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.
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.
No restrictions.
Gift of Sam J. Shaw, April 30, 1968.
James D. Shaw Papers, 1827-1896, AIS.1968.08, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
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
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
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.