- 
 
 
 . I 
 
 s _-.:.
 
 t) i > r /
 
 Commemorative 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN ANGIER SHAW. 
 
 Stat sua cuique dies, breve et irreparabile tempus 
 Omnibus est vita; sed f amain extende re factis, 
 Hoc virtutis opus. VIRGIL.
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESS 
 
 READ AT THE FUNERAL OF 
 
 JOHN ANGIER SHAW, 
 
 IN THE MEETING HOUSE OF THE 
 
 |irst Congregational ^onctg in $rtogetoatcr, 
 
 OCTOBER 8, 1873. 
 
 BY 
 
 RICHARD M. HODGES. 
 
 U 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 
 1874- 

 
 FUNERAL ADDRESS. 
 
 TN the circumstances under which we are 
 now assembled, Christian friends, it is 
 not in my heart to solicit your indulgence. 
 Ah! it is not I who speak. It is God; it is 
 Providence; it is the gentle Spirit of grace, 
 your own best affections, if you will but 
 listen to their most tender accents, each 
 and all of them have a distinct and emphatic 
 voice, here and now, in the presence of these 
 emblems of death and the grave. 
 
 " While Thee I seek, protecting Power, 
 
 Be my vain wishes stilled ; 
 And may this consecrated hour 
 With better hopes be filled." 
 
 It is no new occasion that excites our
 
 6 
 
 deepest sympathies. Often have they been 
 greatly moved before. Life is in the ap- 
 pointment of God. Death is in the appoint- 
 ment of God. The presence of a wise 
 Providence is seen in them both. But in 
 proportion to the purity and culture of our 
 affections is the effect of them more or less 
 forcibly felt by us. The blossom of infant 
 life, that is just expanding and creating hopes 
 of growth and maturity, gives to the mind 
 and heart of a thoughtful and true parent 
 emotions of a grateful nature, such as are 
 only experienced by those who sustain a 
 similar relationship. And when the grave 
 is opened to receive the venerable form of 
 one who was entitled to our love and rightly 
 deserved our respect, it is impossible but 
 that our sensibilities should be tenderly 
 touched, for so we are graciously consti- 
 tuted. Jesus, our great Exemplar, wept at 
 the grave of Lazarus. Still, life and death
 
 are alike in charge and at the disposal of 
 the Supreme Arbiter of all events. God 
 is equally wise and good in giving and in 
 taking away. He is unchangeable in all his 
 attributes, and perfect in his administration. 
 On this thought alone can the prayer of 
 resignation rest, " Thy will be done." 
 
 Sudden death, viewed in the light of di- 
 vine Providence, is certainly not to be dep- 
 recated. Death, when it cuts down in a 
 moment the thoughtless, the worldly-minded, 
 the undutiful child of mortality, may well, 
 and does indeed, in accordance with the 
 admonitions of both natural and revealed 
 religion, excite emotions directly opposite 
 to those that we experience at the unlooked- 
 for departure of the true, the faithful, the 
 God-loving, and the man-loving friend of 
 our hearts and brother of our humanity. 
 
 Were it to be left to our choice, however, 
 might we be permitted reverently to in-
 
 8 
 
 dulge such a thought, there are reasons, 
 seemingly meeting with the sanction of our 
 limited apprehension, which would cause us 
 to prefer that a season of calm and submis- 
 sive sensibility should be granted us previous 
 to the moment of dissolution. How many 
 the words of warning and of counsel, of en- 
 couragement and of hope, that have pro- 
 ceeded from the lips of dying loved ones, 
 and which are treasured up in fond hearts! 
 These precious words, it cannot be doubted, 
 in the interposition of the Holy Spirit, are 
 blessed to the elevation, the purification, the 
 sanctification of many a soul in the kingdom 
 of heaven. It is this experience in the dim 
 light of the death-chamber that makes sacred 
 the memory of many a Christian parent, and 
 illumines recollections that might otherwise, 
 in the weakness of human nature, be envel- 
 oped in darkness, and attended with oppres- 
 sive influences sadly impeding the onward
 
 and upward progress of life. The pictures 
 and the sentiments that are engraven in de- 
 vout minds of the repose and hope and joy 
 of those who, in the Spirit of Jesus, have 
 ceased to exist, are some of the consecrated 
 means of grace in the consummation of the 
 world's salvation. 
 
 A beloved man,* a true minister in the 
 service of Christ, assisted me in my profes- 
 sional studies by his counsels and instruc- 
 tions. He held a chosen place in my heart. 
 It pleased the Almighty Disposer of all events 
 to appoint that his work in the cause of his 
 Master should cease while he was yet in 
 the morning of life. He died at the age 
 of twenty-six years. In a quiet interval of 
 waiting for the summons of the death-mes- 
 senger, he called a younger brother to his 
 
 * John Emery Abbot was born in Exeter, N. H., on the 
 sixth day of August, 1793. Ordained minister of the North 
 Church in Salem, Mass., on the twentieth of April, 1815. 
 He died on the sixth of October, 1819. 
 
