Hello Nancy, What is the source of your information that Thomas SHAW married Deborah WHITE and had a connection with Cummington, MA? I have researched the SHAW families of Cummington and Plainfield extensively. The earliest mention of a Thomas SHAW I find in the Cummington/Plainfield area is in the 1800 federal census of Plainfield. The record is given as 1-0-0-1-0-2-0-0-1-0-0=5. That is: 1 free white male under 10 1 free white male of 26 and under 45 (i.e. Thomas) 2 free white females under 10 1 free white female of 26 and under 45 This census record is not consistent with "a Thomas SHAW who married Deborah WHITE abt 1774." Note, for example, that all three children are under the age of 10, thus born 1790-1800; it is far more likely, therefore, that this Thomas and his wife are nearer the age of 26 than 45 (both Thomas and his wife are described as "of 26 and under 45"). It was very unusual for a man to marry before the age of 21 in colonial Massachusetts; therefore, a man who had married "about 1774" can be expected to have been born no later than 1753 - and would, therefore, have been "over 45" at the 1800 census. Therefore, I must conclude that either a) this is NOT your Thomas or b) the marriage date you have reported is substantially incorrect (as will be seen later, the marriage date is indeed incorrect) Additionally, I would note: a) There is no marriage for a Thomas SHAW in the Cummington VRs. b) There is no death record for a Thomas SHAW in the Cummington VRs. c) There is no death record for a Deborah SHAW in the Cummington VRs [except for that of Deborah (Beals) SHAW, wife of Ebenezer SHAW; this Ebenezer and Deborah are my g.g.g.g.grandparents] d) There is no Thomas SHAW listed at either Cummington or Plainfield at the 1790 census e) There is no Thomas SHAW listed at Cummington at the 1800 census ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subsequently, I checked the on-line versions of the IGI for the marriage of a Thomas SHAW and Deborah WHITE and found: Thomas SHAW marr. Deborah WHITE at Plainfield on 08 November 1792 This is exactly consistent with the Thomas SHAW whose family is recorded at the 1800 census of Plainfield. This provides further support for the suspicion that the "about 1774" date you have for their marriage is spurious. Next, I checked the on-line IGI for the marriage of Caleb WHITE and Emma COLSON (the parents you report foro Deborah) and found: Calab WHITE m. Emma (Amy) COLSON at Weymouth on 30 November 1769 Furthermore, the on-line IGI also reports the baptism of Deborah WHITE, daughter of Caleb WHITE, at Weymouth, on 18 September 1774. From this, it is evident that someone has confused Deborah's baptismal date with her marriage date. As Caleb and Emma/Amy were married at Weymouth in 1769 and their daughter Deborah was baptized there in 1774, it is equally clear that the WHITEs were NOT in the Cummington/Plainfield area "before 1766" as stated in your query: "Deborah was the dtr of Caleb White and Emma Colson of Weymouth and the family move from Weymouth to Cummington/Plainfield before 1766." Next, I consulted the published Vital Records of Cummington (which contains also a section titled "Early Pioneers of Township No. 5"). Citing Dyer's History of Plainfield, the Cummington VRs report that Caleb WHITE came to the Cummington/Plainfield area from Bridgewater (not Weymouth), about 1780 (not before 1766). In point of fact, the town of Cummington was not established until 23 June 1779 - and Plainfield was set off from Cummington on still later - on 16 March 1785 (which is why, from the beginning, I was automatically suspicious of the dates you cited). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the 1792 marriage date of Thomas SHAW and Emma/Amy COLSON and a knowledge of marriage customs at the time, we can reasonably infer that Thomas SHAW was born about 21 to 25 years earlier than his 1792 marriage date, i.e. about 1767-71. Thomas is, therefore, most probably the Thomas SHAW, son of Joshua and Naomi (Bate) SHAW, born at Abington, Plymouth county, MA on 16 December 1765. Abington was settled largely by persons from Weymouth and there are numerous family connections between these two towns (including, especially, the extended SHAW family of descendants of Abraham-1). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have an extensive database of the SHAW families of Weymouth, Abington, the Bridgewaters, and Cummington etc. (i.e. descendants of the immigrant, Abraham-1 SHAW) and have a considerable interest in this family (I have six lines of descent from Abraham-1). For further information, please contact me directly. Richard (solutions@solanobiz.net) -----Original Message----- From: Nancy <johnan@gte.net> To: SHAW-L@rootsweb.com <SHAW-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Thursday, November 02, 2000 5:41 AM Subject: [SHAW-L] Thomas Shaw MA Posted on: Shaw Queries Reply Here: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gc/FamilyAssoc/Shaw/197 Surname: Shaw, White ------------------------- I am looking for the parents of Thomas Shaw who married Deborah White abt 1774 probably in Cummington, Hampshire Co MA. Deborah was the dtr of Caleb White and Emma Colson of Weymouth and the family move from Weymouth to Cummington/Plainfield before 1766. Appreciate your offer. ==== SHAW Mailing List ====

