William Shaw, Glenanne

[Racewalker]

I am seeking information about my gggg grandfather William Shaw (b. 1870 in Mossley, Manchester), who was described as being of Glenanne, County Armagh.  He came to Armagh sometime after the birth of his eldest daughter (Mary Anne) in 1803 in Manchester but, by 1820, he had left and taken his wife (Sarah Willan) and six children (Mary Anne, Maria, Sarah, Giles, Joseph and Charlotte) to Celbridge, County Kildare.  As he was a cotton spinner and flax manufacturer in Celbridge at Temple Mills, I wonder whether he may have had an involvement with the cotton spinning mills in Glenanne.  I know it is a long shot, but I am also wondering if Shaw’s Lake near Glenanne was named after him.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dean
(New Zealand)

[gortonboy]

hi,,so he was b 1770  not 1870   

[gaffy]

Had a quick look through the Freemans Journal and while there's several mentions in the context of Celbridge, I couldn't see anything for him with a Glenanne connection. There are mentions for daughter Sarah marrying the Hon. Rev. H de Montmorency in 1831, a complex court case about a coal mine in 1843, the sale of William's Simmonstown House and contents in 1874, and the will of Joseph Shaw in 1887. There's also mention of a William Shaw & Co in Cork in 1872 along with several other big flax spinning companies - I wonder did he have a Cork operation?

Anyway, perhaps someone will be able to open up the Glenanne story for you...   

[gaffy]

From what I can see from local history, it was a William Atkinson who was responsible for the extensive cotton mill operation at Glenanne starting in or around 1818.  After the transition to linen, the big name in the area seems to have been Messrs. George Gray and Co.

Shaw's lough gets a mention in the relevant Ordnance Survey of 1835-38.

[Racewalker]

Thanks Gaffy for your replies.  I also checked Freeman's Journal and found the "Celbridge" articles you mentioned.  With Freeman's being available from 1763, I had hoped to find something about William and his family in Glenanne, but drew a blank.  As far as I know, neither William (who died in 1849) nor his sons had a Cork operation.  I also saw that William Atkinson started his operation in Glenanne in 1818, which is significant because I think that is around the time that William came to Celbridge.

And thanks Gortonboy, you are right.  William was born in 1770 not 1870.

[LEWilson]

My family are originally from glenanne and go back generations there, I am going to enquire about the naming of shaws lake with my grandmother and get back to you.. however I do know that shaws lake is a manmade lake and was made to power the linen mill so it sounds like you may be right in assuming a connection

[Racewalker]

Many thanks - I appreciate your help