 2
 
 10 
 
 bed-side, and having presented to him a 
 Bible, with some words of affection, said 
 to him, "I wish you, my dear brother, to 
 see with what composure a Christian can 
 die." This incident in such a life has not 
 ceased, after a period of more than fifty 
 years, to have a sacred effect upon my mind. 
 The incident, in all the meaning it carries 
 with it, in the affection it discovers, in the 
 faith it exemplifies, in the deep impression 
 it has made upon my heart, assures me of 
 the truth, and confirms the sustaining power, 
 of the doctrine of immortality. 
 
 But, dear friends, we would not presume 
 to doubt the wisdom of that decree which 
 makes the time and manner of death un- 
 known to us. The Giver and Preserver of 
 life has mercifully concealed from our view 
 the scenes of futurity. " Boast . not thyself 
 of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a 
 day may bring forth." It is sufficient for us
 
 II 
 
 to know that God, our Father and Friend, is 
 the wise and righteous Author of life and 
 of death. Let us, in the plenitude of our 
 faith, and in the fulness of our hearts, say, 
 "Thy will be done." 
 
 Faithfully, friends of my heart, in the 
 gratification of my affections, and in fulfil- 
 ment of my office on this occasion, would I 
 gather up and present to you my recollec- 
 tions of the venerable- man whose remains 
 are before us in the vestments of the tomb. 
 But I fear that my limited time and imper- 
 fect health will interpose obstacles to a true 
 and appropriate delineation of his character. 
 Not for his sake, oh ! not for his sake would 
 I speak, or do I speak; but for our sakes, 
 beloved hearers, in the remembrance that 
 we also are mortal, and that the grave now 
 ready for these relics awaits the advent of 
 each of our mortal bodies.
 
 12 
 
 JOHN ANGIER SHAW was a native of the 
 South Parish of Bridgewater, now known 
 by the corporate name of the originally ex- 
 tended, but at present limited, township. He 
 was born on the eighth day of October, 
 1792, just eighty-one years ago to-day. In 
 the direct line of his ancestors were men 
 of a classical education who dedicated their 
 powers and affections to sacred studies and 
 duties in two of the precincts of ancient 
 Bridgewater, and from these kindred he 
 derived his name.* He loved, with a con- 
 stant love, the home of his childhood, made 
 venerable to him as having been the chosen 
 seat of his worthy grandparents. He glo- 
 ried, as well he might, in a residence in 
 
 * The Rev. John Shaw, grandfather of John Angier Shaw, 
 was graduated at Harvard College in 1729, and ordained in 
 South Bridgewater, 17 November, 1731. He married Ruth, 
 the daughter of Rev. Samuel Angier, of Watertown (Har. Col., 
 1673), and sister of Rev. John Angier, of East Bridgewater 
 (Har. Col., 1720). John died 29 April, 1791, aged 82. Ruth 
 died 1768, aged 63.
 
 13 
 
 the county of Plymouth, a name that brings 
 with it the cherished association of the Pil- 
 grim Fathers. The Pilgrim Fathers, the 
 men who coveted, and nobly strove for, the 
 boon of liberty, though without a full 
 understanding of its intrinsic value, a 
 liberty that should animate with a true life 
 their own souls; a liberty which it is dif- 
 ficult, because of the strong principle of 
 selfishness that pervades human nature, to 
 preserve in its purity and to transmit un- 
 impaired to succeeding generations. The 
 Pilgrim Fathers, brave men! whose self- 
 sacrificing deeds will maintain for them an 
 honored memory in the minds and hearts 
 of their posterity in all coming ages. I can- 
 not but think that the love which our de- 
 parted friend had for these fearless pioneers 
 in the cause of freedom and of a popular 
 nobility had an important effect in the for- 
 mation of his own character.
 
 Dr. Samuel Shaw,* the father of him 
 whose obsequies we observe, it was not my 
 privilege to know. He died before the re- 
 lation which I had the happiness to hold to 
 the First Congregational Society in Bridge- 
 water was instituted. He was an active 
 member of the medical profession, and lived 
 in the respect of those who received tokens 
 of his friendly care and the benefit of his 
 healing art. 
 
 Mrs. Olive Leonard Shaw,f the mother 
 of the deceased, was a friend of my early 
 days in pastoral duty; and I loved to sit in 
 the light of her countenance, and to receive 
 from her the encouragement and counsel 
 that age and wisdom imperceptibly impart 
 to those who place themselves within their 
 benign influences. I associate with my 
 
 * Samuel, youngest son of Rev. John and Ruth Angier 
 Shaw, born 1750, died 4 Dec., 1819. 
 
 f Olive, daughter of Zebulon Leonard, of Middleboro', born 
 1755, died 3 Oct., 1837.
 
