Shaw Cemetery

Side A: In 1829, Samuel and Charlotte Hale Shaw came to Bath Township from Bristol, New York. They purchased 145 acres of land where Samuel, a carpenter, built a two-story frame house. They had six children; two died in infancy. Their two year old daughter, Charlotte, was the first to be buried in Shaw Cemetery. They conveyed one half acre of land to the township for a “burying ground” in 1836. Samuel died in 1836; Charlotte then married Lyman Doolittle. They had five children; two daughters survived to adulthood. In 1892, Virgil E and Genevieve Doolittle Shaw sold one acre to Bath Township to expand Shaw Cemetery. Samuel’s parents, Constant and Mercy Pitts Shaw, migrated to Bath Township along with his brothers and their families. Side B: Sylvester and Harriet Parsons Shaw arrived in 1832 in a wagon drawn by oxen, built a log cabin, and became successful farmers. Their grandson, Leon Shaw, was a noted photographer in the late 19th century. His photographs depicting everyday rural life are frequently on display at the Bath Township Museum. A Methodist Chapel was built in 1879 adjacent to Shaw Cemetery on land given by Romanzo Boughton. It was named in honor of Oliver Moore, who donated to the construction cost of the chapel. Shaw Cemetery, as it was known locally, became Moore’s Chapel Cemetery. The chapel was sold and dismantled in 1912. In 1999, Linda Swain donated 7.8 acres and sold 4.5 acres to Bath Township for cemetery expansion.