Abstract:
This newsletter provides a photographic profile of Francis Marion Shaw, noting that only five known photographs depict his entire life journey. These rare images include his earliest portrait taken shortly after the Civil War, showing him gaunt but with his war-caused disfigurement conspicuously trimmed off. Later photographs include formal spousal portraits with his wife, Rachel Moore Allen Shaw, taken around 1885 when he was in his early 40s and she in her early 50s, depicting him as a successful gentleman farmer with a distinguished mustache and beard. Other images include an oval-mounted portrait and a final photograph from around 1905 in front of his farm home with Rachel and their grandson, Brodie, which clearly shows his armless right sleeve. Despite having his right arm off just below the shoulder, Francis Marion Shaw was described as a man of great "vim and courage," capable of clearing and settling two plantations and performing demanding farm chores as effectively as someone with two hands. He and Rachel also opened their hearts and home to extended family, raising grandchildren and housing their daughter and granddaughter.