Christian Shaw (1685 – 8 September 1737) was a Scottish

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

regarded as the founder of the thread industry in Renfrewshire. As a child, she was instrumental in the Bargarran witch trials of 1697.

Early life

Christian Shaw was born in Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1685 the daughter of Christian McGilchrist and John Shaw, the Laird of Bargarran. Little is known about Shaw'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 Shaw is most documented for her role in the Bargarran witch trials, which took place in 1697. Shaw, 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 trials reported that Shaw 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 his cell. An alternative account suggests that Shaw had taken a dislike to a servant, Katherine Campbell, and intentionally feigned bewitchment in order to bring about her death, and that her testimony led to the execution of 24 individuals in her home parish of Erskine.

Bargarran thread

Shaw founded the Renfrewshire

thread Thread may refer to: Objects * Thread (yarn), a kind of thin yarn used for sewing ** Thread (unit of measurement), a cotton yarn measure * Screw thread, a helical ridge on a cylindrical fastener Arts and entertainment * ''Thread'' (film), 2016 ...

industry, introducing the

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

of fine

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

thread to Scotland and the development of her own "Bagarran Thread". Shaw married Rev John Miller, the minister of Kilmaurs on 8 September 1718. After his death in 1721 she returned to the family thread business, travelling with her mother to Holland, where both women observed Dutch spinning techniques. Shaw 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 Shaw 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

Shaw spent increasing amounts of time in Edinburgh from the 1720s onwards, and was based in Leith. She established a spinning school in the city, taking donations that were distributed to trainee girls. Shaw married William Gillespie, a glove manufacturer, in Edinburgh in 1737. She died on 8 September 1737, and is buried in Grey Friars Kirk, Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Christian 1685 births 1737 deaths People from Renfrewshire Scottish scientists Scottish women scientists Scottish industrialists Scottish women in business British women company founders Scottish company founders Patrons of schools School founders Textile industry of Scotland 17th-century Scottish businesspeople 18th-century Scottish businesspeople