Thomas Kirk Shaw (1874-1939) married Jean (Jeannie) Adamson Stillie (1878-1938) on 16 September 1897 at Wellgate Street, Larkhall. Thomas (then 23) was a Colliery Labourer and Janie Adamson Stillie (then 17) a Factory Worker. The respective fathers were both Coal Miners.
The 1901 Scottish Census shows Thomas K Shaw, a Coal Miner/Hewer, living in Larkhall with his wife, Jeanie, and their children, James (age 2) and Ellen M. (1 Month).
The 1911 Census had Thomas (36) and Jeanie 31) living at 27 Main Street, Kirkconnel, Dumfries with children James (13), Ellen (10), Thomas (8) Janet (4) and William (10 mo.)
Thomas’s mother and father, James (56) and Ellen M. Shaw (59) were resident at 28 Main Street, Kirkconnel. James was still working as a ‘Hewer’ of coal.
Thomas emigrated to Canada in 1911, to be followed by Jean and her five children in 1912, aboard the SS Grampian from Glasgow to Quebec. Thomas and Jean’s second child, Daniel, had died age 7 months on 26 March 1900 at Larkhall.
Children of Thomas Kirk Shaw and Jeanie A. Stillie :
James Shaw b 29 MAY 1898, Larkhall, Lanarkshire
Daniel Stillie Shaw b 8 SEP 1899 Larkhall, Lanarkshire. Died March 1990, Larkhall.
Ellen McManus Shaw b 10 FEB 1901 Larkhall, Lanarkshire.
Thomas Kirk Shaw b 19 FEB 1903 Kirkconnel, Dumfries
Janet C. (Jessie) Shaw b 16 OCT 1906 Larkhall, Lanarkshire.
William Charles Shaw b 19 MAY 1910 Kirkconnel, Dumfries.
The 1921 Census of Canada records Thomas and his family at Fourth Street, Cobourg, Ontario. Thomas was employed as a ‘Yardman’. Son, James (22) is listed, and his wife Maggie (21) and their son also James, age 10 months.
Some biographical details of his life can be discerned from the obituary of Thomas Kirk Shaw in the Cobourg Star in 1939.