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Henry Shaw


Gender:
Male
Born:
1788
Died:
October 17, 1857
Home Town:
Castleton, VT
Later Residences:
Lanesboro, MA
New York, NY
Biographical Notes:
Henry Shaw was the son of Samuel Shaw, a physician who was sent to jail for libeling John Adams.

After attending the Law School, Henry Shaw opened a law office in Lanesboro, MA. He entered public office and while serving in Congress, he was a strong supporter of Henry Clay. Apparantly, he ended his career in the House of Representatives by voting for the Missouri Compromise. Shaw then returned home to Massachusetts where he continued his political career on the state level. He moved to New York City, NY in 1848 and continued to be active in local and state politics. He was also a member of the city's Board of Education.

His son, Henry Wheeler Shaw, later became well known as a humorist under the pseudonym "Josh Billings." Shaw died at Peekskill, NY.

Education
Years at LLS:
1810

Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Political Party:
Republican
Federal Posts:
U.S. Representative (MA) 1817-1821
State Posts:
State Representative (MA) 1824-1830, 1833
State Senator (MA) 1835
State Representative (NY) 1853
Local Posts:
City Council (New York, NY) 1850-1851

Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Catalogue of Litchfield Law School (Hartford, Connecticut: Press of Tiffany, Case and Company, 1849), 9.


Litchfield County Bar Association Records, 1810, Litchfield Historical Society, Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library.

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