 15 
 
 recollection of her the occurrence of the 
 annual Autumnal Festival of Massachusetts, 
 a day which invariably found me in her 
 presence, and that of her family, with my 
 congratulatory greetings. At that early 
 period, Thanksgiving Day was confined to 
 the New England States, and I believe 
 that to some of them it was not then, as 
 it is now, known. I trust that the influence 
 of the day, under the cognizance and by 
 the appointment of the general government, 
 will work for the unity and prosperity of 
 the entire body of our American Republic. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's preparatory education was 
 obtained at the Bridgewater Academy. He 
 was admitted to Harvard College in 1807, 
 before he had quite reached the age of fif- 
 teen years. In 1811 he received the usual 
 diploma. Of his class, which at their com- 
 mencement numbered forty-nine, but nine, 
 according to the Triennial Catalogue pub-
 
 i6 
 
 lished in 1872, remain among the living. 
 Of his classmates there were men of dis- 
 tinguished reputation who honored offices 
 in civil, literary, professional, and religious 
 life, men who in honoring their duties, not 
 simply as duties, but as genial activities, 
 honored themselves. In this connection, I 
 am happy to say that Mr. Shaw had in rev- 
 erent regard his Alma Mater. He loved 
 to visit her halls on academic days ; and the 
 greetings that he gave to and received from 
 professional gentlemen and the alumni of 
 the University showed, with delightful sig- 
 nificance, the mutual interest that was felt 
 in the power and progress of good learning. 
 At Commencement of this year, his pres- 
 ence was gratefully noticed by some alas, 
 how few! of his contemporaries. 
 
 After the period of his Baccalaureate 
 course, Mr. Shaw remained in Cambridge 
 under the auspices of the College, holding
 
 the office of Regent. While a resident 
 graduate, he pursued the study of divinity. 
 There was not then, as now, a prescribed, 
 systematic course of theological education. 
 The gentlemen who were preparing for the 
 sacred ministry sought and received the as- 
 sistance and instruction of several of the 
 professors whose course of research and 
 way of thought were coincident with in- 
 vestigations in the science of theology. By 
 the help of lectures on Hebrew literature, 
 and the laws of Biblical interpretation, to- 
 gether with critical expositions of the origin, 
 meaning, and design of Christianity, the be- 
 ginning was made of a life all whose ener- 
 gies and affections were to be dedicated, 
 under God, to the cause of truth and right- 
 eousness as instituted by Jesus Christ. 
 
 Mr. Shaw, at the proper time, received 
 from the local ecclesiastical association the 
 usual approbation to preach, and soon after-
 
 i8 
 
 ward, as a minister of the gospel and a 
 school-teacher, performed the duties of both 
 offices in Woodville, in the State of Missis- 
 sippi. I have his authority for stating that 
 in that part of the country, when he began 
 professional life, it was thought that a min- 
 ister, unless he could speak memoriter or ex- 
 tempore, that is to say, without the aid of a 
 manuscript, was not worthy of his vocation. 
 To meet this popular opinion, and to satisfy 
 the demand that it imposed, Mr. Shaw was 
 prompted to write his sermons and then 
 commit them to memory; for he had not, 
 to a more than ordinary degree, the gift of a 
 free and fluent elocution. This extra labor of 
 preparing for his pulpit services, and the loss 
 of time that it involved, which he thought 
 was unreasonable, if not unjustifiable, induced 
 him to resign altogether the duties of the 
 sacred profession, and to devote himself to 
 the employment of teaching the young.
 
 19 
 
 It is in my way here to speak, as I think 
 I confidently can, of the faith of him whose 
 funeral rites we celebrate. His faith was a 
 Christian faith, deriving its life and spirit 
 from Jesus, the revealer of truth and the in- 
 spirer of love. Jesus, as he apprehended him, 
 was the Heaven-sent messenger of grace, and 
 the true source of light to man as the child of 
 God and the heir of immortality. The mis- 
 sion of the Son of God, in his view, looked 
 directly to the enlightenment, the elevation, 
 the emancipation of the ignorant, the de- 
 graded, the sinful in the world of humanity. 
 He believed in " One God and Father of all, 
 who is above all, and through all, and in us 
 all." To this infinite and holy One, in humility 
 and submission, he bowed his spirit in wor- 
 ship. As he rendered worship to God, so he 
 gave to the Son of God the homage of his 
 gratitude, his obedience, and his love. How 
 any, in the sense of indifference or in the
 
