Shaw family papers

Finding aid prepared by Gina C Giang.
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
© 2016
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


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


Box 1

Correspondence (1919-1921)

Folder 1

Correspondence (1919-1920)

18 items
Folder 2

Correspondence (1921, Jan.-Apr.)

23 items
Folder 3          

Correspondence (1921, May-Sep.)

18 items
Folder 4          

Correspondence (1921, Oct.-Dec.)

21 items
Box 2

Correspondence (1922)

Folder 1

Correspondence (1922, Jan.-Mar.)

28 items
Folder 2

Correspondence (1922, Apr.-June)

24 items
Folder 3          

Correspondence (1922, Sep.-Oct.)

14 items
Folder 4          

Correspondence (1922, Nov.-Dec.)

17 items
Box 3

Correspondence (1923-1937)

Folder 1

Correspondence (1923, Jan.-May)

23 items
Folder 2

Correspondence (1923, June-1924)

16 items
Folder 3          

Correspondence (1925-1926)

2 items
Folder 4          

Correspondence (1928)

3 items
Folder 5          

Correspondence (1929-1930)

9 items
Folder 6          

Correspondence (1931-1932)

9 items
Folder 7          

Correspondence (1933)

16 items
Folder 8          

Correspondence (1934-1935)

8 items
Folder 9          

Correspondence (1936-1937)

10 items
Box 4

Correspondence (1938-1954)

Folder 1

Correspondence (1938-1939)

7 items
Folder 2

Correspondence (1940-1944)

21 items
Folder 3          

Correspondence (1950)

22 items
Folder 4          

Correspondence (1951)

17 items
Folder 5          

Correspondence (1952-1953)

13 items
Folder 6          

Correspondence (1954)

18 items
Box 5

Correspondence (1955-1962)

Folder 1

Correspondence (1955)

11 items
Folder 2

Correspondence (1956)

12 items
Folder 3          

Correspondence (1957, Jan.-Sep.)

18 items
Folder 4          

Correspondence (1957, Oct.-Dec.)

7 items
Folder 5          

Correspondence (1958, Jan.-Mar.)

11 items
Folder 6          

Correspondence (1958, Apr.-Nov.)

17 items
Folder 7          

Correspondence (1959-1962)

14 items
Box 6

Diaries (1893-1934)

Folder 1

Diary: Chicago World’s Fair (1893)

1 item
Folder 2

Diary: [Arizona] and return (1927)

1 item
Folder 3          

Diary: Trips driving around the West (1927)

1 item
Folder 4          

Diary: Includes trip to Lake Tahoe, Big Basin, and Yosemite (1928)

1 item
Folder 5          

Diary: Trip to the East (1932)

1 item
Folder 6          

Diary: Auto trip East, World’s Fair Chicago (1933)

1 item
Folder 7          

Diary: Mostly campaign trips (1934)

1 item
Box 7

Diaries (1935-1941)

Folder 1

Diary: Touring through New England, ancestor sites (1935)

1 item
Folder 2

Diary: Trip driving to Northwest and home (1936)

1 item
Folder 3          

Diary: Mentions many cars tried out (1937)

1 item
Folder 4          

Diary: Train to Ill. to pick up car (1937)

1 item
Folder 5          

Diary: Trip to New York and Florida (1938)

1 item
Folder 6          

Diary (1939)

1 item
Folder 7          

Diary: National Parks (1940)

1 item
Folder 8          

Diary: Train to Detroit (Mich.) to pick up DeSoto (1941)

1 item
Box 8

Diaries and notebooks (1947-1958)

Folder 1

Diary: Trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to see daughter (1947)

1 item
Folder 2

Diary: Alaska trip (1948)

1 item
Folder 3          

Notebook: Alaska trip (1948)

1 item
Folder 4          

Diary: Driving to Victoria, British Columbia (1949)

1 item
Folder 5          

Diary: Western National Parks and sites (1952)

1 item
Folder 6          

Notebook: Itinerary and Expense (1954)

1 item
Folder 7          

Diary and notebook: New Zealand visit to family, Hartley Shaw’s stroke (1958)

1 item
Folder 8          

Notebook: Hannah Shaw’s genealogy research [undated]

1 item
Box 9

Subject files

Folder 1

Lucien Shaw (1869-1961)

Printed matter. 5 items
Folder 2

Lucien Shaw (1871-1933)

Re: Commissions, correspondence, and speeches. 19 items
Folder 3          

Lucien Shaw (1906)

Re: Hannah Shaw’s whereabouts during the San Francisco earthquake and fire. 9 items
Folder 4          

Lucien Shaw (1915-1933)

Miscellaneous. Included: Death certificate. 3 items
Folder 5          

Lucien Shaw’s death (1933)

Clippings. 32 items
Folder 6          

Lucien Shaw’s death (1933)

Sympathy letters. 28 items
Folder 7          

Lucien Shaw’s death (1933)

Memory book. 1 item
Folder 8          

Lucien Shaw’s death (1933)

Remarks and resolutions. 8 items
Folder 9          

Hartley Shaw (1889-1958)

Miscellaneous printed matter. Included: Certified Copy of Entry in the Register-Book of Deaths, New Zealand. 29 items
Folder 10      

Hartley Shaw (1900-1947)

Income taxes. 29 items
Folder 11      

Hartley Shaw (1958)

