The June 22 1935 edition of the Toronto Daily Star contained this brief article about the oldest living member of Toronto’s oldest family:
Question: shouldn’t Col. Shaw’s nine accidents have done him in, since cats have nine lives?
I found a listing for Lt. Col. G. A. Shaw in the 1935 Toronto city directory – he was living at 189 Dunn Avenue. Cross-referencing the Streets section of the directory shows him as the only listed resident at 189 Dunn – he was either living alone or with family who were not listed.
Looking back at random, I found him in the 1900 directory – at the time, he was listed as “Vice Consul Hawaii”, and was living at 44 Leopold. He wasn’t in the 1880 directory – presumably, he was on active service at the time.
Looking forward, I found him in the 1936 directory but not the 1937 directory. Perhaps he had his 10th accident that year.
Presumably, since the Shaws were Toronto’s oldest family, Shaw Street is named after them.
