Birth and Family
Alexander was born 18 April 1879 in Abbeville in northern Mississippi. He was the eighth of eleven children of the Rev. Duncan Preston and Maria (née Petty) Shaw. Alexander's parents were ex-slaves; his father also an Ordained Minister in the M.E. Church, as was Alexander's elder brother, J. Beverly F. Shaw. Alexander married Lottye Blanche Simon 29 March 1911. They had children Alexander Preston Jr., Bernard Johnson, twins Lena Anita and Bessie Elaine, Helen Marguerite, and Wilbur Allen.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Preston Shaw
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