W. NELSON SHAW
12th Master, 1882-1883
Judge W. Nelson Shaw was born at Galveston on August 13, 1842. He was in Terry’s Texas Rangers but with the establishment of the Confederacy he was appointed to the Confederate Naval Academy at Richmond and graduated fourth in a class of 83. He served on several different vessels in the Confederate Navy and was then assigned as master of sailing on the steamer Tallahassee, where he served until the end of the War. He was a naval lieutenant at the completion of his service.
In 1869 he married Miss Agnes Kennedy. At the time he petitioned Gray Lodge in 1871 he was a bookkeeper. He became one of the first court stenographers in Harris County and acted in that capacity for many years. He was admitted to the bar in 1876 and for 19 years was associated with Judge E. P. Hill, general counsel for the Southern Pacific Railway.
He was a city alderman of the old 4th Ward north from 1876 to 1880. In 1890 he was elected judge of Harris County. He was one of the original organizers of the Kirby Lumber Company and the first secretary.
Judge Shaw received his Masonic Degrees in Gray Lodge as follows: 1º September 12, 1871; 2º October 17, 1871, and 3º January 12, 1872. He was Secretary of Gray Lodge in 1879-80, elected Junior Warden the following year, then Senior Warden and Master.
He died January 6, 1917, after being practically an invalid for three years. He was buried in Glenwood with Masonic rites by Gray Lodge.