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Below is a family biography included in The History of Miami County, Ohio published by W. H. Beers & Co. in 1880.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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JOHN SCHEAFFER, farmer and blacksmith; P. O. Fidelity; born in Germany in August, 1820; is a son of John and Louisa Scheaffer, natives of the same place. His father was a farmer,, and a soldier in the king’s service, in which he died before our subject was born. His widow, with her family, emigrated to this country in 1831, landing in Baltimore, their voyage occupying forty-five days. They located in Maryland, in which they lived several years. John worked at the cooper’s trade, in Hagerstown, for two and a half years; then moved to Virginia, in which State they lived one year, then returned to Maryland, where they remained nearly three years. They removed to Ohio in 1838, settling in Montgomery Co., in which they remained till 1845, when he came to this township. In the same year, he was married to Susanna Keller, by whom he has had eight children, six of whom are living, viz., Lewis, Margaret A., Nancy E., John, Theodore and Cinderella; two dying in infancy. After his marriage he carried on farming for a number of years on his farm above Nashville, after which he removed to the place where he now lives. He owns 440 acres of land, all in a high state of cultivation and well improved. He is one of the Elders of the Tippecanoe Lutheran Church, with which he and his wife have been members for a number of years. Their children— Lewis, Margaret and Nancy E., are also members of the same Church, which is a source of satisfaction to their parents. Mrs. S. was born in Maryland in 1828; she is a daughter of Lewis and Margaret Keller; her father was born in Germany; her mother in Maryland. They came to Ohio, in which they lived till their decease; they were parents of six living children, viz., Susanna, Catherine, Sophia, Margaret, Samuel and Lewis. Our subject was the only child of his parents; his mother, by her second marriage, had four children, viz., Jacob, Fred, Louisa and Christena. She died in 1874, aged 74 years.

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This family biography is one of 964 biographies included in The History of Miami County, Ohio published in 1880 by W. H. Beers & Co.  For the complete description, click here: Miami County, Ohio History and Genealogy

View additional Miami County, Ohio family biographies here: Miami County, Ohio Biographies

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