NOTES: ALEXANDER SCHAEFFER - 1712 to 1786 by Louise Wheeler Horman

NOTES: ALEXANDER SCHAEFFER - 1712 to 1786 by Louise Wheeler Horman

Alexander Schaeffer was born in Schriesheim Germany January 8, 1712 and died April 12, 1786. He married Anna E. Engel in Germany and had two or three children before coming to America 1738 on the Robert and Alice.

Alexander's Father was Hans Heinrich Schaeffer, the son of Hans Schaeffer of Martin in Alsace and Anna Margaret Mayer. Her father was Hans Michael Mayer of Hohensschsen.

His first home was on South Mountain where the land was not very productive. Later they moved a few miles south to a more productive area. He founded a town which he named Heidelberg in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He built the "The King George" Hotel (now named "The Franklin House"), and built the town's Water Works from a strong spring that is still in operation. He had four land warrants with a total of 700 acres.

Heidleburgtown was renamed to Schaefferstown in 1820. He had donated land for a church and a burial ground where he is now buried. He did well for a man that could not write. He died a very wealthy man. About 1860 he invested in 700 acres of more land near Campbelltown with his future son-in-law Christopher Moyer.

After Alexander's first wife died in 1772 he married the widow UNGER; Catherine MOYER born 1721 in Germany, she was Christopher's oldest sister. He had no children by his second marriage.

Alexander is buried in the German Reform Church at Schaeffer, PA. The local Lion's Club has erected a new grave marker in his honor.

Alexander had six children by his first wife:

(1) Margaret married John Bright, the son of Johnanes Michael Bright of Schriessheim.

(2) John married Barbara Miller.

(3) Sabina married Michael Haak.

(4) Anna Marie married Christopher Moyer.

(5) Catharine married John Henry Moyer.

(6) Henry married (1)Anna Eve Switzer and (2) Margaret Lockner. Henry was a Captian in the American Revolutionary War 1775. He was appointed Justice of the Peace and later as associate Judge in Dalphin county.

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Alexander, son of Hans Henry and Anna Margaretha (Mayer) Schaeffer, immigrated to Philadelphia from Baden, Germany, in 1738.

By the time of his death in 1786 he had laid out the town he named Heidelberg (now Schaefferstown), in Lancaster County, PA, built the King George Hotel (the present day Franklin House), and created the first gravitational water conveyance system by underground pipes in all the British colonies. In about 1738 he married Anna Engel and together they had six children. He was of the German Reformed faith and was a guiding force in establishing that church in Heidelberg.

Family links:

Spouse: Anna E. Engel Schaeffer (1708 - 1772)*

Children:

Sabina Schaeffer Haak (1742 - 1811)*

Anna Maria Schaeffer Meyer (1744 - 1823)*

Johannes Heinrich (Henry) Schaeffer (1749 - 1803)*

Burial:

Schaefferstown Cemetery, Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States

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Schaeffer and his wife, Anna, purchased the land surrounding Schaefferstown (formerly Heidelberg), laid out the town and sold lots to the squatters who already had homes. On July 16, 1763, he sold the land and spring (now Fountain Park) along with the pipes and troughs of the gravity water system to representatives of the people of Market Street. This act created the water company which later became the first chartered water works in the United States. (This information was taken from a plaque on a Marker in the cemetery at Schaefferstown, PA.)

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Project Focus: The Alexander Schaeffer House: Schaefferstown, PA (1996-1999) Historic Structures Report, National Historic Landmark Nomination

The Alexander Schaeffer House is a nationally significant property for its association with Alexander and Henry Schaeffer, the builders and founders of an important inland eighteenth century trading center and one of the only surviving Baroque-planned Germanic towns in America, and as a rare example of the culturally-distinct German building typology. With a period of significance spanning from 1758 when Alexander Schaeffer built the first section of the house to 1842 when Henry Schaeffer’s sons sold the property, the Schaeffer House is significant in the areas of Architecture and Community Planning and Development.

Alexander Schaeffer founded Schaefferstown in 1758 while living at the Schaeffer House. Developed using academic European planning principles, Schaefferstown became an important crossroads community in Colonial America, and still survives with exceptional degree of architectural and historic integrity. Additionally, this house is an excellently-preserved example of early Germanic architecture in Colonial America, and still embodies the personality and culture of late medieval Germany.

As a building type, the Schaeffer House can be classified as a bank house with the traditional characteristics that include: a gable end built into the bank so one end of the house has one story above ground, while the other end has two, and cooking relegated to the lower floors. However, it is slightly different than most bank houses in that it follows the more traditional form of the Germanic prototypes, with the main floor organized around a central, rather than gable end, fireplace. This building stands as a rare example of the role of European cultural traditions in settling the colonies and contributes substantially to the understanding of the early American architectural tradition.

Working in conjunction with Historic Schaefferstown, Inc., Noble Preservation has completed a National Historic Landmark Nomination that is currently under review by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Work completed to date includes a full set of measured drawings, HABS-quality photographic documentation and historical research which will help guide restoration and preservation efforts at the property.

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This is a compilation of the early generations of the Alexander Schaeffer Family. Alexander Schaeffer immigrated in 1738 from Schriesheim and settled in Heidelberg Township (then in Lancaster County). He later relocated slightly and founded the town of Heidelberg, named after the well-known German city his hometown was nearby. After his death, the town assumed the name Schaefferstown. It is currently in Lebanon County, PA.

Except where otherwise noted, this genealogy taken from bre2, beginning on page 216:

One comment - Abraham Brendle, the author of bre2, admitted to modernizing names in his book - I would expect that all of the people listed here would have gone by pure German names in their time.

GENEALOGICAL NOTES - ANCESTORS OF ALEXANDER SCHAEFFER

At least his parents and grandparents are known and published on - see wei2, page v and hsr1 for an outline.

Alexander Schaeffer had 8 known siblings, and 2 of them were also immigrants to America.

One, Anna Maria Schaeffer, b 1707 Feb 9, married Hieronymus Troutman and also settled in Heidelberg Township, Lancaster County. Another of Alexander’s sisers, Anna Barbara, is also documented as immigrating to America, but whom she married was unknown (wei2 page v).

FIRST GENERATION

Alexander Schaeffer

b 1712 Jan 8 (fm tombstone)

d 1786 Apr 10 (fm tombstone)

bd Schaefferstown Reformed Cemetery

imm: 1738 from Schriesheim, Germay

There is a sketch of him in bre2 around page 75.

m Anna Engel ?

b 1708 (fm tombstone)

d 1772 Nov 22 (fm tombstone)

bd Schaefferstown Reformed Cemetery

There seems some confusion as to whether the Engel was a middle name or her maiden name.

Weiser, in wei2, page v, comments that her maiden name is unknown. This is substantiated in that in 1761 the Schaeffers sponsored a child, Anna Engel, to Christian Bernhard & wife.

known children:

1 John

2 Sabina - m Michael Haak

3 Anna Maria - m Christopher Moyer

4 Catharine - m John Moyer of Millbach

5 Margaret - m John Brecht

6 Henry - b 1749 Jun 5

m(2) Catharine Unger

no known issue

Sponsorings for others:

Heidelberg Lutheran KB:

1776 for child of Peter & Salome Ream (Sch. Luth.) (bre2 p94)

Heidelberg Reformed KB:

1760 for Henry of John Brecht & wife (bre2 p147)

1761 for Alexander to John Schaub & wife (bre2 p147)

1761 for Anna Engel to Christian Bernhard & wife (bre2 p147)

1764 for child of John Schaeffer & wife (bre2 p147)

1766 for Alexander to Casper Schweitzer & wife (bre2 p148)

1766 for Maria Catharine to Christopher Meyer & wife (bre2 p148)

1774 for Catharine to Henry & Anna Eva Schaeffer (bre2 p149)

1782 for John to Henry & Anna Eva Schaffer (bre2 p149)

SECOND GENERATION

John Schaeffer

b 1729 - notes: moved to Maryland in 1772

Sponsorings alone:

1759 w/Anna Maria Nef for John to John Schaub & wife (wri2 p48)

m Barbara Miller

known children:

1 John - b 1764 May 9; m(1) Elizabeth Hess; m(2) Angelica Troutman; m(3) Catharine Miller

2 John Henry - b 1766 Jan 12; m Rosina Hess

3 Maria Elizabeth - m Ludwig Young

4 Eva Catharine - b 1779 Oct 21; m John Rentch

5 John Leonard - m Mary Schroeder

6 John George - m Catharine Locher

7 Anna Mary

Sponsorings for others:

1763 for Anna Barbara to Casper Schweitzer & wife (writ2 p48)

<4 = ? (hum6)

Sabina Schaeffer

m Michael Haak

known children:

1 Michael - b 1764 Apr 29

2 Maria Catharine - b 1766 Mar 13 (wri2 p47)

2 John Jacob - b 1769 Nov at <3 (hum6)

3 Anna Maria - b 1771 Jun 9 at <3 (hum6)

4 Henry - b 1772 Nov 21 at <3 (hum6)

Sponsorings:

1764 by Jacob Witmer & wife (bre2)

1766 by Maria Catharine Schaeffer (wri2 p47)

1771 by Alexander Schaeffer & Angelina (wri2 p91)

1772 by Henry Schaeffer (wri2 p91)

Sponsorings for others:

1762 for John & wife (sister Margaret Schaeffer) Brecht

1770 for Michael to John & Barbara Ruth at <3 (wri2 p90)

1773 for Catharine to Rudolph & Catharine Kunsle at <3 (wri2 p92)

1785 for John Michael to Arnold Hebelmann & Eva Susanna (wri2 p97)

1798 for John Michael to Philip & Anna Maria Fishback (wri2 p109)

<3 = Trinity Tulpehocken Ref in Jackson Township (hum6)

Anna Maria Schaeffer

m Christopher Meyer

known children:

1 Maria Catharine - b 1766 Feb 2

Sponsorings:

1766 by Alexander Schaeffer & wife (wri2 p47)

Catharine Schaeffer

m 1764 Nov 11

John Meyer

known children:

1 Henry

2 John -

3 Michael

4 Catharine

5 Barbara

Sponsorings for others:

1764 John Meyer & Catharine Schaeffer (as yet unmarried) for John to John & Margaret Brecht

1788 for Anna Eva to Henry Schafer & Anna Eva (wri2 p54)

Note: John George - b 1783 Sep 7 to John Mayer & Catharine, sp by John Mayer, Sr.

and Anna Barbara at Heidelberg (wri2) - is this them?

John Mayer, Jr. & Catharine - sp 1773 John to John Mohr, Jr. & Elizabeth

at Millbach Ref (wri2 p174)

Margaret Schaeffer

m John Brecht

known children:

1 Henry - b 1760 Nov 24

2 Michael - b 1762 Sep 10

3 John - b 1764 Nov 11

Sponsorings:

1762 by Michael & wf (sister Sabina Schaeffer) Haak

1764 by John Meyer & Catharine Schaeffer (sister)

Captain Henry Schaeffer

b 1749 Jun 5 (fm tombstone)

d 1803 Oct 12 (fm tombstone)

bd Schaefferstown Reformed Cemetery

Brendle has a sketch of him in bre2 at page 75.

occ: Justice of the Peace

built & ran a tile factory in Schaefferstown

mil: Captain, served in the Revolutionary War.

m(1) Anna Eva Schweitzer

b 1753 Apr 27 (fm tombstone)

d 1790 Jan 2 (fm tombstone)

bd Schaefferstown Reformed

She is the daughter of Heinrich Schweitzer of Leacock Township, Lancaster County. Some researchers have placed her as the granddaughter of Casper Schweitzer, M.D., but comparing dates indicates this would be very unlikely (JHB).

For her family, see Heinrich Schweitzer of Leacock township <Schweifm.htm

known children:

1 Catharine - b 1774 Nov 27; m John Bomberger

2 Elizabeth - b 1776 Oct 29; m Abraham Rex

3 Anna Maria - b 1779 Jul 9;m Frederick Oberlin

4 Johannes - b 1782 Jun 15; m Esther Weiss

5 Susanna - b 1785 Oct 2; m Dietrich Goshert

6 Anna Eva - b 1787 Oct 5; d 1790 Apr 21

Sponsorings:

1784 for John Henry to Henry & Angelica Mayer

1787 by John & Catharine Meyer (sister of Henry)

m(2) Margaret Hoffman

b 1764 Dec 11 (fm tombstone)

d 1851 Apr 30 (fm tombstone)

bd Schaefferstown Reformed Cemetery

1 known child:

7 Henry - b m Elizabeth Moyer

BIBLIOGRAPY

bre2 Brendle; A Brief History Of Schaefferstown; 1901

hsr1 author?; "Family History Of Alexander Schaeffer"; from Historic Schaefferstown

Record, 1973, p17-21

hum6 Humphrey; Pennsylvania Births, Lebanon County, 1714-1800

wei2 Weiser; Purchases At The King George Hotel, Schaefferstown,

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, 1762-1773;