Descriptive Summary
Administration Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Shaw family papers
Dates: 1845-1963
Collection Number: mssShawfamily
Creator:
Shaw family
Extent:
837 items in 24 boxes and 1 folder
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of material relating to the Shaw family. The bulk of the collection was created by Hartley and Fern
Shaw, with additional material from Lucien Shaw and other Shaw family members.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Administration Information
Access
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
Shaw family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Barbara D. Shaw Topping, April 2015.
Biography
Lucien Shaw was born on March 1, 1845, on a farm near Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana. Lucien Shaw was the 18th Chief Justice
of California and a prominent Republican politician in California during the early 20th century. Shaw served as judge on the
Superior Court of California from 1899 to 1902, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1903 until
he was promoted to the position of Chief Justice in 1921. After Shaw retired from the court, he joined the Pacific Mutual
Life Insurance Company’s Board of Directors.
Shaw resided in Hermosa Beach, California, and died on March 19, 1933 in Glendale, California. He was married to Hannah Hartley
Shaw. They had one son: Hartley Shaw born on June 2, 1874.
Hartley Shaw graduated from the University of Southern California with the degree of Ph.B. He received the degree of LL.B.
from Hastings College of Law. Shaw held a number of public offices before he elevated to the bench. He was Assistant City
Attorney of Los Angeles, 1902-1905; Chief Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County, 1905-1911; and successively City
Attorney of Eagle Rock, of Tropico and of Glendale. Shaw was appointed to the Superior Court in 1923. He was designated by
the Chief Justice as one of the three judges of the Los Angeles Appellate Department when that court was established in 1929.
He served as the Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1933. Twice he was assigned for duty as Justice Pro
tem. On the District Court of Appeal. In 1934 he became Presiding Judge of the Appellate Department, and continued in that
office until his retirement in 1955.
Shaw had a stroke while on a trip in New Zealand and passed away on April 16, 1958. He was married to Fern West Shaw. The
couple had three children: Dorothy (Mrs. Faust), Evelyn (Mrs. Veach), and Lucien W. Shaw.
Scope and Content
The family correspondence spans from 1919 to 1961. The letters are primarily from Hartley and Fern Shaw, writing to their
daughters, Dorothy and Evelyn, at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Most of the letters are written from Glendale,
California. Occasionally, the letters are written in an automobile, which they frequently refer to as the “machine.” There
are a couple of letters from Lucien Shaw, written on his Supreme Court of California letterhead. In one letter, Lucien Shaw
offers some sage advice on the consequences of procrastination to Dorothy: “It is an awfully bad habit, making inconvenience
for yourself, and what is worse, causing inconvenience to nearly everybody with whom you are associating. And there is no
excuse for it” (1922, Jan. 8). The contents of the letters are general updates on family, friends, church, finances, and travels.
However, in the wake of certain events, remarks about the Great Depression, World War II, Japanese relocation, the Korean
War, racial segregation, and the advent of color television are mentioned.
The diaries and notebooks primarily pertain to Hartley and Fern Shaw’s travels. In most of the diaries, Fern meticulously
details the itinerary, general expenses, auto expenses, and miscellaneous notes. The entries are general remarks, for example,
on the Redwood Highway the “road was very crooked, much of it rough or under construction. Beautiful scenery and much of it
along ocean” (1940).
The subject files primarily include material related to Lucien Shaw, Hartley Shaw, and Fern W. Shaw. There are mostly newspaper
clippings related to Lucien and Hartley Shaw’s career and death. The printed material related to Los Angeles High School belonged
to Fern W. Shaw. The letters found in this section are mostly sympathy letters.
The remainder of the collection consists of photographs, photo albums, and scrapbooks. They include family photographs of
the West and Shaw family. One of the photo albums includes photographs as early as 1845. The scrapbooks contain many postcards
and printed matter, particularly of national parks, related to the Shaw’s travels around the United States and Canada. The
newspaper clippings are mostly related to court cases Hartley Shaw presided over.
There is one oversize folder containing a play entitled: Merchant of Venice.
Cataloger’s note: Cataloger attempted to keep the original album number as they were received; however, due to the size of
some of the volumes, they had to be separated. If a new number was assigned, the original album number is noted.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following order: Boxes 1-5 (correspondence); Boxes 6-8 (diaries and notebooks); Boxes 9-10
(subject files); Boxes 11-12 (photo albums); Box 13 (scrapbooks); Boxes 14-15 (photographs); Box 16 (miscellaneous); Boxes
17-24 (oversize photo albums and scrapbooks); and 1 folder.
Indexing Terms
Personal Names
Shaw, Hartley, 1874-1958
Shaw, Lucien, 1845-1833
Shaw family
West family
Subjects
Families
Judges--California--Archives
National parks and reserves--United States
Geographic Areas
California--History--20th century
California--Politics and government
California--Religious life and customs
California--Social life and customs
United States--Description and travel
Genre
Clippings (information artifacts)
Diaries
Family papers
Letters (correspondence)
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks