The Shaws of Kells

Welcome to the Shaws of Kells Family History Centre.

We are a global family and we treat each other as family.

Our site is dedicated to the descendants of the Shaws from Kells, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. We live in Kirkcudbrightshire, Ayrshire, England, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South America, and the United States of America.

The Kells Church This is not the original church. The Shaw headstones are between the gate and the door. They were shifted there from the previous church site. We do not know why.

In case you are just starting to think about Shaw family history it might help to mention some basic points. The name "Shaw" is often traced to "wood" in the sense of a small group of trees. It is probably in this sense that the name "Shaw" (with various spellings) often appears in England and Ireland. In Scotland, there are two distinct groups of Shaws.

The northern, Highland, Shaws are a clan. They have very clear origins, a tartan, and demarcated lands. Some battle with the Grants to this day. The Grants make their fine whisky with water from the Shaw loch, or so Shaws say. Evidence is that the Shaw Clan lost their lands and the lands passed to the Grants at some stage.

The second group is the so-called "Territorial Shaws" and they are lowlanders, meaning they come from the south of Scotland, are more sensible and less passionate. This website is about a group of Territorial Shaws and that group pre-dates the Highland clan by something well over 300 years. The Kells Shaws originated in the South West of Scotland - how they came to be there is hard to say, but some have linked them to France, and others to Ireland. They might just always have been there and then become a group. They tend to be builders and thinkers, and are strongly family oriented. Fight one, you fight them all. As one said at a funeral recently, the Shaws always feel comfortable as teachers. They can be leaders. It appears the Kells Shaws were much involved in Scotland's early struggles against the English. This is hardly surprising since they lived next to England. To this day the Shaws are keeping a thoughtful eye on the English and they strongly support Scotland's Parliament.

The first Shaw of Kells, from 1645>

Two final points about the early Shaws of Kells. Although Kells is in Kirkcudbrightshire Shire, the people living there would most likely have related more to New Galloway and centres of population to the north and out of the Shire. Also, they lived very close to (if not on) the Old Edinburgh Road. Hence, they would have related closely to Edinburgh. If you are a Shaw, and you feel you belong on Princes Street, looking over at Edinburgh Castle, and thinking about politics, you will know you are at home.

This site is under construction and was begun on 5 January 2004 following a reunion of 200 Shaws in New Zealand. An attempt will be made to make information available as quickly as possible, and to format and integrate it all later.

For enquiries please contact Warren & Estelle or Len & Phyllis. If you would like to be on our email list please email and ask to be added. Say a few words about yourself.

©The Shaws of Kells Family History Centre 2004