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Looking for information about Samuel Shaffer of Wayne Co., OH who married Ruth Croghan of Licking CO., Ohio on Jan. 21, 1832. The following is a story of their lives, however, part of it is missing. Author or authors unknown.
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE PIONEER LIFE OF OUR PARENTS, MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL SHAFFER
Samuel Shaffer of Wayne Co., Ohio and Ruth Croghan of Licking Co., Ohio, were married January 21, 1832 at Hagerstown, Ohio, by Squire Houston.
They rented a brick house and went to house-keeping.
Samuel being a cabinet maker by trade, they use one room for a shop. Furniture and other things in that line of work were made by rude implements to what there is today. Using the foot-lathe to turn table legs, bed posts and other things. The ever alert wife attended to household affairs and assisted her husband where ever she could.
In about eight years they moved to Mercer Co., to a little village known then as Shanesville, situated on the St. Marys River. Samuel having previously entered a tract of land comprising of 175 acres of land, for which he paid $1.25 an acre, lying 1 1/2 miles north of Dais Village.
when they moved from the East, they had to move in a covered wagon, drawn by two oxen and one horse. taking two weeks to make the trip. They also brought with them two cows and a calf.
They live in Shanesville until they could clear a place for a cabin and cut logs to make said cabin. These were made of round logs, chunked and daubed between logs, with a clapboard roof, a store box and a bed quilt for a door, and a piece of muslin or greased paper for a window. It was work in those days to clear a tract of land, as there were no implements to work with like there is today, but it was not long until they were in their new home.
The trees had to be cut down with an axe, then chopped, so it could be handled and put in piles with the underbrush ready to burn. Then there were the stumps to contend by the slow process of burning them out. They had no stump pullers or dynamite like is used now.
Indians are seen almost daily. They would come to the house and ask for something to eat, and when it was given them, they would say "Good Squaw".
Wolves and some other live animals would come to the house. When the wolves would smell the victuals cooking they would how.
In about three years Father went back East on horse back and during his absence, Mother got men to come and put up the logs, which had been prepared for another room. When he came back he said, "He scarcely knew the place." But he was pleased.
There were no cook stoves, baking and cooking being done by the fire place.
The lights were a saucer or something similar, filled with lard or bear grease or whatever was most convenient, with a rag, something like a carpet rag put in the grease with one end protruding an inch or so which was lit. This was very convenient as it could be carried around.
Matches were a scarce article, so when the fire would go out in the fire place, it would have to be started with steel and flint and a piece of punk. Think of the convenience of today. Finally molding candles came in vogue. I remember the first coal oil lamp our parents had. It held a whole pint of oil. the peddler did not sell many of them as people were afraid of them.
Mother did all her sewing by hand. No sewing machines and also by those greased lights. Is it any wonder in after years Mother almost lost her eye sight. In fact at one time she was entirely blind.
In those days it was difficult to get things to eat, for conveniences were poor. Tea and coffee were scarce and people were glad to get sassafras and spice bush tea, and make their own maple sugar. I have heard Mother say some people would gather sheep sorrel for pies. those berries were plentiful and were used in various ways.
When the grain was ripe it it had to be cut with a sickle, then came the threshing which had to be done with the flail on the barn floor, and those that had no barn had to clean off a piece of ground, and do threshing there. Then it had to be cleaned by running through the wind mill turned by hand, then it had to be hauled to Fort Wayne or Piqua to mill. Neighbors would take grain for each other, also bring back groceries. Sometimes cutting their way through the woods and over corduroy roads which was saplings laid crossways the road in muddy places. This made rough riding especially in a big wagon, which was the only conveyance in those days. What would people now in general think of having to go that way? But no. Instead of that way, they have their fine carriages, electric street-cars, steam railways and fancy automobiles and pike......................
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