 20 
 
 mistaken sense of erudition, could virtually 
 or gravely declare that they were outside of 
 the pale of Christianity when they were 
 nurtured within its sacred fold, was beyond 
 his comprehension. As well might they 
 say that they were outside of the care and 
 influence of civilization when they were 
 immediately basking in the sun of its pros- 
 perity, and conscious if submissive to the 
 rule of their better thoughts that civiliza- 
 tion itself, in its life and conduct, is indebted 
 to the grace and genius of Christianity. Our 
 departed friend received the New Testa- 
 ment, in its authenticity, as the revelation of 
 the will of God in Christ. The institutions 
 of the gospel, invested with a studied sense 
 of their meaning, were honored by him with 
 sentiments becoming a disciple of Christ and 
 a lover of righteousness. He. knew the 
 worth and efficacy of prayer, and sought 
 fervently for the healthful influences of the
 
 21 
 
 Holy Spirit, happy in the belief that they 
 who ask, under a deep feeling of their need, 
 shall receive. 
 
 Mr. Shaw had decided convictions with 
 regard to the interpretation of divine truth, 
 and was open and unreserved in the expres- 
 sion of them, as private or public opportunity 
 demanded or favored. Still, he was no par- 
 tisan in religion, in the exclusive meaning 
 of partisanship. Oh, -no! He cared but 
 little for the name, so that the essence was 
 in being. " Words are the daughters of 
 earth, and deeds are the sons of heaven." 
 He could bow at any altar that had been 
 consecrated to the word and work of Jesus, 
 and could greet as a brother of mortality, 
 and again of immortality, any one who 
 breathed and lived in the atmosphere of a 
 true life, a life baptized in the spirit of self- 
 sacrifice, and of devotion to the labor of 
 ameliorating the condition of humanity and
 
 22 
 
 making it wiser, purer, better, and happier. 
 He was not ostentatious. He was rather 
 inclined to be humble and retiring from ob- 
 servation. He occupied a place in society 
 that will be vacant for a time, but which, in 
 the providence of God, will eventually be 
 filled. God permits no work to fail because 
 of the want of efficient power. 
 
 Mr. Shaw, both at a distance and at 
 home, employed his abilities in the arduous 
 and responsible task of teaching. For sev- 
 eral years he was preceptor of the academy 
 in his native town, and president of the 
 board of trustees of that seminary. He was 
 faithful to himself and to his charge. It was 
 his highest ambition not only to teach with 
 fidelity, but with success. It was his un- 
 ceasing desire that his pupils, in consequence 
 of his instruction, should be self-conscious 
 of receiving some useful knowledge. The 
 best systems of education, as they com-
 
 2 3 
 
 manded attention, were the objects of his 
 study. And the best interests of learning, 
 as they manifested themselves in all depart- 
 ments of instruction, secular and religious, 
 received his eager attention and his ready 
 support. 
 
 In connection with education, I call to 
 mind that Mr. Shaw had a nice perception 
 of the beauty of art in its relation to archi- 
 tecture. The plan of the Episcopal Church 
 in this town was the product of his pencil. 
 And there is extant in Christ Church, in 
 Cambridge, a picture drawn by him in his 
 undergraduate days at college, giving a 
 pleasing representation of the church edifice 
 noted for its symmetry and the sur- 
 roundings, as they appeared in the beginning 
 of this century. 
 
 In political life, our revered friend was 
 active in thought and judicious in counsel. 
 In the lower and higher departments of the
 
 2 4 
 
 legislature of the Commonwealth, by general 
 consent, his voice was worthy to be heard 
 and his influence to be felt. In politics, he 
 was honorable and disinterested. He re- 
 garded the public welfare, and looked with 
 caution upon special or private issues. The 
 opinion that he held was his own, inde- 
 pendent of any monition he might receive 
 from party, or that party might be solici- 
 tous to give. He was consequently a good 
 citizen of an enlightened and liberal Re- 
 public. 
 
 In a moment, on the morning of the fourth 
 day of the present month, he ceased to live; 
 and the affections and hopes, that in their 
 truth and purity adorn and brighten this 
 earth, were withdrawn for ever. 
 
 I have sought to delineate the character 
 of your friend and of my friend as it pre- 
 sented itself to my observation. Nothing is 
 to be gained by a departure from the truth.
 
 25 
 
 It is the truth that is to enlighten and reno- 
 vate the world. 
 
 It would be neither wise nor well here and 
 now to speak words of consolation and of 
 sympathy to those who, by this bereave- 
 ment, have been widowed and made father- 
 less. They know full well that the prayer 
 of faith and of love in their behalf is offered 
 to the widow's God and the Father of the 
 fatherless, in obedience to that precept which 
 enjoins that we should " bear one another's 
 burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." 
 
