Biography:

Dr. John Edward Shaw was born in Chatham Township (Chatham-Kent), Ontario on the 31st of July,1854.  Dr. Shaw was the eldest of 6 children born to John Vickery Shaw and the former Sarah Jane Vickery.  His parents were born and raised and were married in Nova Scotia.  Dr. Shaw’s siblings were; Edna Jane Shaw, Bowman Corning Shaw, Clement Shaw (died on the 3rd of April, 1882 at the age of 18 of meningitis), Georgina “Georgia” Shaw and Ava Lanah Wees Shaw.  His family farmed on the 6th Concession of Chatham Township.

Dr. Shaw attended Trinity College in conjunction with The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and he received his M.B. in 1880.   He also received his Fellowship from Trinity College that same year.  He was licensed with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Edinborough) in 1880.  He became a member of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 16th of April, 1881.  The 1882 Ontario Medical Register listed Dr. Shaw as practicing in Dresden, Ontario.

Dr. Shaw married Catherine “Kate” Acton on the 15th of November, 1882 in Dresden.  Mrs. Shaw was born on the 13th of November, 1860.  She was the 7th of 11 children born to John Acton and the former Sarah Ellis.  Her father was a shoemaker and her siblings were; Elizabeth, Margret, Fanny, Emily, Mary Ann, Sarah, James, Jane, Charlotte and Hannah.  According to the 1871 census the Acton family lived in Toronto, Ontario and her 5 older sisters were listed as seamstresses.

Dr. and Mrs. Shaw had a daughter named Daisy, who was born in June of 1884 in Dresden.  By 1885, the family had moved to King City, Ontario and a son Frederick Grant Shaw was born on the 26th of April, 1885.  Another son, Albert Victor Shaw was born on the 21st of April, 1887 in Welland, Ontario.  Their son Clarence Reginald Shaw was born in Niagara Falls (Welland County), Ontario on the 6th of March, 1889.

According to the 1891 and the 1901 census’, Dr. Shaw was living and working in Toronto.  By 1910, the family was living in Sausalito, Marin Co., California.  The 1914 U.S. City Directory, listed Dr. and Mrs. Shaw as living at 1645 Clay St., in San Francisco, California.

Dr. Shaw died in Oakland, California on the 19th of June, 1922.  Mrs. Shaw died on the 8th of October, 1937 in Seattle, Washington.

*Dr. Shaw’s brother Dr. Bowman Corning Shaw practiced medicine in Michigan.  He died in Bay City (Michigan) on the 3rd of April, 1882.

**Dr. Shaw’s sons, Frederick Shaw and Clarence Shaw both served with the United States Military during World War I and World War II.