Elmer E Schaeffer
ELMER E. SCHAEFFER, of Burrell township, Armstrong county, lives on a farm which has been in his family over one hundred years, having come down to him from his great-great-grandfather.
Anthony Schaeffer, a native of Germany, settled in Heidelberg township, Berks county, Pa., in 1733, was married in Northhampton county, Pa., to Maria Catherine Reeg, and came to Armstrong county among the very early settlers making his home on the land in what was then Kittanning ( now Burrell) township now owned by Elmer E. Schaeffer. The original tract he owned contained over six hundred acres. He died there when a very old man, and is buried in the old Schaeffer graveyard in Bethel township, where the first Lutheran Church, organized 1806, was established. He was one of it�s founders and charter members, and was a most respected man in his section, where his high Christian character and nobility of disposition won him the loving esteem of all who knew him. To him and his wife were born five children: Eva Catherine, born Nov. 15, 1766; George P., March 27, 1769; Elizabeth Christina Feb. 21, 1771; Susanna Margaret, April 13, 1774 (all born in Heidelberg township); John Philip, Nov. 18 or Dec. 20, 1778.
John Philip Schaeffer, Sr., born Nov. 18 or Dec. 20, 1778, on the old Schaeffer homestead in what is now Burrell township, Armstrong county, died July 9, 1848. His wife Catherine Elizabeth (Zerfoss), died Nov. 27, 1830. Her father John Zerfoss, was a soldier in the Revolution, and received a severe saber wound in the face in an encounter with a British Colonel whom he shot. The British officer, who was captured, and lost a leg, complemented him on his bravery as both lay in the hospital.
John Philip Schaeffer, son of John Philip and Catherine (Zerfoss) Schaeffer, was born April 22, 1811, on the same farm, the place now owned by his grandson Elmer E., followed farming all his life, and was an active citizen of the locality, holding several township offices. Twelve children were born to his marriage with Susanna Olinger, viz.: David, William, Josiah J., Harriet, Mary J., Emma, Isaac N., Jackson, Levi, Margaret, James M., and Clara. Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer were Lutherans. He died June 16, 1867, she in 1873, at the age of fifty-four years.
William Schaeffer, father of Elmer E., was born April 23, 1836, lived in Burrell township, and died Jan. 30, 1892. He married Louisa Helfferich, who was born Nov. 14, 1841, daughter of George and Margaret (Woodside) Helfferich, and they had a family of four children, three sons and one daughter: Elmer E., Homer H., a builder, of Wickboro, Pa., who married Judy Scholl and has four children, two sons and two daughters; Mary Margaret, who married A>E. Waltenbough, of Ford City, an employee of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, and has a daughter; and Kelley R., of Warren, Ohio, a merchant, who married Dora Ensminger and has three children, two sons and one daughter.
Elmer E. Schaeffer was born Aug. 18, 1865, in Burrell township, and received a thorough education, attending common and select schools. He taught school in the township for thirteen years, and in that connection is very well known, though he has also made an excellent reputation by his efficient discharge of the duties of public offices he has held, having been school director and auditor of his township. His farm of 115 acres is a valuable tract and well cultivated, for he is one of the most progressive agriculturists of his section and has been very successful in his farming operations. Few residents of the township are better known, and he commands the esteem of all whom he meets in any of the relations of life. He and his family are Lutherans in religious connection, belonging to St. Michael�s, the Brick Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.
On Sept. 4, 1895, Mr. Schaeffer married Katie A. Spang, of Burrell township, daughter of Oliver and Lucetta (Fiscus) Spang, who had a family of five children, Quinby A., who married Jessie Cornwall; Dora, wife of J. B. Helffrich; Martha, wife of J. E. Loy; Harry, who married Dora Schreckengost; and Katie A., Mrs. Elmer E. Schaeffer. To Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer have been born four children: Wayne R., Feb 5, 1897; Paul W. Nov. 21, 1898; Meade E., July 21, 1900, and Helen L., Sept. 23, 1905.
Source: Pages 905 - 906 , Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed February 1999 by Nanci Michalkiewicz for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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