 And now, friend of my earlier days and of 
 my later years, fare thee well ! I thank God 
 that it was permitted me, not to speak thy 
 praises, but of the worth of life as it was 
 in thy heart to represent it. Thou hast 
 gone before me to thine eternal home. Yet 
 a little while longer, and the gates, that 
 have been opened so unexpectedly to re- 
 ceive thee, will be opened to receive me
 
 26 
 
 to the home in which life will be uninter- 
 rupted, and the life of God in the soul be 
 for ever lived ! 
 
 Friends ! fellow-travellers to the world 
 beyond the grave ! ye for whom the beloved 
 Son of God lived, and for whom he died ! 
 let this scene and this service have a pos- 
 itive and present meaning to each one of 
 you. They indeed have a meaning which, 
 if understood by you, will elevate and 
 hallow all your conceptions of life. They 
 will teach you to sing, as the poet, with 
 regenerating power, has sung : 
 
 " Life is real, life is earnest, 
 
 And the grave is not its goal ; 
 
 ' Dust thou art, to dust returnest,' 
 
 Was not spoken of the soul." 
 
 If this language is tuned to notes of high 
 aspiration, how much grander and more 
 ennobling is the language of inspiration, 
 " I am the resurrection and the life : he
 
 2 7 
 
 that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
 yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth, and 
 believeth in me, shall never die " ! 
 
 Friends, may God bless you ! May God 
 bless each one of you! May the Holy 
 Spirit bless my word! Amen.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE Rev. GEO. HERBERT HOSMER, the friend 
 and pastor of Mr. SHAW, has recorded the fol- 
 lowing testimony to his upright and useful life, 
 in the " Christian Register" of the i8th of 
 October, 1873 : 
 
 In Bridgewater, 4th inst., Hon. JOHN ANGIER SHAW, 
 eighty-one years. 
 
 " Like as a shock of corn cometh in his season," so, 
 full of glorious fruitage, our brother passes on to the 
 deep, pure life of heaven. 
 
 Sudden departures are sometimes glorious transla- 
 tions. In the peace of the early morning, with bright 
 waking thoughts in his mind, sweet words on his lips, 
 and the sunlight of earth breaking upon his eyes, he 
 bowed his head, and suddenly the sunlight of heaven 
 broke upon his vision, no pain, no anxiety, scarcely 
 a flutter of the spirit's wings was heard, only serene, 
 grateful peace.
 
 30 
 
 Born in Bridgewater, Oct. 8, 1792, he gave proof 
 of his ability and diligent application by entering 
 Harvard College at an unusually early age, and was 
 graduated with honor in the class of iSn, remarkable 
 for its men of eminent talents. He fitted for the 
 ministry, and entered upon the work, but relinquished 
 it after a brief period. He was called to the South, 
 where he devoted himself to teaching ; and, after a 
 few years' residence in Mississippi, returned to Bridge- 
 water, and took charge of the academy for a period 
 extending over sixteen years. 
 
 He was called to serve this community in the differ- 
 ent branches of the State Legislature, first as Senator 
 for two years, then as Representative for four years, 
 holding these offices with honor, and discharging their 
 duties with conscientious fidelity. 
 
 In the year 1841, under the recommendation of 
 Horace Mann, he was called to New Orleans to or- 
 ganize and superintend the public school system of 
 that city, on which work he entered with great earnest- 
 ness, and achieved an enviable success. To this day 
 his services are gratefully remembered by the citizens 
 of that place. After about ten years of labor in laying 
 the foundation of a system of popular education at the 
 South, he returned to Bridgewater, where he has re- 
 sided the greater part of the time since, studiously 
 devoting himself to labors for the good of his fellow- 
 men. To the last he was occupied in his favorite work 
 of teaching ; and, even as late as the day before his
 
 3 1 
 
 death, was engaged with his evening class of young 
 men. For the work of an educator he was eminently 
 fitted, and, though faithful in all he undertook, in this 
 sphere he will be most gratefully remembered. 
 
 While a strongly pronounced conservative Unitarian, 
 he was charitable in his spirit to all phases of Chris- 
 tianity, and rejoiced in the hope of a spread of a wider 
 unity of spirit, of which he was careful to note every 
 cheering sign. He was a constant supporter of pub- 
 lic worship, a just and discriminating listener, and a 
 faithful follower of Jesus Christ. 
 
 He retained his mental vigor to the last, and spent 
 much of his time in the critical study of the New 
 Testament, and in reading with interest the new books 
 on the various phases of religious thought. 
 
 He took great interest in the religious instruction of 
 the young, laboring in the Sunday school with charac- 
 teristic earnestness for many years. 
 
