Charles Shaw was born on November 11, 1854, to parents Margaret and Alexander, at Oak Hill, Toronto, Ontario. He married Ida Laura Cathlene Jones, at Trenton, Ontario, on March 14, 1883. They soon relocated to Wellington, Prince Edward, Ontario. Throughout his career, Charles worked as a Provincial Land Surveyor and as a Civil Engineer, with private and government firms. After relocating again, this time to British Columbia, he was employed as a Captain of a prisoner of war camp. He died on May 9, 1942 at Saanich, British Columbia.