Johann Frederick Schäfer 
M, (24 July 1821 - 1 June 1913)
Johann Frederick Schäfer was born on 24 July 1821 at Balls Mills, Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.1 He was the son of Friedrich Schaeffer and Elizabeth Guinter-Strobel. Johann Frederick Schäfer married Elisabeth Heim, daughter of Johannes Christian Heim and Rosina Wagner, in 1849 at Lutheran Church, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, by the Reverend [—?—] Schultz.1 Johann Frederick Schäfer died on 1 June 1913 at Blooming Grove, Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, at age 91 years, 10 months and 8 days.1 He was buried in the Blooming Grove Cemetery, located in Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
He was Farmer. He Written by William F. Shafer, son of John.
Frederick Schaeffer and Elizabeth Guinter came to America from Germany in 1817. A short time after they came to Blooming Grove where they were married and bought a small farm near Balls Mills, PA, known as the 'Hill Place'.
This is the farm where my father John Shafer was born on July 24, 1821. My grandparents sold this farm when father was 12 years old and bought the farm we now live on (present owner is Harold Shafer). In 1842 my grandfather Frederick Schaeffer died; John was then 21 years old. In 1849 John Shafer was married to Elizabeth Heim by the Reverend Mr. Schultz who was a Lutheran Minister. They went into housekeeping on an adjoining farm. After several years they exchanged farms and my father, John Shafer moved to the house where Harold Shafer now lives; Grandmother Schaeffer and her eight children moved into the house now owned by Thomas H. Heim.
Sometime in his younger days my father, John Shafer, with his brother-in-law, George Bidelspacher, would make a trip to Philadelphia. They would walk to Pottstown which is about 35 miles from Philadelphia and then take a train into the city. They would return in the same way.
My parents were members of the Blooming Grove Dunkard Church where father led in the devotional services for many years. He did much reading in both the German and English languages. He was rather quiet and good natured. He never spoke a cross word. He was a great lover of nature and the out-of-doors. Father was blessed with usually good health for he hardly knew what a sick day was like. My mother, on the other hand, was crippled with arthritic rheumatism for many years. In 1912 my mother died at the age of 84 years and father lived on to be nearly 92 years of age. They are both buried in Blooming Grove Cemetery. He appeared on the census of 1850 at Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
He was Farmer. He Written by William F. Shafer, son of John.
Frederick Schaeffer and Elizabeth Guinter came to America from Germany in 1817. A short time after they came to Blooming Grove where they were married and bought a small farm near Balls Mills, PA, known as the 'Hill Place'.
This is the farm where my father John Shafer was born on July 24, 1821. My grandparents sold this farm when father was 12 years old and bought the farm we now live on (present owner is Harold Shafer). In 1842 my grandfather Frederick Schaeffer died; John was then 21 years old. In 1849 John Shafer was married to Elizabeth Heim by the Reverend Mr. Schultz who was a Lutheran Minister. They went into housekeeping on an adjoining farm. After several years they exchanged farms and my father, John Shafer moved to the house where Harold Shafer now lives; Grandmother Schaeffer and her eight children moved into the house now owned by Thomas H. Heim.
Sometime in his younger days my father, John Shafer, with his brother-in-law, George Bidelspacher, would make a trip to Philadelphia. They would walk to Pottstown which is about 35 miles from Philadelphia and then take a train into the city. They would return in the same way.
My parents were members of the Blooming Grove Dunkard Church where father led in the devotional services for many years. He did much reading in both the German and English languages. He was rather quiet and good natured. He never spoke a cross word. He was a great lover of nature and the out-of-doors. Father was blessed with usually good health for he hardly knew what a sick day was like. My mother, on the other hand, was crippled with arthritic rheumatism for many years. In 1912 my mother died at the age of 84 years and father lived on to be nearly 92 years of age. They are both buried in Blooming Grove Cemetery. He appeared on the census of 1850 at Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
Children of Johann Frederick Schäfer and Elisabeth Heim
- Samuel B. Shafer+ (29 Mar 1849 - 25 Dec 1923)
- Christian Shafer (1855 - 22 Oct 1859)
- Ephraim Shafer+ (30 Sep 1859 - 7 Jun 1957)
- William Frederick Shafer+ (21 May 1868 - 19 Mar 1936)
Last Edited=12 Nov 2009
Citations
- [S68] Thomas J. S. Heim, The First Three Generations of the Frederick Shafer Family in America 1817 - 1965 (West Chester, Pennsylvania: n.pub., 1966), p. 4.