The old Shafer cabin on Sugar Valley Mountain, Green township, Clinton county, Pennsylvania
from a photo taken in 1946 when the cabin was 100 years old and long abandoned.
�Shaffer The old Shafer cabin on Sugar Valley Mountain, Green township, Clinton county, Pennsylvania
from a photo taken in 1946 when the cabin was 100 years old and long abandoned.
| Name Origin: Shafer, Shaffer, Shaeffer, Schaefer, Schafer, Schaffer, Sheffer,
Shaver - From Germany meaning shepherd, one who takes care of sheep.
Shaffer is the most common spelling in the United States of this common
name. (If you have another spelling, please let me know.) 4th Great Grandfather _____ Shafer m _____ _____ ch: Jacob Shafer m Rachael Houswaut (see below) Geroge W Shafer b abt 1813 in Pennsylvania d in Fayette co, Iowa m Deborah Steele They had 15 children. 3rd Great Grandfather Jacob Shafer  b 13 Aug 1801 in Pennsylvania or Germany ? d 23 Aug 1877 Lincoln, Republic, Kansas bur. Zion Cemetery, Talmo, Republic, Kansas m 1 Jun 1825 in Pennsylvania to Rachel Houswaut ch: 1) Sarah Shafer b 6 May 1826 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 25 May 1912 m 12 Mar 1843 to Henry Earon 2) David Shaffer b 30 Dec 1829 d 8 Dec 1913 m Jane Pemberton 3) Lydia Shaffer b 15 Jan 1832 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 20 Mar 1917 m 16 May 1851 to Conrad Myers 4) Caroline Shaffer b 19 Mar 1834 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 1877 m 13 Nov 1851 Isaac Brown 5) Edward Shaffer b 6 Aug 1837 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 26 May 1875 m 8 Nov 1851 to Sarah E Eisenhower 6) Henrietta Shaffer b 20 Feb 1839 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d crossing the Missouri River Never Married 7) Mary Shaffer b 6 May 1841 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 12 Jul 1915 m 28 Aug 1864 to George Horning 8) Jacob Shaffer b 9 Oct 1844 in Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania d 18 Nov 1921 m 1 Jul 1868 to Olive Matilda Myers 9) William Shaffer b 4 Mar 1847 in Liberty, Grant, Indiana d 1 Sep 1875 in a flood in Republic County, Kansas m 17 Apr 1871 to Mary Ellen Bodine 10) George Shaffer b 8 Sep 1850 in Liberty/Marion, Grant, Indiana d 27 Feb 1916 m 4 Nov 1872 to Mary Ellen Bodine Shaffer It is unclear whether Jacob and Rachel were born in Germany or Pennsylvania, but they settled in Clinton County Pennsylvania in 1825 after their marriage. All, but the two youngest, children were born there. In 1844 the family began their trek westward, walking behind a covered wagon drawn by cows. (probably oxen) They located first in Grant, Indiana. According to my grandmother the Jacob Shafer�s stayed in Indiana for eight years. Their son, David, moved on ahead of them to Iowa in 1857. (This being the case, they arrived in Iowa about 1862.) Before moving to Iowa, David married Jane Pemberton, daughter of Quaker parents. The Jacob Shafer�s had the wander-lust as they did not stay long in Iowa and moved on to Missouri, before finally settling in Kansas. On their way over the Missouri River their daughter, Henrietta, fell into the river and drowned. Later, their son, William, fell into a river and drowned as raging flood waters surrounded their cabin in Kansas. 2nd Great Grandfather David Shaffer  b 30 Dec 1829 in Knitney, Union, Union, Pennsylvania d 8 Dec 1913 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa bur. at Grandview Cemetery, Fayette, Fayette, Iowa m 16 May 1851 in Jonesboro Mill, Grant Indiana to Jane E Pemberton ch: 1) William Pierce Shaffer b 14 Jun 1853 in Jonesboro, Grant, Indiana d 25 May 1917 m 24 Dec 1884 to Agnes Buchanan Todd 2) Willis Franklin Shaffer b 23 Mar 1855 in Jonesboro, Grant, Indiana d 16 Jun 1916 m 2 Feb 1880 to Sarah Elizabeth Vannotte 3) Phoebe Celesta Shaffer b 12 Jul 1858 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa d 30 Aug 1860 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa Never Married 4) Robert Bryon Shaffer b 14 Apr 1861 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa d 20 Mar 1946 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa m in 1881 to Phoebe E Tabor 5) Tacie Jane Shaffer b 12 Sep 1862 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa d 2 Nov 1940 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa m 9 Mar 1882 to Charles Alfred Ash 6) David Lincoln �Linc� Shaffer b 29 May 1865 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa d 4 Jul 1937 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa 7) Minnie Hannah Shaffer b 1 Mar 1870 in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa d 25 Feb 1931 m Martin Isaac Cullins An account written by my grandmother, Clara Rowland Shaffer: In 1857 David and his wife, Jane Pemberton, with their two small children. wended their way westward to Iowa and settled near Fayette. David was a farmer and a master carpenter. He built some of the finest homes in Fayette. Some of his first work was on the old seminary building which later developed into Upper Iowa University. Being both industrious and economical, he acquired sufficient means to buy a farm three miles north of Fayette. After the death of Jane in 1890, he traveled extensively, visiting brothers and sisters from Pennsylvania to Kansas, to California and Washington state. After selling his farm he made his home with several of this children. His last year was with David Lincoln in the house he had built in Fayette. They were Methodists, although Jane was raised a Quaker. Note: David may have come ahead of this family to Iowa as a surveyor.
Problem. When I started researching the work of Agnes Hodgins Tolbert
who wrote �The Genealogical History of Jacob Shafer� in 1947 I found
some inconsistencies. I am not sure that David was the son of Jacob. All
the rest of the children, except the two youngest born in Indiana, were born
in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. David was born in Union County. It is
clear that he was in Grant, Indiana at the same time as the Jacob Shafers,
and they did move to Fayette County after him. I wonder if he was not the
son of a brother of Jacob's? This needs to be researched further. As a young man Lyle was called �the Flying Dutchman.� He served in WWI, training in Washington state and served in Europe as an Army wagoneer. He as an active Methodist, Mason, and Republican. My grandparents lived in Des Moines most of their working lives and �retired� in their forties to Guttenberg, Iowa. There they bought �Shaffer�s Ranch.� Grandpa ran for office and was County Roads Commissioner of Clayton County, Iowa; he was a �gentleman� farmer; and he loved to fish in the Mississippi River. There are not enough words to describe what my grandfather meant to me.
|
Family Branches|
|