Hi Richard and all, you wrote: "I checked the on-line versions of the IGI for the marriage" Could you please tell me what this is and how I could become a member if needed to have online access. Thank you, Wendi Shaw ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard" <solutions@solanobiz.net> To: <SHAW-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2000 11:15 AM Subject: Re: [SHAW-L] Thomas Shaw MA > Hello Nancy, > > What is the source of your information that Thomas SHAW married > Deborah WHITE and had a connection with Cummington, MA? > > I have researched the SHAW families of Cummington and Plainfield > extensively. The earliest mention of a Thomas SHAW I find in the > Cummington/Plainfield area is in the 1800 federal census of Plainfield. > The record is given as 1-0-0-1-0-2-0-0-1-0-0=5. That is: > 1 free white male under 10 > 1 free white male of 26 and under 45 (i.e. Thomas) > 2 free white females under 10 > 1 free white female of 26 and under 45 > > This census record is not consistent with "a Thomas SHAW who married > Deborah WHITE abt 1774." Note, for example, that all three children > are under the age of 10, thus born 1790-1800; it is far more likely, > therefore, that this Thomas and his wife are nearer the age of 26 than > 45 (both Thomas and his wife are described as "of 26 and under 45"). > It was very unusual for a man to marry before the age of 21 in colonial > Massachusetts; therefore, a man who had married "about 1774" can be > expected to have been born no later than 1753 - and would, therefore, > have been "over 45" at the 1800 census. Therefore, I must conclude > that either > a) this is NOT your Thomas or > b) the marriage date you have reported is substantially incorrect > (as will be seen later, the marriage date is indeed incorrect) > > Additionally, I would note: > a) There is no marriage for a Thomas SHAW in the Cummington VRs. > b) There is no death record for a Thomas SHAW in the Cummington VRs. > c) There is no death record for a Deborah SHAW in the Cummington VRs > [except for that of Deborah (Beals) SHAW, wife of Ebenezer SHAW; > this Ebenezer and Deborah are my g.g.g.g.grandparents] > d) There is no Thomas SHAW listed at either Cummington or Plainfield at > the 1790 census > e) There is no Thomas SHAW listed at Cummington at the 1800 census > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Subsequently, I checked the on-line versions of the IGI for the marriage > of a Thomas SHAW and Deborah WHITE and found: > Thomas SHAW marr. Deborah WHITE at Plainfield on 08 November 1792 > This is exactly consistent with the Thomas SHAW whose family is recorded > at the 1800 census of Plainfield. This provides further support for the > suspicion that the "about 1774" date you have for their marriage is > spurious. > > Next, I checked the on-line IGI for the marriage of Caleb WHITE and > Emma COLSON (the parents you report foro Deborah) and found: > Calab WHITE m. Emma (Amy) COLSON at Weymouth on 30 November 1769 > > Furthermore, the on-line IGI also reports the baptism of Deborah WHITE, > daughter of Caleb WHITE, at Weymouth, on 18 September 1774. > > From this, it is evident that someone has confused Deborah's baptismal > date with her marriage date. > > As Caleb and Emma/Amy were married at Weymouth in 1769 and their daughter > Deborah was baptized there in 1774, it is equally clear that the WHITEs > were NOT in the Cummington/Plainfield area "before 1766" as stated in > your query: > "Deborah was the dtr of Caleb White and Emma Colson of Weymouth and > the family move from Weymouth to Cummington/Plainfield before 1766." > > Next, I consulted the published Vital Records of Cummington (which > contains also a section titled "Early Pioneers of Township No. 5"). > Citing Dyer's History of Plainfield, the Cummington VRs report that > Caleb WHITE came to the Cummington/Plainfield area from Bridgewater > (not Weymouth), about 1780 (not before 1766). In point of fact, the > town of Cummington was not established until 23 June 1779 - and > Plainfield was set off from Cummington on still later - on 16 March > 1785 (which is why, from the beginning, I was automatically suspicious > of the dates you cited). > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > From the 1792 marriage date of Thomas SHAW and Emma/Amy COLSON and a > knowledge of marriage customs at the time, we can reasonably infer that > Thomas SHAW was born about 21 to 25 years earlier than his 1792 marriage > date, i.e. about 1767-71. Thomas is, therefore, most probably the > Thomas SHAW, son of Joshua and Naomi (Bate) SHAW, born at Abington, > Plymouth county, MA on 16 December 1765. Abington was settled largely > by persons from Weymouth and there are numerous family connections between > these two towns (including, especially, the extended SHAW family of > descendants of Abraham-1). > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > I have an extensive database of the SHAW families of Weymouth, Abington, > the Bridgewaters, and Cummington etc. (i.e. descendants of the immigrant, > Abraham-1 SHAW) and have a considerable interest in this family (I have > six lines of descent from Abraham-1). > > For further information, please contact me directly. > > > Richard (solutions@solanobiz.net) > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nancy <johnan@gte.net> > To: SHAW-L@rootsweb.com <SHAW-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: Thursday, November 02, 2000 5:41 AM > Subject: [SHAW-L] Thomas Shaw MA > > > Posted on: Shaw Queries > Reply Here: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gc/FamilyAssoc/Shaw/197 > > Surname: Shaw, White > ------------------------- > > I am looking for the parents of Thomas Shaw who married Deborah White abt > 1774 probably in Cummington, Hampshire Co MA. Deborah was the dtr of Caleb > White and Emma Colson of Weymouth and the family move from Weymouth to > Cummington/Plainfield before 1766. Appreciate your offer. > > > ==== SHAW Mailing List ==== > > ______________________________