History of Lee County, Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

360 HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
Camp, No. 48, M. W. A., and aside from business is most active in
churcla work. Both lie and his wife are members of the Evangelical
Association of North America, Mi'. Heinzeroth having
united therewith when but fourteen years of age. He is now active
as secretary of the church, as assistant superintendent of the Sunday
school and also as a member of the board of trustees. No good
work done in the name of charity or religion seeks his aid in vain
and his efforts have been productive of splendid results, making
him one of the valued citizens of the community, his influence being
far-reaching and beneficial.
SHERMAN L. SHAW.
Sherman L. Shaw, residing at Lee Center, is the owner of a
farming property of six hundred and sixty acres in Lee, his native
county. His birth occurred in Bi'adford township, October 5,
1864, his parents being James M. and M. Rebecca (Linn) Shaw.
He comes of Scotch ancestry on the paternal side, while the Linns
are of Irish lineage, and a representative of tlie name served in
the patriot army during the Revolutionary war. His grandfather,
Sheinian Shaw, arrived in this comity in 18.36 and was one of the
three first settlers in this part of the county. Only four years
before had the Black Hawk war oecuii-ed and there were yet
many evidences of Indian occupancy in all this section of the
country. The forest stood in its primeval strength and the land
was unclaimed and uncultivated, but Sherman Shaw resolutely
undei'took the task of preparing the fields for cultivation and in
time was reaping bounteous harvests as a reward of his persistent
and practical effort. He died in the year 1891 and his wife passed
away in 1892, at the ages of eighty and sevonty-five years respectively.
They were laid to rest in the Woodside cemetery. The
maternal grandparents were George Russell and Abigail (Stin-
son) Linn, natives of Maine, who came to Lee county in 1840.
During the period of the Civil war James M. Shaw volunteered for
active service, enlisting as a member of Com]iany A, Thirteenth
Illinois Infantry, being in the first regiment mustered in for three
years. He died in 1876. at the age of thirty-eight years.
Sherman L. Shaw acquired his education in Lee Center and
Dixon College, completing his studies when twenty years of age.
He afterward remained at home upon the farm for a time and