Civil War Profile
Peter Shaffer
Herkimer County, New York
Contributed by Susanne Wile
PETER SHAFFER, the fifth child of Jacob and Catharine Shaffer, was born June 29, 1839 in Little Falls, Herkimer County, New York. He had 12 siblings and 3 half-siblings.
Peter enlisted in the Union Army at Albany on August 20, 1861, for 3 years (name spelled Shafer) and mustered in as a private on August 30, 1861, in Company B, 44th Regiment, NY Infantry. He mustered out with his company as a private in Albany on October 11, 1864 (name recorded as Shaffer).
His service record, filed under the name Shafer, indicates he was wounded at Bull Run on August 30, 1862 and at Bethesda Church, Virginia, on June 3, 1864. Peter was promoted to corporal January 3, 1863 and reduced in rank back to private on May 18,1863. He was reported absent as a prisoner in Richmond, Virginia. Peter later saw action at the Battle of Gettysburg and was captured on July 2, 1863.
The record further indicates that Peter was born as Shaffer in Little Falls, NY, and that his occupation prior to service was a farmer.
He married Cornelia E. Walker on May 29, 1872, at Whitesboro, Oneida County, NY. They were the parents of one daughter, Agnes Belle Shaffer (Arey).
Peter filed for his Invalid Pension on April 2, 1878. His application number was 252.237. His certificate no. was 159.367. A pension was filed for his daughter, application no. 617.577, although the date of filing and disposition is as of yet unknown. His service records are under the name "Peter Shafer."
Peter died of consumption in Albany, NY, on February 14, 1879, and was interred at the Church Street Cemetery in Little Falls, NY.
Obituary for Peter Shaffer. Newspaper unknown, but possibly a Little Falls NY paper.
In Albany, Feb.14th, 1879, of consumption, Peter Shaffer, aged 39 years, 7 months, and 27 days.
Mr. Shaffer was born in Little Falls, and was a son of the late Jacob Shaffer. He served for three years in the Union army, and was afterwards employed for thirteen years by the Central railroad, seven years of which time he served as engineer. For a period of nearly two and a half years before his death he was unable to attend to his duties on account of ill health. He was a man universally respected by his friends and acquaintances, and possessed the fullest confidence of his employers. His remains were brought to this village on Monday, and interred in our cemetery. A delegation of the brotherhood of locomotive engineers attended the funeral as pall bearers.
From the Albany Evening Journal, Friday, 14 Feb. 1879.
On the 14th inst., PETER SHAFFER, aged 39 years, 7 months and 27 days.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend his funeral Monday morning at 11 1/2 o'clock, from his late residence, No. 595 Clinton avenue. His remains will be taken to Little Falls for interment.
Utica and Syracuse papers please copy.
From The Locomotive Engineers' Journal, Vol.13, April 1879, page 182.
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS' MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION
Cleveland, O., March 31, 1879
ASSESSMENT NOTICES Nos. 385, 386, 387, 388, and 389
To the Secretary and Treasurer of Div. No. _______
You are hereby notified of the death of the following members of this Association, and ordered to collect an assessment of one dollar for the payment of the following claims from all who were members of the Association at the time these deaths occurred.
Assessment 385
February 15, 1879. Brother PETER SHAFFER, of Albany Division No. 46. Admitted June 28, 1874. Died of consumption. Insurance payable to Mrs. CORNELIA SHAFFER.
Death notice for Cornelia E. Walker Shaffer, wife of Peter Shaffer. Cornelia passed away on October 29, 1881. I don't know if she ever resided in Little Falls, but she is buried in the Church Street Cemetery, Little Falls. Newspaper unknown.
In Utica, October 29, 1881, of consumption, Cornelia Shaffer, aged 37 years.
Peter Shaffer's profile was written and contributed by his great-great-niece, Susanne Wile. If you have information to share with her about Peter, his family, or the service of his company in the Civil War, she'd love to hear from you.
Sources of Civil War record Information:
Ancestry.com- New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900
Ancestry.com- U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
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