Barton Shaw Obituary

Barton C. Shaw, 77, passed away peacefully January 9, 2025, at the Moravian Village Healthcare Center, Bethlehem, PA. He was born June 6, 1947, in Annapolis, MD to Alvin Louis Shaw and Margaret (Carr) Shaw. In 1982, he married Diane Windham Shaw. Their son William Madison Shaw was born in 1986. Bart received an A.B. from Elon College in 1969, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1972, and a Ph.D. from Emory University in 1979, where he was a Ford Foundation Fellow. All degrees were in history. Bart's varied teaching experience included a stint on board the USS Richard L. Page in the Mediterranean Sea in 1978 for Old Dominion University and a year as an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech in 1979-80. In 1980, he joined the faculty of Cedar Crest College, teaching until his retirement in 2015, when he was made a Professor Emeritus. As a historian, Bart specialized in the American South, but taught courses in all areas of American history, as well as the history of China and Japan. His book, The Wool-Hat Boys: A History of the Populist Party in Georgia, 1892 to 1910, was published in 1984 by LSU Press. Nominated for several prizes, including the Bancroft Prize, the book won the 1985 Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians for the best first book in American history. In 1987, Bart was selected as the Fulbright Senior Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Sheffield (UK). While there, he served as historical consultant and narrator for the British television documentary "No Father, No Mother, No Uncle Sam," which aired in the US on PBS in1990. In 2007, he co-edited Making a New South: Race, Leadership, and Community After the Civil War, which was published by the University Press of Florida. Bart's many contributions to Cedar Crest included serving as chair of the Department of History, Literature, and Languages, as a member of the Board of Editors for the College history, and as the College Parliamentarian. Esteemed by his colleagues and beloved by his students, he received the Cedar Crest Alumni Association's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1989. It has been said of him that he "was a person of great principle and integrity, which he expressed with habitual courtesy and gentleness." In March 2024, Bart was present at the US Capitol for the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to the famed Ghost Army, his father's unit during World War II. He is survived by his wife Diane, his son Will (Jessica Unger), his sister Elizabeth Barham (Richard), brother-in-law Tom Windham (Teri), sister-in-law Rebecca Windham, and nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held Saturday April 5 at 11:00 am at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem. Gifts in Bart's memory may be made to Cedar Crest College or Central Moravian Church.