Letter from Lemuel Shaw to Susanna Shaw, January 3, 1797

This single page handwritten letter was sent from Lemuel Shaw to his mother, Susanna, during his freshman year at Harvard. In the letter, he requested that his mother wash and return his dirty laundry and send him clothes, including a pair of overalls, some neck-handkerchiefs, and a new hat. Shaw also asked for money to be sent to pay off his debt of $21.25 to Mr. Richard Hunnewell for board and rent, $18.93 for the previous quarter’s bill, and $1.15 for Mr. Timothy Alden, the College Butler.

Title supplied by cataloger.

Gift of Mrs. Walter B. Binnian, October 1960.

Open for research.

Shaw, Lemuel, 1781-1861. Letter from Lemuel Shaw to Susanna Shaw, January 3, 1797. HUD 797.2, Harvard University Archives.

The Harvard University Archives holds reports by Shaw to the legislature, writings regarding Shaw’s contributions to the Harvard School of Mining and Practical Geology, and photographs of Lemuel Shaw (UAI 10.88; UAI 20.865; HUP Shaw, Lemuel, AB 1800).

The Harvard Law School and its Manuscript Collections hold court case records affected by Shaw, court decisions, opinions, and rare publications written by Shaw, and a collection of his correspondence (US 983 SHA, KFM2425.2 1822).

The Countway Library of Medicine Rare Books holds trial records and opinions written by Shaw (RC464.O3, HV6553 .K62).

Houghton Library holds speeches, public statements, and correspondence of Shaw (*72-1193, AC8 Sh273 8150, b MS Am 1233, 93M-70).

The Massachusetts Historical Society holds personal and family papers of Lemuel Shaw.

The Social Law Library of Boston holds personal and family papers and business records of Lemuel Shaw.

Lemuel Shaw, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, was born in West Barnstable, Massachusetts on January 9, 1781 to Oakes and Susanna Shaw. After receiving his Harvard AB in 1800 and AM in 1803, he began studying law under David Everett in Boston. Shaw moved to New Hampshire in 1802 and was briefly engaged to Nancy Melville, who died before they were married. He married Elizabeth Knapp in 1818; she died only four years later. In 1827 he married Hope Savage. Shaw was admitted to the bar in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1804. Shaw had strong Federalist views and was first elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1811, serving intermittently until 1829; he also served as a Massachusetts State Senator from 1821 to 1822. He was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820 and drafted the first charter of the city of Boston in 1822. Governor Levi Lincoln appointed Shaw as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1830 and he served for 30 years until his resignation in 1860. While serving as chief justice, Shaw made important decisions impacting emerging industry, including water power, railroads, and labor relations. Shaw was awarded an honorary Harvard LLD in 1831. He died on March 30, 1861.