Augusta County

Biographies of Emancipated Slaves

• Henry Carter
• Hardy Shaw
• Mary Blackburn
• Joseph Walker
• Richard & Marshall Washington
• Thomas & Nancy Jefferson

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Biography: Hardy Shaw

In 1860, Shaw, a Virginia native, was owned by “Benjamin Bagby, a well-to-do master bricklayer. Shaw was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

In 1872, when Bagby filed a claim with the federal government for property lost during the Civil War, Shaw testified on his behalf. Bagby claimed that Union troops had seized his horses, referencing his former slaves as witnesses. Speaking before the Southern Claims Commission, Shaw described himself as a 47-year-old laborer and spoke of Bagby in positive terms. Bagby, Shaw recalled, “was opposed to the war” and “kept all his Colored people away & would not let them work on Confederate fortifications.” Shaw noted that Bagby was “always kind to the colored people” and “always said we would be free.”

In 1870, Shaw lived with his wife, Lucy and three children – Toncy (or Tony), Sarah, and James. By 1880, Shaw was a farmer in the 1st District, living with nine children in his household.