Clippings primarily related to Shaw’s death. Approximately 62 items
Box 10

Subject files

Folder 1

Hartley Shaw (1958)

Receipts, statements, etc. 16 items
Folder 2

Hartley Shaw (1958)

Sympathy letters. 16 items
Folder 3          

Hartley Shaw (1958)

Will. 3 items
Folder 4          

Hartley Shaw [before 1958]

Speeches. 9 items
Folder 5          

Fern W. Shaw (1893-1938)

Primarily issues of Los Angeles High School IDEA and yearbook. 12 items
Folder 6          

Fern W. Shaw (1895-1896)

Los Angeles High School Lyceum issues. 8 items
Folder 7          

Fern W. Shaw (1896-1938)

Primarily clippings related to Los Angeles High School. 23 items
Folder 8          

Miscellaneous printed matter (1899-1942)

The Quarterly Historical Society of Southern California, 1942 and Students’ Handbook. 2 items
Box 11

Photograph albums

Folder 1

Photo album #1: Hannah Shaw’s (1911-1921)

Dinuba house, Madary house, Lebec Hotel, and Shaw extended family. 1 item
Folder 2

Photo album #2: West family (1845)

Extremely fragile. 1 item
Folder 3          

Photo album #3: West and Shaw family (1915-1949)

Dorothy and Evelyn Shaw, Mt. Lowe, 1915, college years, G & G West 50th anniversary, Alaska trip, and wedding photos. 1 item
Folder 4          

Photo album #4: Shaw family (1918-1920s)

Dorothy Shaw, Rose Parade float, ships in San Pedro, and school friends. 1 item
Box 12

Photograph albums

Folder 1

Photo albums #5: Hannah Shaw’s (1900-1923)

Political campaign, Deputy District Attorney, and city of Wilmington. 1 item
Folder 2

Photo album #6: Shaw family (1924)

Primarily cases Shaw presided. 1 item
Folder 3          

Photo album #7: Shaw family (1929-1930)

Primarily cases Shaw presided. 1 item
Box 13

Photograph albums

Folder 1

Scrapbook #1: Hartley Shaw’s (1900-1923)

Political campaign, Deputy District Attorney, and city of Wilmington. 1 item
Folder 2

Scrapbook #2: Hartley Shaw’s (1924)

Primarily cases Shaw presided. 1 item
Folder 3          

Scrapbook #3: Hartley Shaw’s (1929-1930)

Primarily cases Shaw presided. 1 item
Box 14

Photographs

Folder 1

Caleb Atwood West and Mary Ann West with daughter [before 1854]

Case in two pieces. 1 item
Folder 2

Calvin [Henderson] [undated]

1 item
Folder 3          

(Hartley Shaw’s cousin) [before 1888]

1 item
Folder 4          

Edwin A. Hartley and Ruth Palmer Hartley (Parents of Hannah Hartley Shaw) [undated]

Damaged. 1 item
Box 15

Photographs

Folder 1

Hartley Shaw [before 1958]

2 items
Folder 2

Henry Silas West [before 1862]

2 items
Folder 3          

Jesse West and wife [before 1861]

1 item
Folder 4          

Isabel van Dyke (Frost) Jones and Wiley Jones [1865]

1 item
Folder 5          

Miscellaneous [undated]

5 items
Folder 6          

Mary West and unidentified man [before 1881]

Case in two pieces. 1 item
Folder 7          

Nina J. West [undated]

Case in two pieces. 1 item
Folder 8          

William Newell West [before 1888]

2 items
Box 16

Miscellaneous

 

Los Angeles High School [before 1936]

Program for The Quest for the Golden Fleece and poster entitled The Passing Bell Has Rung. 2 items
 

Henry West fan chart [undated]

 

Hartley Shaw’s passport (1946)

Included: Vaccination certificates. 1 item
 

Printed matter related to genealogy (1929-1963)

The Magazine of American Genealogy no. 1, 7, 11, 16¸ 23, 25; The Bulletin of the California State Society of Sons of the Revolution vol. IX, no. 3; The Mayflower Quarterly vol. 27, no. 2 and vol. 28, no. 1, 3, and 4; and Genealogy and Local History, Catalogue 230. 11 items
Box 17

Photo album #8: Shaw family (1929-1940)

Family photographs, trips to Yosemite, Bishop, Death Valley, Crater Lake, and British Columbia. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #5. 1 item
Box 18

Scrapbook (1929-1934)

Toronto road trip and other camping trips in California. Primarily postcards. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #6. 1 item
Box 19

Scrapbook (1880s-1929)

Primarily mementos related to Hartley and Fern W. Shaw. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #7. 1 item
Box 20

Scrapbook (1881-1929)

West family and friends, Hartley in bicycle gear at USC, and justices at Catalina, 1926. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #8. 1 item
Box 21

Scrapbook (1935-1936)

Train to Detroit and drive home from the East coast and trip to British Columbia, 1936. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #9. 1 item
Box 22

Scrapbook (1940-1949)

Trip to Hoover Dam, National Parks trip, Alaska, and Honduras. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album # 13. 1 item
Box 23

Scrapbook (1929-1932)

Trip to Toronto, Seattle to Vancouver, and East with Dorothy. Cataloger’s note: Originally, album #14. 1 item
Box 24

Scrapbook (1923-1934)

Primarily cases Shaw presided. 1 item
 

Oversize folder: Merchant of Venice: [play] [undated]

1 item