Silas Shaffer. — Conspicuous among the representative agriculturists and stock men of Williams County is Silas Shaffer, of Pulaski Township. He has made his influence felt for good in his community, his life having been closely interwoven with its history for a number of years. His efforts have been for the material advancement of the same, and the well regulated life he has led, thereby gaining the respect and good will of all with whom he has come into contact, entitles him to representation in a work of the character of the one in hand. Silas Shaffer was born on his father’s farm on section 12, Pulaski Township, Williams County, Ohio, on May 3, 1857, and he is the son of David and Mary E. (Smith) Shaffer. Both of these parents were natives of Maryland, where they were reared, educated and married. Sometime after their marriage they came to Ohio, buying a farm in Crawford County, where they lived for a time, but, selling that place, they made permanent settlement on section 12, Pulaski County, where they spent the remainder of their days. They were members’ of the Reformed Church and Mr. Shaffer was a supporter of the democratic party. Of the eight children born to them, six are living at this time, namely: Michael, of West Unity, Ohio; Silas, the subject of this sketch; Mary, the wife of Henry Updyke, of West Unity, Ohio; David, of Pulaski Township; Charles, of Bryan, Ohio; Cora, the wife of Oscar Pifer, of Toledo, Ohio.
Silas Shaffer remained under the parental roof until he had attained mature years and his educational training was received in the common schools of Pulaski Township. After his marriage, which occurred in 1879, he began business on his own account and through the subsequent years he has gradually forged ahead until today he is in very comfortable circumstances and numbered among the substantial and representative agriculturists of his section of the county. He owns 100 acres of excellent land, the greater part of which is devoted to general farming, though he also gives some attention to the raising of live stock. Thorough practical in everything he does, he has so ordered his actions as to gain liberal returns for the effort which he puts into his operations.
On December 25, 1879, Mr. Shaffer was married to Maggie Fehliman, who was born in Springfield Township, Ohio, on February 11, 1859, the daughter of Lewis and Catherine (Caesar) Fehliman. Her father was a soldier for the Union during the Civil War and gave up his life on the altar of his country, being killed in battle on November 25, 1862. To Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer have been born five children, namely: Gertrude, who is the wife of Rev. W. E. Harmon, a minister of the Christian Church; Oscar, who married Daisy Reader, of Redlands, California; Elgie, who is a graduate in medicine and who served two years in the recent World War, was married to Gertrude Roback, of Columbus, Ohio; Floyd, who was married to Cecil Coil, of Bryan, enlisted, on December 13, 1917, in the United States aviation service. He was first sent to Camp Grant, at Rockford, Illinois, but was later transferred to Camp Dorfield, in Florida, thence to Charleston, and still later to Newport News, Virginia. From there he was sent to Langley Field, in Virginia, and from there to Garden City, New York. He was finally mustered out on January 26, 1919, at Camp Sherman, Ohio, reaching home the following day. The fifth child, Paul, is at home with his parents.
Politically, Silas Shaffer gives his support to the democratic party and takes a keen interest in the advancement of the best interests of the community in which he lives. He is a stockholder in the Pulaski Grain Elevator and in other ways gives his support to material enterprises of the county. Mrs. Shaffer is a member of the Christian Church at Bryan. Mr. Shaffer has been successful in business and respected in his social life, and as a neighbor he has discharged his duties in a manner becoming a liberal-minded, intelligent citizen of the state where the essential qualities of manhood have ever been duly recognized and prized at their true value.
Source: Bowersox, Charles A. ed. A standard history of Williams County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development , 2 vols. Publisher Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1920.