 He stood among us a pillar of strength, remarkable 
 for his honest frankness, purity of heart, and sincerity 
 of spirit. In his sudden departure, this community 
 and society lose their strongest mind, as well as a 
 sincere, upright, pure-minded Christian gentleman.
 
 II. 
 
 THE following memorial was published in the 
 " North Bridge water Gazette," November 9, 
 T 873- J- E. CRANE, Esq., a fellow-townsman 
 of Mr. SHAW, is the author of it : 
 
 BRIDGEWATER. 
 
 This community was surprised on Saturday morn- 
 ing, the 4th inst., by the announcement of the death of 
 Hon. JOHN A. SHAW, which occurred at an early hour 
 at his residence, of paralysis of the heart. Mr. Shaw 
 was born in the house where he died, Oct. 8, i79 2 > 
 and was but little short of eighty-one years of age. He 
 was the son of Dr. Samuel Shaw, and grandson of 
 Rev. John Shaw, the second pastor of the First Con- 
 gregational Church in Bridgewater. Early in youth 
 he disclosed talents of a superior order, and was fitted 
 for college, and entered Harvard with Edward Everett, 
 Nathaniel Frothingham, John C. Gray, and Harrison 
 Gray Otis, graduating in iSn. In the choice of a 
 profession his religious cast of mind led him to a theo- 
 logical course, which was completed ; but he subse- 
 quently relinquished it for the profession of teacher.
 
 33 
 
 He went to Mississippi, where his success gave him a 
 high reputation ; and, after remaining there several 
 years, was called to the preceptorship of the Bridge- 
 water Academy in 1825. His success here is too well 
 known to require any extended notice, as his long con- 
 nection with the academy as preceptor and president 
 of the board of trustees formed a very important part 
 of its history. His entire connection as preceptor, in 
 point of time, was sixteen years, terminating in 1841. 
 For many years he was a member of the Board of 
 Trustees, and at his death held the office of President 
 of that body. As has been already stated, it was not 
 here alone that he acquired celebrity as a teacher ; but 
 at Andover, and in charge of the public schools in 
 New Orleans, his success was alike manifest. His just 
 measure of the importance of a liberal education was 
 ever manifest, and his testimony always emphatic 
 upon that point. His interest in public affairs was not 
 circumscribed to the school-room, but his broad culture 
 fitted him for other fields of usefulness. As early as 
 1834, his election to the State Senate was evidence of 
 the estimation in which he was held in this region ; 
 and his subsequent election to that office in 1835, and 
 also four elections to the House of Representatives by 
 the citizens of this town, indicated his popularity as a 
 legislator. In both branches of the legislature he was 
 distinguished for his deep interest in the cause of 
 popular education, and was also active in originating 
 the measure for the reduction of the number of repre-
 
 34 
 
 sentatives, which at that time had become burdensome 
 and unwieldy. In all the walks of social life he was 
 endeared to those with whom he was associated, as a 
 man of great purity of heart, exerting a most beneficent 
 influence upon all about him. Early in life he con- 
 nected himself with the church of his fathers, and was 
 a consistent example of the religion he professed. The 
 long catalogue of those who were his pupils would 
 show the names of many persons of eminence in the 
 different learned professions, and his memory will be 
 long held by them as a public benefactor. This town, 
 from which no allurements of station could estrange 
 him, will hold him in grateful remembrance. The in- 
 stitution of learning here, with which he was so closely 
 connected, will most indelibly inscribe his name as 
 chief among its friends, and cherish it as an important 
 page in its history. Of an honored ancestry, he leaves 
 a name alike honored. A widow, four daughters, and 
 a son mourn the departure of one whose life was 
 tenderly devoted to their welfare. The funeral ob- 
 sequies were attended, on Wednesday afternoon, by a 
 large number, at the church where, on the last Sab- 
 bath of his life, Mr. Shaw was an attentive listener, 
 Rev. Mr. Hosmer officiating.
 
 35 
 
 III. 
 
 THE annexed notice is transcribed from the 
 " Liberal Christian," of New York, published 
 25th October, 1873: 
 
 JOHN ANGIER SHAW. 
 
 It is fitting that a tribute of respect to the memory 
 of this true and venerable man should find a place in 
 the columns of the " Liberal Christian." He was a 
 faithful member of that fellowship in the ecclesiastical 
 world which hears reverently and receives implicitly 
 the teachings of the Master as the Messiah, and with 
 the whole heart welcomes the principles of freedom, 
 fraternity, and benevolence. Wherever the gospel, 
 in its simplicity and tenderness, in its beauty and 
 power, was reflected, there his best affections found 
 opportunity for exercise, and constant increase of 
 strength. He sought continually that the spirit of 
 his religion should be baptized with the water that 
 comes from " a well springing up into everlasting 
 life." 
 
