumber Company that include time records, expenses, and lumber sales for the years 1872-1889. The ledgers in Box 1 and 2 pertain only to the Hahn and Shaw Lumber Company while the ledgers in Box 4 include some personal and boarding account information.

The collection also describes newspaper publishing in West Virginia in the late 19th century. The records of the West Virginia Echo and the Moundsville Echo mostly include correspondence between publishers which can be found in folder 2. A ledger for the years 1877-1888 can be found in folder 8 that contains some financial information about the newspaper business. In addition, legal papers relating to the West Virginia Echo and the Moundsville Echo from 1889-1896 can be found in folder 18.

Also included in the collection are the legal papers of James D. Shaw for the years 1880-1892. These papers are in folder 15 and include legal judgment, summons, oil leases, agreement on right to cut timber and saw logs, house lease, and agreement conferring right to act in selling same land. The papers relating to Beaver Township School District are in folder 16, which contains vouchers, receipts, and contracts from when he served as board secretary from 1877-1879. James D. Shaw's appointment as Justice of the Peace, Tyler County, West Virginia from 1889 to 1891 is documented in legal papers held in folder 17 and associated costs can be found in the ledger in folder 8. The legal papers include correspondence (1888-1891); court writs (1890-1891); affidavits (1889-1991); subpoenas (1889-1890); sheriff's receipts; and Justice of the Peace fees.

The Tonkin Family Papers (ais 63:3) is a related collection that may be of interest to researchers of the lumbering industry in Western Pennsylvania during the 19th century.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Sam J. Shaw, April 30, 1968.

Preferred Citation

James D. Shaw Papers, 1827-1896, AIS.1968.08, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Previous Citation

James D. Shaw Papers, 1827-1896, AIS.1968.08, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Shaw, James D., Papers, 1827-1896, ais 68:8, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Archives Service Center staff on March 16, 1970.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jamie Shriver on June 3, 2003. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 1426915

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Shaw, James D.

    Geographic Names

    • Pennsylvania -- History
    • West Virginia -- History

    Other Subjects

    • Businessmen -- Pennsylvania
    • Publishers and publishing -- West Virginia
    • Lumbering -- Pennsylvania -- History
    • Newspaper publishing -- West Virginia -- History
    • Justices of the peace -- West Virginia -- Tyler County
    • Personal papers
    • Politics
    • Business and Industry

Container List

Business Correspondence, (intermittent), 1871-1883
Containers
box 1, folder 1-2
Memorandum Notebooks, 18 volumes, 1882-1889
Containers
box 1, folder 3
Note Calculation, 1891
Containers
box 1, folder 4
Promissory Notes, 1875-1890
Containers
box 1, folder 5
Bills, 1869-1894
Containers
box 1, folder 6
Ledger, 1869-1875
Containers
box 1, folder 7
Ledger, 1877-1888
Containers
box 1, folder 8
Ledger, 1870-1879
Containers
box 1, folder 9
Business Statements, 1871-1893
Containers
box 2, folder 10
Business Receipts, 1870-1895
Containers
box 2, folder 11
Tax Receipts, (intermittent), 1876-1893
Containers
box 2, folder 12
Certificate of Shareholder, Savings and Loan Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 10, 1891
Containers
box 2, folder 13
Time Books, 3 volumes, 1877-1881, 1893, 1897
Containers
box 2, folder 14
Legal Papers, 1880-1892
Containers
box 2, folder 15
Papers, Beaver Township School District, 1877-1879
Containers
box 2, folder 16
Papers, Justice of the Peace, Tyler County, West Virginia, 1889-1891
Containers
box 2, folder 17
Papers, West Virginia Echo and Moundsville Echo, 1889-1896
Containers
box 2, folder 18
Papers, miscellaneous, 1877-1893
Containers
box 2, folder 19
Letter to Hahn and Shaw, 1877
Containers
box 3, folder 20
Journal Pages, Hahn and Shaw, 1877
Containers
box 3, folder 21
Ledger Pages, Hahn and Shaw, 1870, 1876
Containers
box 3, folder 22
Orders, Hahn and Shaw, 1871-1879
Containers
box 3, folder 23
Sales Books, Hahn and Shaw, 2 volumes, 1874-1896, 1877-1878
Containers
box 3, folder 24
Receipts, Hahn and Shaw, 1870-1879
Containers
box 3, folder 25
Delivery Receipts, Wilson and Greenland to Hahn and Shaw, 1877-1878
Containers
box 3, folder 26-28
Bills, Hahn and Shaw, 1877-1878
Containers
box 3, folder 29
Statements, Hahn and Shaw, 1876-1878
Containers
box 3, folder 30
Deposit Slips, Hahn and Shaw, 1877
Containers
box 3, folder 31
Orders, Hahn and Shaw, 1876-1878
Containers
box 3, folder 32
Shaw, Hannah J., Release of Deed of Trust from J. D. Shaw to Hannah J. Shaw, 1879
Containers
box 3, folder 33
Shaw, David G., Cloth Drying Directions, 1841
Containers
box 3, folder 34
Davis, Thomas and John, Tax Receipts, (intermittant), 1827-1841
Containers
box 3, folder 35
Account Book, 1872-1875
Containers
box 3, folder 36
Account Book, 1876-1880
Containers
box 3, folder 37
Account Book, 1882-1889
Containers
box 3, folder 38
Ledgers, miscellaneous, 7 volumes, (intermittant), 1867-1885
Containers
box 4