Henry Shafer (1891)

SHAFER, MYRES

Posted By: Kent Transier
Date: 5/19/2015 at 13:13:08

The Winterset News
Winterset, Iowa
Thursday, March 5, 1891
Page 5, Column 2

Obituary

SHAFER, died in Douglas township, Madison county, Iowa, Feb 12. 1891, Henry Shaver aged 90 years, 11 months and 24 days. He was born in Fayette county Pennsylvania, Feb. 18, 1800, where he grew up to manhood, then with his father's family he came to Ohio, then to the state of Indiana, where he joined in marriage to Elizabeth Myres. To them were born 12 children, here amid the tolls and privations of pioneer life. He labored with hard and honest toil for the support of the family.

In the fall of 1855 he came with his wife and nine children to Madison county Iowa. On the 25th of September 1868, he was bereft of his loved companion, by the hand of death, aged 54 years. He never again married and for 22 years lived with his children and relatives, making his home most of the time with the only son, A. J. Shaffer. Few men live to the ripe old age that Father Shaffer did, our fathers and mothers, most of them go under the allotted time three score and ten and four score years, but very few reach the age of 90. The name grandpa Shaffer is a familiar title in every household of the community in which he lived and has been spoken so often by prattling childhood up to aged manhood and his children, grandchildren and friends who survive him, may learn lessons of good through his going in and out among them. A love for his children grand children and kind regards and well wishes to all with whom he mingled.

He was kind and gentle in manner and conversation for twenty years we have known him and at every coming together have grasped his warm hand in friendship, mostly at the home of his only son, where, we have seen his tender care and love for his grandchildren, by rocking them in the .cradle of babyhood and daudling them upon his knees in tender childhood. Then let us all who survive this aged father love and revere the silver locks and furrowed cheeks of hoary age and let his mantle of love and friendship fall upon our shoulders and dwell in our hearts.

Father Shaffer in his old age was a man of unusual ability and action of body, but the last two years of his life he gradually failed in mind and body and became quite a charge to those who had the care of him, more especially from the only son and kind family was this care given and known. Thus from this on, without much pain of body he gradually went down, bearing all with patience and resignation yet able to be up and on his feet till the last week of his life, when on the afternoon of Feb. 12, without a struggle he quietly passed away and the spirit of this aged father took its flight to God who gave it, leaving one son, eight daughters, thirty six grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and many friends and acquaintances to mourn his loss on Feb. 13. After a short funeral service the body was conveyed to the North Branch cemetery followed by the friends and neighbors and laid in the tomb the silent home of the dead.
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Transcriber's note: Transcribed as published. Of the three variations of his name in this obituary, "Shafer" is correct per his gravestone.

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