SHAW, MARY – Friends of Geer Cemetery

1865–7 August 1917

Last updated: 19 Jun 2023

What we know about Mary E. Crittenden begins with a marriage record from 1894 in Greensboro NC, where she married Romulus M. Shaw of Durham.¹ The record lists her father as T.E. Crittenden, still living, and her mother as deceased. It lists her home as well as her father’s as Savannah GA. What isn’t clear is why the marriage occurred in Greensboro when neither individual lived there, and what drew Mary to North Carolina. No conclusive records could be located for Mary prior to 1894; however, an 1880 census record in Savannah GA for a Mary Crittenden of about the right age was found.² She was living with her brother John H. Crittenden and his family. Whether this is the same Mary or not cannot be proven; however, the small number of individuals in Savannah with the Crittenden surname makes it fairly likely. The only record found for a T. Crittenden in Savannah is a Thomas Crittenden in the 1870 Census and 1871 and 1874 city directories.³ It appears, however, that he died in 1876 and was buried in Laurel Grove South Cemetery in Savannah.⁴ This culturally significant cemetery holds a number of Crittenden-surnamed individuals, possibly Mary’s relatives.⁵

Mary was Romulus’s second wife, and upon their marriage she stepped into the role of stepmother for his three children from his previous marriage—Mable, Asbury, and Pensey.⁶ (See Asbury Shaw’s life story.) In 1896 Romulus bought property at the north end of Hayti (Fayetteville and Pettigrew Streets), in a neighborhood known as Sugar Hill.⁷ The family were neighbors with such Durham luminaries as John Merrick and Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore. While Romulus worked as janitor and porter, records show Mary was a dressmaker.⁸

Hayti map — Detail from “My neighborhood as I remember it—year 1900+,” a sketch by Lyda Moore Merrick, showing the Shaw home.⁹

Mary passed away in 1917 at the age of 52 from an obstructed duct, likely a complication from cancer, and was buried in Geer Cemetery.¹⁰ While we don’t know if they are buried in the same plot, her step-children Asbury (d. 1907) and Pensey (d. 1922) are both buried in Geer as well.¹¹ Asbury’s tombstone inscription lists him as the son of Romulus and Mary (as opposed to his biological mother Agnes), indicating the important role his step-mother must have played in his upbringing. Romulus passed away in 1942, interred not in Geer but in Violet Park Cemetery.¹²

With no children of her own, the circumstances of Mary’s early life and what drove her move from Savannah to North Carolina unfortunately may be lost.

BORN: ~1865.¹⁴

DIED: 7 August 1917. ¹⁵

BIRTH PLACE: Savannah GA.¹⁶

DEATH PLACE: Durham NC.¹⁷

SPOUSE: Romulus Shaw.¹⁸

PARENTS: Father T.E. Crittenden.¹⁹

CHILDREN: Step-children Mable, Asbury, and Pensey.²⁰

OTHER FAMILY: Mother-in-law Winnie Shaw.²¹

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Step-children Mable, Asbury, and Pensey; mother-in-law Winnie Shaw.

OCCUPATION: Dressmaker.²²

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: 107 Fayetteville Street.²³

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A

Notes

1
Romulus Shaw marriage license: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2531390:60548 : accessed 13 Jun 2023. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
2
1880 US Census Savannah: Year: 1880; Census Place: Savannah, Chatham, Georgia; Roll: 138; Page: 321B; Enumeration District: 017. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited use license and other terms and conditions applicable to this site. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/40756929:6742 : accessed 13 Jun 2023. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
3
1870 US Census Savannah: Year: 1870; Census Place: Savannah, Chatham, Georgia; Roll: M593_141; Page: 372B. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/729827:7163 : accessed 13 Jun 2023. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

1871 and 1874 Savannah city directories.
4
Thomas Shaw burial record: Ancestry.com. Savannah, Georgia, U.S., Cemetery and Burial Records, 1852-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/33446:2770 : accessed 14 Jun 2023. Original data: Savannah Georgia Cemetery and Burial Records. Savannah, Georgia: Research Library & Municipal Archives City of Savannah, Georgia.
5
https://savannah.cemsites.com/. Search for last name Crittenden and Laurel Grove South Cemetery. Accessed 14 Jun 2023.
6
Mable and Pensey: Year: 1910; Census Place: Durham Ward 3, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1108; Page: 10b; Enumeration District: 0192; FHL microfilm: 1375121. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/20479557:7884 : accessed 14 Jun 2023. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: https://www.archives.gov/research/census.

Mabel and Asbury: Year: 1900; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: 1193; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 0031. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/68146818:7602 accessed 14 Jun 2023. Year: 1900; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: 1193; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 0031.
7
Durham County Deed Book 16: 417.
(https://rodweb.dconc.gov/web/search/DOCSEARCH5S1)
8
Various Durham city directories.

1910 US Census Durham.
9
Courtesy of the C. Eileen Watts Welch and James A. Welch Collection.
10
Mary Shaw death certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Deaths, 1906-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/468167:60090 : accessed 18 Jun 2023. Original data: North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
11
Pensey Mills (Shaw) death certificate. Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Asbury Shaw headstone: Geer Cemetery (800 Colonial St, Durham, NC), photographed by Tim Foley, Jun 21, 2022. Used by permission. See also Asbury Shaw’s life story.
12
Romulus Shaw death certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1275335:1121 : accessed 18 Jun 2023. Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
13
Geer Cemetery (800 Colonial St, Durham, NC), photographed by Friends of Geer Cemetery, 9 Mar 2021. Used by permission.
14
Mary Shaw death certificate.
15
Mary Shaw death certificate.
16
Romulus Shaw marriage license.
17
Mary Shaw death certificate.
18
Romulus Shaw marriage license.
19
Romulus Shaw marriage license.
20
Mable and Pensey: 1910 US Census Durham. Asbury: 1900 US Census Durham.
21
Romulus Shaw death certificate
22
Various Durham city directories. 1910 US Census Durham.
23
Various Durham city directories.