Spotlight on Early Settlers-

Spotlight on Early Settlers-

                  Cynthia Holcomb Shaw and Ebenezer Shaw

Cynthia was born March 17, 1783 in Grandby, Hartford, Connecticut.  She died April 10, 1868 in Sheshequin, Pennsylvania.

Ebenezer Shaw was born September 5, 1771 in Grandby, Hartford, Connecticut and died December 17, 1871 in Sheshequin, Pennsylvania

Cynthia and Ebenezer were married in 1801.

They had 9 children, 52 grandchildren and 61 great grandchildren and 1 great, great grandchild!

From the site Find A Grave:  Cynthia was the daughter of Eli Holcombe and Hannah Crofut  (Crowfoot).  She was a third great granddaughter of Thomas Holcombe, immigrant and founder of Ancient Windsor.  Eli migrated to Cash Creek in Ulster in 1793.

From the site Find A Grave:  Ebenezer was the son of Capt. Jeremiah Shaw and Abigail Campbell Shaw. His family came to Sheshequin in 1786. Ebenezer came from a long lived ancestry.  His father lived to be 85 and his grandfather and great grandfather lived to very advanced ages.  It was his pride and boast that he voted for George Washington at his second election in 1792 and voted in every presidential election until his death. In 1801 he joined the Rural Amity Lodge No. 70, F. and A. at Athens (Tioga Point) and at the time of his death was probably the oldest Mason in the U. S.   Brother Shaw also received in the chapter, then working in Athens, the degrees of Capitular Masonry. January 23, 1813, he was exalted a Royal Arch Mason.

Ebenezer was said to be well loved and his funeral was largely attended. It was conducted under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity.

Portraits of Cynthia and Ebenezer hang in the North room at the museum and are attributed to the artist Joel Parks.

To see the portraits of the Shaws, visit Tioga Point Museum, open Tuesdays and Thursdays 12p-4p.