William Henry Grimshaw, born in August 1848, various sources have his birth in DC, Maryland and Virginia.  Currently there is no proof that he was born in Westmoreland County, Va.  He may have served in the US Navy, at some point, and he worked as a civilian at the DC Navy Yard.

He settled in Washington, D.C., where he married at the age of 22 one Mary Francis Brooks [Fed Census 1870] while working for the Navy Yard.  By 1880 he and Mary had at least 3 children and he was working as a caterer.

Mary Grimshaw, confined to her residence for several months in critical condition, was ‘caught with a chill Friday last’ in February of 1884, and several DC papers followed her health until her death on April 14, 1884, [DC Death Certificate] leaving her husband William and their four children, Robert, Evelyn, Walter, and Mary motherless.  Tragedy struck again in 1889 when on December 2^nd, son Robert passed away at the young age of 16.  He was buried in Graceland Cemetery, D.C. [DC Death Certificate]

Soon after, family joy returned when on July 3, 1891, he married again, to Caroline ‘Carrie’ Pryor.  In 1892, William and Carrie had their one child, Ruth Marie.  Carrie always listed herself as the mother to her step-children in subsequent census’.

By 1900 William and Carrie were living on 10^th Street, DC and he was working as a Clerk for the Government.  Perhaps this is when he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Very active in Freemasonry William served for a time as the Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Washington.   Prior to 1902, William found time to author the book "History of Freemasonry among the Colored People of North America” along with several other tomes and pamphlets.

In 1910 and 1920 both William and his single son Walter are listed as Attandant and Clerk for the Library of Congress.  William is listed as being married 2 times in the 1910 census.

William died on October 15, 1927 in Washington D.C. his mother is listed as Julia [Unknown], and his father as Robert Tyler Grimshaw on his Death Certificate.  He is buried alongside his second wife Carrie, who died July 5, 1948, in Arlington National Cemetery.

Children with Mary Francis Brooks Grimshaw:

 

Robert Taswill Grimshaw, 1872 – December 2, 1889

Eveline Beardslee Grimshaw, 1875, married Lawrence G. Fletcher, Jr., June 27, 1900

Walter H. Grimshaw, Sep 1878 –

Mary E. ‘Mamie’ Grimshaw, December 1879, married Benjamin Washington on November 25, 1908

Child with Caroline Pryor Grimshaw: