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From: "Whetsel" <>
Subject: [SOMGEN-L] Obituary: Catherine Weyandt Shaffer 1905
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 21:36:00 -0400


I thought this might be of some interest to the group.

Mrs. Catherine Shaffer, Aged Nearly 91

Hopwood, August 21. Mrs. Catherine Shaffer died at the home of her
daughter, Mrs. Marshal Silbaugh, on Sunday, August 20, 1905, in the 91st
year of her age. Funeral on Tuesday, August 22 at 10 a.m., services by Rev.
S. C. Benninger at the M. P. church, interment in Hopwood cemetery.

Deceased was born near Somerset, Pa., December 1, 1814, and her parents
were the late John Weyant and Susan Fichtner. She married David Shaffer in
Somerset county and before the Civil war they moved to Preston county, W.
Va., near Brandonville. Mr. Shaffer enlisted in company C of the Third West
Virginia cavalry and served 22 months in the army. He was a carpenter by
trade and a strong Republican in politics. He died about 33 years ago.

Mrs. Shaffer had been drawing a widow's pension as both her husband and son
served in the army. She had been a hard worker during her life and often
remarked that the people in the older days had to work harder than people
now and had more hardships to endure. For the last ten years she had not
used glasses, yet she read with ease and kept well informed on the events of
the day. Her reading consisted principally of her bible, hymn book and the
News Standard.

Mrs Shaffer had over 60 descendants, including seven children, about 25
grandchildren and about an equal number of great grandchildren. She is
survived by the following sisters: Mrs. Jefferson Rhodes, Somerset; Mrs.
Ellen Spindler and Mrs. Lucy Waddell, Brandonville. She was the mother of 12
children, of whom seven survive as follows: Mrs. Susan Moore, Fairchance;
Mrs. Mary E. Conaway, Georges township; Mrs. Matilda Silbaugh, Wharton
township; Cyrus Shaffer, Brandonville; John Shaffer, Wharton township; Miss
A. J. Shaffer, Allegheny, and Mrs. Elizabeth Silbaugh, Hopwood. The oldest
and the youngest of the 12 children are each living, being respectively,
Mrs. Moore and Miss A. J. Shaffer.

For nearly 60 years Mrs. Shaffer had been a faithful member of the
Evangelical church. Her disposition was uniformly cheerful and agreeable
and she was an interesting conversationalist and related many incidents of
earlier days. She remembered well as far back as 1828 when Andrew Jackson
was first elected president.

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