Louisa (Brown) Shaw (1899)

SHAW, BROWN, MUNGER, BALLARD

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 2/14/2008 at 10:12:26

Winterset Madisonian-Winterset, Iowa
February 15, 1899

Death of Mrs. Louisa Shaw

Mrs. Louisa Shaw, an old settler and long-time resident of Winterset, died Saturday night, February 11th at the home of her son-in-law, Nelson Munger, in Des Moines, at the advanced age of 89 years. The body was brought to Winterset on the Monday morning train and conveyed to the residence of C. Ballard, where funeral services were held, after which it was interred in the cemetery. Mrs. Shaw was a member of the Presbyterian church for many years, was well known and very highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. The following biographical notice was published in the Des Moines Register:

Mrs.Shaw was of Scotch-Irish parentage. Palmer, Mass. was her native town. She was married in 1828 to Martin Shaw from whom she was separated by death some sixteen years ago. She was the mother of four children of whom the oldest and the youngest preceded her in death, leaving behind a son, Mr. George Shaw and a daughter, Mrs. Munger, with whom she made her home many years. In 1856, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw removed from their New England home to Winterset, Iowa, where they resided until twelve years ago.

During her entire life it has been Mrs. Shaw's greatest pleasure to promote the happiness of others. In her early years and middle life her loving hand ministered to the sick and suffering about her with great tenderness. It was also her special delight to advance the cause of the church and only severe illness and lately the infirmities of age detained her from attendance upon the means of grace. Vigorous mind and body with unimpaired vision and hearing she has taken, until very recent months, so lively an interest in all things of the present day as to be an entertaining companion for persons of all ages. A child of nature, she always saw beauty in every stream and rock and growing thing and with her great grandson, Edwin Ballard, she has found keen pleasure since long past 80 years of age, in wandering through adjacent woods, often returning laden with mosses, new plants or odd pebbles. She was a lover of books, but none were so much to her as her Bible and her hymnal. As long as health permitted, she found time to read them every day no matter what else engaged her attention. Her remains were taken to Winterset this morning for burial. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord".

(Buried in the Winterset cemetery)