 Mr. Shaw was graduated at Harvard College in
 
 i8n, before he had attained to the full age of nineteen. 
 After receiving the honors of his Alma Mater, he con- 
 tinued to reside in Cambridge, holding the office of 
 Registrar in the government of the University, and at 
 the same time, with such facilities as presented them- 
 selves, pursuing the studies and meditations that lead 
 to a preparation of the mind and heart for the work of 
 the Christian ministry. In the process of time, having 
 obtained the usual credentials, he went, by invitation, 
 to the distant State of Mississippi, to exercise the 
 pastoral office, and also to fulfil the duties of a school- 
 teacher. He, however, soon found it incompatible 
 with a proper regard for the health not only of mind, 
 but also of body, to devote his strength and thoughts 
 to both of these important vocations. There were also 
 certain adventitious requirements in the public conduct 
 of the sacred office, at that period and in that remote 
 locality, that made the weekly preparation for the 
 pulpit on the Lord's day irksome to him. Following 
 the guidance of what he deemed an overruling Provi- 
 dence, the interests of education commanded the entire 
 exercise of his abilities. At New Orleans, in Louisi- 
 ana, at the instance of a prominent educator of Massa- 
 chusetts (Mr. Mann), he filled for many years the 
 office of superintendent of the schools in that great 
 city ; and the influence of his theoretical and prac- 
 tical instructions in the direction of mental and 
 physical culture is felt and acknowledged even to 
 this day.
 
 37 
 
 In Andover and Bridgewater towns of his native 
 State his fidelity as a teacher has been proved ; and, 
 during an active life of guiding and disciplining grow- 
 ing minds, he secured to himself the grateful reward 
 of the love of many hearts, and now that his life is 
 ended his memory will command the tribute of a 
 wide-spread respect and honor. 
 
 He who is the subject of our affectionate recollections 
 was repeatedly honored with a seat in the Senate 
 and House of Representatives of his beloved Com- 
 monwealth. His views of government were broad 
 and generous, and his interests in the causes of 
 good learning and civil polity were coextensive with 
 the efficiency of a liberal education and a true re- 
 ligion. 
 
 All the institutions of Christianity were ever held by 
 him in reverential regard. The Sunday school had in 
 him a warm friend and an energetic and useful super- 
 intendent and teacher. The meetings of our Confer- 
 ences, and in general the objects of the Unitarian 
 Association, were cheered by his presence and sup- 
 ported by his word. He honored life by honoring 
 himself, his powers and opportunities, his aspirations 
 and hopes. 
 
 In the midst of life, while apparently in full health, 
 the angel of death came to him, all unawares, with his 
 summons to enter the spirit-land. On the morning of 
 the 4th of this month, ere yet the sun had given evi- 
 dence of his brightness, and while words of kindly
 
 38 
 
 I 
 
 feeling were proceeding from the lips of the uncon- 
 sciously expiring man, his heart, paralyzed, at once 
 ceased from its pulsations, and the light of his earthly 
 life was for ever extinguished. 
 
 His funeral was attended with every expression of 
 respect, on Wednesday, the 8th inst., that day being 
 the eighty-first anniversary of his birth. The meeting- 
 house of the First Congregational Society in Bridge- 
 water, where, in health, he was a constant and devout 
 worshipper, was filled with sympathizing friends. 
 The services began with a dirge by the choir. An 
 invocation was made, and select texts from the Scrip- 
 tures were read by the present pastor of the society, 
 Rev. Geo. Herbert Hosmer. A memorial address was 
 delivered by Rev. R. M. Hodges, a former pastor, and 
 an early and a late friend of the deceased. A concise 
 and appropriate sermon, from Proverbs xii. 28, was 
 preached by the stated minister ; and the funeral prayer 
 was offered by Rev. George W. Hosmer, D.D. The 
 exercises were varied with happy effect by hymns of 
 consoling and quickening power. 
 
 At the grave, in the beautiful cemetery of the town, 
 the words of committal "earth to earth" were 
 spoken, and the insignia of death and decay were for 
 ever removed from mortal sight. 
 
 Servant of God, well done ; 
 
 Rest from thy loved employ : . 
 The battle fought, the victory won, 
 
 Enter thy Master's joy.
 
 39 
 
 Soldier of Christ, well done ; 
 
 Praise be thy new employ ; 
 And while eternal ages run, 
 
 Rest in thy Saviour's joy. 
 
 R. M. H. 
 CAMBRIDGE, October 12, 1873.
 
 4 
 
 IV. 
 
 FOR aid in collecting the following statistics, 
 thanks are specially due to the Hon. ARTEMAS 
 HALE, the oldest ex-member of Congress, who 
 still bears his accumulated years and abundant 
 honors with grace and dignity. " Serus in ccelo 
 redeat." 
 
