By Jared L. Olar
January-December 2013
Through her Shaw ancestors, my mother was descended from Richard Warren of the Mayflower through at least one line of descent, traditionally through a second line. The traditional line of descent is through the Atwood family, who are ancestors of my mother's Shaws. According to old Atwood family tradition, the Atwoods were descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrim Richard Warren, whose putative granddaughter Mary Morey is said to have married Deacon Nathaniel Atwood. Nathaniel's wife was undoubtedly named Mary (born circa 1660, died 5 Dec. 1736), but no contemporary records can be found to verify the tradition that she was a Morey, and no daughter of that name is mentioned in the 1699/1700 will of Mary's putative father Jonathan Morey. However, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," as the old saying goes. I am inclined to accept the tradition because it was current in various branches of Mary Atwood's descendants and reportedly was founded on the authority of a granddaughter of Nathaniel and Mary Atwood. It is sometimes the case that all contemporary records that document a genealogical relationship are lost or destroyed (or, in some cases, were never prepared at all), and the relationship is preserved solely through an authentic and accurate family tradition. I think it more likely than not that is the case with Deacon Nathaniel Atwood's wife Mary.
Besides the traditional descent through the Atwoods and Moreys, however, we can trace an undisputed line from Richard Warren through the Little family, who were ancestors of the DeWolfs and Shaws.
Richard Warren was born prior to 1590, probably in Hertfordshire, England, or possibly in London, where he is known to have lived later. On 14 April 1610 in Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, Richard married Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Augustine Walker of Great Amwell. Richard and Elizabeth had five daughters in England and two sons in Plymouth, Massachusetts. At the time that he boarded the Mayflower in 1620, he was a merchant of London. He came to Massachusetts without his wife and daughters, but afterwards they joined him in 1623, coming over on the Anne. He probably served as an assistant governor of the colony from 1624 to 1628. Nathaniel Morton wrote in 1669 that Richard Warren had died in 1628, and that he "was an useful instrument and during his life bare a deep share in the difficulties and troubles of the first settlement of the Plantation of New Plymouth."
The following chart shows that I am 11th in descent from Richard Warren of the Mayflower through the undisputed lineage that goes through the Littles and the DeWolfs, and 12th in descent from Richard Warren through the traditional Atwood descent. If the Atwood descent is authentic, as I am inclined to believe, then Manly Sherman Shaw was fifth cousin once removed of his wife Malinda DeWolf.
Augustine Walker
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RICHARD WARREN=Elizabeth Walker
d. 1628 | d. 1673
____________________|_____________
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Mary Warren=Robert Bartlett Ann Warren=Thomas Little
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Jonathan Morey=Mary Bartlett Samuel Little=Sarah Gray
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Mary Morey=Deacon Nathaniel Atwood Edward Little
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Lt. Nathaniel Atwood Elizabeth Little=Edward DeWolf
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Mary Atwood=Benjamin Shaw Dorastus DeWolf
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Lucy Sherman=Job Shaw |
|________________ ___________|
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Manley Sherman Shaw=Malinda DeWolf
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Mary Rebecca Linn=James Monroe Shaw
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Sherman Linn Shaw
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Sherman Linn Shaw II
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Joseph Olar=Dolores Frances Shaw
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Jared Linn Olar
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