The Story of a Pioneer: Autobiography

by Anna Howard Shaw

FIRST MEMORIES My father's ancestors were the Shaws of Rothiemurchus, in Scotland, and the ruins of their castle may still be seen on the island of Loch-an-Eilan, in the northern Highlands. It was never the picturesque castle of song and story, this home of the fighting Shaws, but an austere fortress, probably built in Roman times; and even to-day the crumbling walls which alone are left of it show traces of the relentless assaults upon them. Of these the last and the most successful were made in the seventeenth century by the Grants and Rob Roy; and it was into the hands of the Grants that the Shaw fortress finally fell, about 1700, after almost a hundred years of ceaseless warfare. It gives me no pleasure to read the grisly details of their struggles, but I confess to a certain satisfaction in the knowledge that my ancestors made a good showing in the defense of what was theirs. Beyond doubt they were brave fighters and strong men. There were other sides to their natures, however, which the high lights of history throw up less appealingly. As an instance, we have in the family chronicles the blood-stained page of Allen Shaw, the oldest son of the last Lady Shaw who lived in the fortress. It appears that when the father of this young man died, about 1560, his mother married again, to the intense disapproval of her son. For some time after the marriage he made no open revolt against the new-comer in the domestic circle; but finally, on the pretext that his dog had been attacked by his stepfather, he forced a quarrel with the older man and the two fought a duel with swords, after which the victorious Allen showed a sad lack of chivalry. He not only killed his stepfather, but he cut off that gentleman's head and bore it to his mother in her bedchamber—an action which was considered, even in that tolerant age, to be carrying filial resentment too far. Probably Allen regretted it. Certainly he paid a high penalty for it, and his clan suffered with him. He was outlawed and fled, only to be hunted down for months, and finally captured and executed by one of the Grants, who, in further virtuous disapproval of Allen's act, seized and held the Shaw stronghold. The other Shaws of the clan fought long and ably for its recovery, but though they were helped by their kinsmen, the Mackintoshes, and though good Scotch blood dyed the gray walls of the fortress for many generations, the castle never again came into the hands of the Shaws. It still entails certain obligations for the Grants, however, and one of these is to give the King of England a snowball whenever he visits Loch-an-Eilan! As the years passed the Shaw clan scattered. Many Shaws are still to be found in the Mackintosh country and throughout southern Scotland. Others went to England, and it was from this latter branch that my father sprang. His name was Thomas Shaw, and he was the younger son of a gentleman—a word which in those days seemed to define a man who devoted his time largely to gambling and horse-racing. My grandfather, like his father before him, was true to the traditions of his time and class. Quite naturally and simply he squandered all he had, and died abruptly, leaving his wife and two sons penniless. They were not, however, a helpless band. They, too, had their traditions, handed down by the fighting Shaws. Peter, the older son, became a soldier, and died bravely in the Crimean War. My father, through some outside influence, turned his attention to trade, learning to stain and emboss wallpaper by hand, and developing this work until he became the recognized expert in his field. Indeed, he progressed until he himself checked his rise by inventing a machine that made his handwork unnecessary. His employer at once claimed and utilized this invention, to which, by the laws of those days, he was entitled, and thus the cornerstone on which my father had expected to build a fortune proved the rock on which his career was wrecked.

Genres: History, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

British-American physician and minister Anna Howard Shaw served as president of the national American woman suffrage association from 1904 to 1915.

The reverend doctor led the movement in the United States. Methodists also ordained her of the first females in the United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Ho...

Reviews

[Carolyn Di Leo]

I really did not care for this book. It was mostly about Ms. Shaw's work as a lady minister and suffragette. After reading this, I realize, I could never have been a woman back then. She comes across as so sanctimonious and she seems so wordy. YAWN! I love to read books about history that were written in the time period depicted, but I recommend giving this one a pass.

[Rebecca]

I expected a traditional pioneer story of a family moving west and figuring out how to survive. The first part of the book met those expectations. But the second section was about her pioneering as a woman minister, and the third part was about her pioneering as a woman suffrage advocate. The first two sections were quite interesting, but the third bogged down in details and minutiae.

[Barbara Wall]

Great autobiography and Who’s Who stories of the early suffrage movement. Anna lived with Susan B. Anthony for several years and called her Aunt Susan.

[Abby Morris]

i read this for my research paper, the whole thing for one quote.
too dedicated to the grind

[Farrah]

Women pioneers

Shaw's pioneering covers a lot of ground; it's not only about traditional frontier pioneering, but also about her life as a pioneer in her profession and with social causes. Especially interesting is her description of her work for women's suffrage and with other women "pioneers" like Susan B Anthony.