 Mr. Shaw's educational and religious mission began 
 in December, 1818. His journey to Mississippi, though 
 relieved and cheered by the company of his sister 
 (Mrs. Ames), was long and tedious. The facilities of 
 travel and correspondence were not developed then as 
 they are now. His interest in the profession of teach- 
 ing, to which he now consecrated his life, prompted 
 him to continue his work among the remote people 
 who had at first called his attention and secured his 
 affections in their behalf as a teacher. With the ex- 
 ception of one or two intervals of recreation spent at 
 his early home, and with his friends in Massachusetts, 
 he remained abroad for a period of nearly twenty-six 
 years. From 1825 to 1830, and again from 1832 to 
 1841, he had charge of the Bridgewater Academy.
 
 4 1 
 
 From 1841 to 1851, with the reservation of short vaca- 
 tions in the summer seasons, he was engaged at New 
 Orleans in systematizing the school department of that 
 city. Since his return from Louisiana, his residence 
 has been for the most part in Bridgewater, and his 
 occupation the familiar and favorite one of training 
 and enlightening young minds. 
 
 By the favor of his political friends in the county of 
 Plymouth, he was, in 1835 and again in 1838, elected 
 to a seat in the Senate of Massachusetts. In this high 
 position his influence and learning in regard to educa- 
 tional interests were felt and acknowledged. In token 
 of the confidence of his fellow-townsmen in his in- 
 tegrity and honor, he was chosen, for three years, 
 from 1839 to I ^4i ? inclusive, to represent them in 
 the popular branch of the legislature. His fidelity to 
 the trust was marked by the generous and enlightened 
 spirit of philanthropy.
 
 V. 
 
 FAMILY REGISTER. 
 
 JOHN A. SHAW, on the apth March, 1821, was mar- 
 ried, in Woodville, Miss., to Sarah Hart (Rogers) 
 White. The children of this marriage were Olive 
 Rosalie and Margaret Maria. Olive (Mrs. David 
 Perkins) is living, a widow, in charge of a family. 
 Margaret died April loth, 1868, at the age of forty- 
 four years. Mrs. Sarah H. Shaw died in Mississippi, 
 8th of May, 1824. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's second marriage was to Mira (Sprague) 
 Washburn, on the i7th of October, 1830. There were 
 six children by this marriage, four of whom are living, 
 three daughters and one son, two daughters in 
 matrimony. A daughter and a son died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Shaw still resides in the honored homestead.
 
 43 
 
 VI. 
 
 MR. SHAW, not infrequently, through the pub- 
 lic press, uttered his best thoughts on subjects of 
 immediate interest in social, literary, and religious 
 life. His published discourses are : 
 
 Eulogy on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered 
 August 2, 1826, by request of the Inhabitants of 
 Bridgewater. 
 
 An Address delivered before the Bridgewater Society for 
 the Promotion of Temperance, February 22, 1828. 
 
 An Oration delivered before the Citizens of Plymouth, July 
 4, 1828, "On the Permanency of the Political Sys- 
 tem of America." 
 
 An Address delivered before the Public Schools of the 
 city of New Orleans, February 22, 1850.
 
 44 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE following paragraph from the "Eulogy" 
 has a meaning of permanent value : 
 
 Hail, happy period ! when civil liberty, joined with 
 Christian faith, shall emancipate the world from the 
 fetters of despotism and the galling chains of sin. 
 Freedom must rest on the basis of public information 
 and public virtue. This proposition, though often 
 repeated, is no oftener advanced than its obvious 
 importance requires. And what so efficacious as the 
 sanctions of eternal truth, as that light from above, 
 which gilds alike the lowly roof and vaulted dome, to 
 animate, to cheer, to purify, and guide us in the way 
 of virtue, peace, and equal rights? The politician 
 may rear his well-proportioned fabric ; but unless the 
 light of Christianity be there, unless its purifying spirit 
 shed around its holy power, degeneracy and corrup- 
 tion will sap the foundation. Not that it interferes 
 with forms of government, for its kingdom is not of 
 this world. Its powerful influence is a moral influence. 
 It designs no reforms but those of personal character. 
 It exalis a people only by its power on the hearts of
 
 45 
 
 those who compose it. In proportion as pure Chris- 
 tianity prevails, I mean the religion taught by Christ, 
 in proportion as divine philosophy prevails, man 
 will respect the rights of his brother man, and be ready 
 to obey the easy rule of liberty and love. The Chris- 
 tian raises in his mind no structure of the future hap- 
 piness and glory of the world, without resting it on 
 the firm and broad foundation of gospel truth. He 
 who is the servant of sin cannot be the Lord's free- 
 man, and he is as little qualified to be a good citizen 
 of a free republic. A corrupt community must ere 
 long be an enslaved community. 
 
 Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son.

 
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