SCHAFFER, JOHN and THERESA

Written by Frank Miller

My Uncle John Schaffer was my mother's (Magdalena Miller [Schaffer]) youngest brother and was still at home in Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S.A. Since the Aberdeen area was strictly farming country, most of the land was already occupied and it was hard to start farming. Since there was no industry in Aberdeen, a good job was hard to come by. So Uncle John decided to go homesteading in St. Joseph's Colony which was formed in early 1905 and situated in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. He already had a brother-in-law there by the name of Dominic Miller, who in early May of 1905 made entry on his homestead. In 1906 he asked my father Dominic Miller to look around for a quarter section of land that was not too far from his farm. This was not easy as a lot of good land was already filed on. But as luck would have it a homesteader of 1905 abandoned his quarter section of land, the reason being too many stones. Father, after looking at this land, saw it as a fair quarter and made entry for John Schaffer on the 21st day of February in 1906. John Schaffer at this time was still in the States, but in early spring of 1907, he arrived still a single man. He was eager to start working on his homestead which was the NE 1/4-4-38-19-W3rd. As luck would have it this farm was only two and a half miles due east of the Dominic Miller homestead. John was very pleased to get so close to his sister's homestead, which was the NW 1/4-6-38-19-W3rd. Most of that first summer of 1907 was spent with his brother-in-law, the Dominic Miller family.

In 1907 Father was able to help Uncle John to break up a few acres of virgin prairie land, which was required by law. He also built a sod house to have a roof over his head and was considered by the government as a improvement on this land. Uncle John in 1907 was 25 years old. He was born in Russia in a village named Kandel, approximately 35 miles northeast of Odessa, Russia on January 11, 1882. His wife Theresa was born at Columbia, South Dakota, U.S.A. in 1888. John always went back to Aberdeen for the winter months. On March 2, 1908 John and Theresa married. They spent that summer together working on their homestead, but went back to the U.S.A. again for the winter of 1909. Here, their first baby Kathryn was born on January 24, 1909. Early that spring this family, now numbering three persons, went back to Canada to put in another summer of homesteading. On October 12, 1909 he claimed the patent as owner of this land, and in 1910 sold his homestead to Mr. Frank Sandmeyer. He then moved back to Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he bought farm a few miles from Aberdeen. The other nine children were born there, which made this a family of ten children.

Uncle John passed away March 15, 1965 at the age of 83 years. His wife Theresa passed away on March 2, 1979 on their wedding anniversary at the age of 90.





Last Updated: Tuesday, February 12, 2002