Dameron Shaw


Recently, a late 19th century carte de visite from Snook’s Portrait Gallery in Canton, Mississippi came to light. On the back, written in layers of handwriting, was a blueprint of a woman’s life. Her name was Dameron E. Shaw Hill, and her story is a testament to the close knit bonds of sisterhood.

Born on October 28, 1855, Dameron grew up in the bustling town of Canton, Mississippi. The 1860 and 1870 censuses reveal her as the eldest daughter of John Shaw, a local retail merchant, and his wife, Mary.

​As the years rolled on, the Shaw household grew. Dameron became the older sister to three younger girls: Mary (later McCaul), Lula (later Bradley), and Oney (later Johnson). By 1880, a 24 year old Dameron was still residing in the family home, working as a local schoolteacher.

​On December 18, 1888, Dameron married John C. Hill in Madison County. Marriage brought new adventures and a move across state lines. By 1900, the couple had relocated to Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, where John worked as a plantation manager.

​By 1910, the couple had returned to Mississippi, settling briefly in Vicksburg where John worked as a traveling commercial salesman. Then the unthinkable happened. Sometime before 1920, John passed away, leaving Dameron a widow.

What does a woman do when she is widowed and has no children of her own? She returns to the family tree.

​In her final decades, Dameron moved to Jackson, Mississippi, to share a rented home on North President Street with her younger sister, Lula Shaw Bradley, who had also been widowed. The census records from 1920 and 1930 show the two sisters living quietly together, leaning on one another just as they had during their childhood in Canton decades earlier.

​Dameron lived a long, full life, passing away on June 15, 1934.

When Dameron stepped into Snook’s Portrait Gallery in the late 1800s, she had no idea that her likeness would survive into the 21st century. She left no children to pass down her stories, but through the preservation of her portrait, her legacy as a daughter, schoolteacher, wife, and sister remains clear.

​

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