William Shaw was a farmer, baker and political figure in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada. He represented the City of St. John in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1890 to 1903 as a Liberal-Conservative member.

He was born in Simonds parish, Saint John County, New Brunswick

Saint John County, New Brunswick

St. John County is located in southern New Brunswick, Canada. The city of Saint John dominates the county. In the rest of the county, tourists flock to see the many scenic views on the Bay of Fundy.-Communities:...

, of Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 descent, and was educated there. Shaw married Isabella Wooten. He served as alderman for Saint John

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

and as chairman of the Public Works department.