Shaw and Gregory Families Papers, 1810-1938

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Summary

Title:
Shaw and Gregory families papers
Dates:
1810-1938
Abstract:
Materials related to the extended Shaw and Gregory families, primarily naval officer John Shaw (1773-1823) and his descendants and relatives, including daughter Elizabeth "Kate" Shaw Gregory, son-in-law Francis Hoyt Gregory (1789-1866), and the family of their children Henry Edmund Gregory and Virginia Gregory Ingersoll.
Extent:
9.4 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Shaw and Gregory families papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains papers and materials related to the Shaw and Gregory families and their relatives, the Van den Heuvel family, Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll, and John Church Hamilton. These materials date chiefly from 1820 to 1870. Among John Shaw's materials is his 1810 diary detailing his journey down the Mississippi River on his way to annex the Republic of West Florida. Other items include a letter from Shaw to his father-in-law, Ebenezer Breed, and a letter addressed to Shaw regarding his daughter's education.

The papers include correspondence exchanged between Shaw's eldest daughter, Elizabeth "Kate" Shaw Gregory, and her husband, the naval commander Francis Hoyt Gregory. These letters discuss family affairs, social life in New Haven, Connecticut, and Francis Hoyt Gregory's impressions of Brazil. The correspondence also mentions the seizure of the Porpoise, a brig used to transport enslaved people, by his ship, the Raritan, and other naval affairs during Gregory's navy service. Additionally, there are letters between Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll and his son Charles Roberts Ingersoll, the father-in-law and husband respectively of Gregory's daughter Virginia. These discuss American politics, observations on the Russian court, and European unrest. Included too is his correspondence with John Church Hamilton, Colin McRae, Jacob Adrian Van den Heuvel, and others regarding the estates of Charles Ward Apthorp and Cornelius Van den Heuvel. Court summons and order for publication of citations regarding the will of Charlotte A. Van den Heuvel are also included.

One copied diary of Anna Marilla Baker Gregory, who married Henry Edmund Gregory, the son of Francis Hoyt Gregory and grandson of John Shaw, is also accompanied by a typescript copy and a letter from William H. Hale. This diary was created as a gift for her son, Henry "Harry" Baker Gregory. It discusses her time as a teacher to the Sioux Indians and life as a woman on the frontier; after Harry's passing, she continued to write entries into the 1920s and 1930s.

Fifty-one photographs included in this collection encompass loose photographs and one Gregory family photograph album. Additional documents include certificates of military and federal appointments, one signed by President Abraham Lincoln and another by President Ulysses S. Grant, legal paperwork and court summons, and a family coat of arms. Ephemera consists of one Certificate of the Naval Benevolent Organization signed by John Shaw and its frame, one Book of Common Prayer inscribed by multiple Gregory family members, certificates from the Washington National Monument Society, a Freemasons certificate, one Proclamation of Thanksgiving by Governor Charles R. Ingersoll, an obituary newspaper clipping, a transcription of a tombstone inscription, and one Yale University bicentennial badge.

Biographical / historical:

The extended Shaw and Gregory families have served for multiple generations in the United States Armed Forces, particularly in the United States Navy, beginning in 1798. Other descendants and relatives have served in prominent political roles and federal appointments, including as State Governor, State Congressman, United States Minister to the Russian Empire, and as United States Agents to the Ponca Indians and White River Utes. Gregory family members were also pioneers in Nebraska, where their work ranged from participating in the Nebraska Territorial Convention to teaching English to the Sioux Indians. Notable family members include naval officer John Shaw (1773-1823), his daughter Elizabeth "Kate" Shaw Gregory (1801-1873) and her husband Francis Hoyt Gregory (1789-1866); Elizabeth's daughter Virginia Gregory Ingersoll (1823-1898), her husband Charles Roberts Ingersoll (1821-1903) and her father-in-law Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll (1789-1872); Virginia's sons John Shaw Gregory (1829-1881) and Henry Edmund Gregory (1839-1903), and Henry Edmund's wife Anna Marilla Baker Gregory (1846-1938). The Shaw and Gregory families are also distantly related to the Van den Heuvel family and to John Church Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's son.

Acquisition information:
Purchased for the Huntington from The Raab Collection, in part by the Library Collectors' Council, March 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Brooke M. Black and Chelsea Trinh in April 2025.

Arrangement:

Organized in two series: Series 1. Correspondence and manuscripts, 1810-1938; Series 2. Photographs and ephemera, 1820-1901.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Brooke M. Black and Chelsea Trinh
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-06-05 15:05:45 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

RESTRICTED: Some material was removed and is housed in the Lincoln collection, Box 14. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.

Terms of access:

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:

[Identification of item]. Shaw and Gregory families papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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