Full Name Christian Shaw Name Christian Shaw | Other names Christian Miller | |
Spouse(s) Rev John Millar (m. 1718; his death 1721)William Gillespie (m. 1737; her death 1737) Died September 8, 1737, Erskine, United Kingdom | ||
The Ballad of Christian Shaw
Christian Shaw Of Plastic Tides, June 6 2014
Christian Shaw (Scottish; 1685 - 8 September 1737), daughter of Christian McGilchrist and John Shaw, the Laird of Bargarran, is regarded as the founder of the thread industry in Renfrewshire. As a child Christian was also instrumental in the Bargarran witch trials of 1697.
Contents
Early life
Christian was born in Renfrewshire in 1685 (exact date unknown), the daughter of Christian McGilchrist and John Shaw, the Laird of Bargarran.
Little is known about Christian's early life until the age of 11, when she becomes widely documented as a witness in the Bargarran witch trials.
Bargarran Witch Trials
Christian is most documented for her role in the Bargarran witch trials, which took place in 1697. Christian, then aged 11, gave evidence that led to 8 people being accused of witchcraft, including Elizabeth Anderson, Katherine Campbell, James Lindsay, and Thomas Lindsay.
Accounts of the Witch trials, in which Christian was the Complainer, reported that she had been "betwitched" by the suspects and was exhibiting behaviours including flying, and "vomiting coal and bent pins". During the investigations, which were led by Paisley Minister Mr Blackwood, the presbytery ordered prayer and fasting with the victim (Christian Shaw). Seven of those accused were hanged as a result of the trials, three men and four women. The eighth accused person was found dead in their cell.
An alternative account of the witchcraft trials suggests that Christian had taken a dislike to a servant, Catherine Campbell, and intentionally feined bewitchment in order to bring about her death (See "Christian Shaw and the witches": Lambroughton), and that her testimony led to the execution of 24 individuals in her home parish of Erskine.
Bargarran Thread
Christian founded the Renfrewshire thread industry, introducing the spinning of fine linen thread to Scotland and the development of her own "Bagarran Thread".
Christian Shaw had married Rev John Miller, the minister of Kilmaurs on 8 September 1718, though this marriage ended at his death in 1721. Following Rev Miller's death Christian returned to the family thread business, travelling with her mother to Holland where both women observed Dutch spinning techniques. Christian sketched the thread production process that she saw, and is said to have smuggled some associated machinery back to Scotland in her luggage. The new production methods resulted in a more durable whiter thread, and Christian established a small thread manufacturing company, "The Bargarran Thread Company", in Johnstone on her return.
The Bargarran Thread was, by the 1720s, seen to be a mark of quality in thread, and was advertised as the product of "Lady Bargarran and her Daughters".
Later life
Christian spent increasing amounts of time in Edinburgh from the 1720s onwards, and was based in Leith. She also established a spinning school in the city, taking donations that were distributed to trainee girls.
Christian married William Gillespie (a glove manufacturer) in Edinburgh in 1737. though she died in September of the same year. She is buried in Grey Friars Kirk, Edinburgh.