Schacherer, John 1837-1931
SCHACHERER, LEIBOLD, DOMAYER, PUTZ
Posted By: Sharyl Ferrall, IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 9/16/2015 at 21:07:08
Death Saturday evening of last week [8/5/1931] claimed John Schacherer, 94 yeaers of age and father of Mrs. Regina Domayer of this city at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. John Putz at Edgewood. Despite his remarkable age and the fact that he had been confined to his home for the past year Mr. Schacherer was generally thought to be in fairly good health and his countless friends all over this section of the country were shocked to hear of his sudden death within a day after being taken seriously ill Friday.
Mr. Schacherer who was familiarly known as the "Grand Old Man" of Edgewood had reached his 94th birthday on June 5th of this year. He was born in Alsace, France, in 1837. His schooling was received in that place where at the time the pupils were taught both the French and German language. One page of the school text book was printed in German and the opposite in French. Hence he learned to read and write both languages and after coming to this country in 1856 on a French sailing vessel, the "Volent" (French word for flying) he naturally also mastered the English language and retained the faculty of being able to converse in all three tongues until his death.
After landing in this country following a 36 day voyage across the Atlantic, he spent one year assisting on a farm near Buffalo, New York, which at that time was only a small town of about a thousand inhabitants. In 1857, having earned and saved enough money to do so, he came west to Dubuque. Here he found employment on a farm and was paid the sum of $10 a month for his labors. Since coming to Dubuque county in 1857 Mr. Schacherer resided in Iowa the remainder of his life, almost 75 years.
On April 3, 1861, he was married to Miss Anna Leibold at Rickardsville, northwest of Dubuque, and five years later, after the close of the Civil war, moved to a farm one mile southwest of Edgewood, where he resided with his family for nearly 36 years and where his grandson, Mr. Albert Putz, now lives. The farm therefor still remains in the possession of the family.
Mrs. Schacherer preceded her husband in death in 1906. For a time after that he lived with his daughter, Mrs. Regina Domayer of this city and later moved to Edgewood to make his home with another daughter, Mrs. John Putz, who died in 1929. Here he spent the last years of his life lovingly cared for by his son-in-law, Mr. Putz and his grand-daughters, Bertha and Alice Putz.
Mr. and Mrs. Schacherer were the parents of twelve children, 9 of whom survive. They are as follows: John of Edgewood; Will of Wallingford, Ia; Albert of Dawson, Minnesota; Edwin of Manchester, Eugene of Ida Grove, Ia.; Sister M. Theodosia, Sister M. Theophania, Sister M. Genevieve all at La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Mrs. Regina Domayer of this city. Mr. Schacherer is also survived by 29 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
The funeral services for the deceased were held Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock with a Requiem High Mass for the repose of the soul being celebrated by Rev. Father Hammill in St. Mark's Catholic church at Edgewood. Father Hammill also preached a very eloquent funeral sermon. Following the mass the remains were taken to Dyersville where burial was made in St. Francis cemetery. Rev. Father Putz assisted by Rev. Hammill officiated at the services at the graveside.
Pall bearers were five sons of the deceased, John, Will, Edwin, Albert and Eugene Schacherer and John Putz, a son-in-law. Two great grandsons, James and Phil Schacherer acted as mass servers at the requiem high mass.
The passing of Mr. Schacherer marks the death of another of those picturesque, fast vanishing, group of hardy pioneers who by their great sacrifice and untiring energy conquered the wilderness and aided in building up the great west. The life story of Mr. Schacherer might well be called an early history of this part of the state. His life was full of interesting incidents and important happenings. He was a man of genial disposition, always happy and joyful and glad to chat with the younger folks. He was a devout Catholic, attested to by the fact that three daughters entered the convent and he had the comfort of the last rites of his holy religion before he died. He will be greatly missed by his many relatives and friends.
~Dyersville Commercial, Thursday, August 10, 1931
Notes: John Schacherer applied for a passport on March 30, 1895 in anticipation of traveling to Alsas, Germany (formerly in France) for a period of about 12 months. On that application he stated that he emigrated to the U.S. aboard the 'Woland' from Havre on or about Nov. 15, 1856; and resided in Dubuque & Delaware co. IA from 1857 to 1895; naturalized in Dubuque, IA in November 1865. Physical description: 58 years of age, 5ft 9in tall, light blue eyes, long & pointed nose, mustache, chin whiskers, grey hair, fair & flushed complexion. (source: Fold3, Passport Applications 1795-1905)
The Clayton co. Register featured a number of biographies of the "oldest persons" in the various towns and townships. Although Mr. Schacherer didn't reside in Clayton county, he did live in Edgewood (located in both Clayton and Delaware counties) and was included in these biographies. They have been posted on the Clayton co. IAGenWeb website. Link below:
Clayton co. IAGenWeb
Delaware Obituaries maintained by Constance Diamond.
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