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Jacob STAUFFACHER (b 1817)

The name Jacob Stauffacher appears among a list of "the original colonists [of New Glarus, Wisconsin] of 1845" in the book The planting of the Swiss colony at New Glarus, Wis. by John Luchsinger, published in 1892. The list also includes the names Anton, Henry, Peter, and Rudolph Stauffacher. The book reports that Jacob was accompanied by his wife and three children.

The Find-A-Grave memorial associated with Jacob's grave cites the work of a competent New Glarus historian and genealogist, Linda Schiesser, who gives the date and place of Jacob's birth as 29 Jan 1817 in Matt, Canton Glarus, Switzerland. It also reports that Jacob married Elsbeth Speich, also from the town of Matt, on 27 Sep 1838. Jacob and Elsbeth left Switzerland for the United States in 1845 and settled in Green County, Wisconsin. The brief biography also states that the couple had 15 children, four of whom died at birth or as infants. (The list of children above accounts for twelve children, but it includes Elsbeth (b c1858) who was captured by the 1860 census but died before 1870.)

Jacob and his wife Elsbeth appeared in the 1850 US Census in the town of Sylvester in Green County, Wisconsin together with a family of five children. The three children who were immigrants with the parents, Orfa (age 12), Jacob (age 10), and Henry (age 8), were still living. There were two new additions to the household, Dorothea (age 4) and John (age2). Jacob was farming and valued his real estate at $400, the lowest valuation of property on the census page.

By 1860, the family had expanded to include nine children. They were still living in Sylvester. All but one of the children present in 1850 were still in the household. Orpha, the eldest daughter, was age 22 that year and no longer in the household, having married John Lemmel in 1857. There were, in addition, five new children added to the household within the decade, Angelina (age 10), Peter (age 8), Levi (age 6), George (age 4) and Elizabeth (age 2). All of these children were born in Wisconsin. All but the two youngest children were in school in 1860. Jacob valued his real estate that year at $4,000, the second highest valuation appearing on the census page. The decade leading to 1860 was apparently a prosperous decade for him.

What must this immigrant family from Switzerland have thought when, just a little more than ten years after their arrival in the United States, the country entered a long and deadly civil war? Their eldest son, Jacob, at the age of 21, enlisted as a private in Company B of the 31st Wisconsin Volunteers. He was discharged on 20 Jun 1865 after two years, ten months, and six days of service. I regret that I do not know where his company was during those almost three years. Henry also served briefly after enlisting as a private in Company F of the 46th Wisconsin Volunteers on 07 Feb 1865. I presume his father kept him from enlisting before he reached age 20.

In 1870, the US Census reported that Jacob, Dorothy, John, and Angelina were no longer at home. Peter (age 18), Levi (age 15) and George (age 12), however, were still in the household along with two new additions to the family, William (age 10) and Samuel (age 8). Daughter Elizabeth did not appear in the household this year. Elizabeth almost certainly died between 1860 and 1870. She would have been only 12 in 1870. Elizabeth (or Elsbeth as her tombstone reads) was buried in the Dutch Hollow Cemetery in Sylvester. The household in 1870 also included a domestic servant, Celia Geiger, age 14, a native of Switzerland. Jacob was still farming and valued his real estate at $11,000 that year, by far the largest valuation on the census page. Son Henry (age 24) also gave his occupation as farmer.

The decade following 1870 was a difficult one for the Stauffacher family. Jacob's wife Elsbeth died on 17 Nov 1874. She was only 55 years old. Jacob's household would likely have included one or more of his youngest childen. According to his will, signed on 14 Feb 1876, Jacob married Sophia Hefty, the widow of a fellow Swiss settler J R Hefty, sometime after Elsbeth's death in 1874. The will references an "anti-nuptual agreement" (sic) dated 18 Nov 1875. Jacob left Sophia an annuity of $200 per annum. She signed a quit-claim for her husband's estate in 1877 from Valley Falls (Jefferson) Kansas. Sophia died at the home of her daughter in Portland, Oregon in 1902.

Jacob himself did not live long after his wife Elsbeth's death in 1874. He died on 28 Mar 1877 and was buried in Dutch Hollow Cemetery in Sylvester. He was 60 years old.

In his will, written in 1876, Jacob named his living children. The will stated that he was of sound mind, but the list of children he provided is enough to make one wonder. Presumably, he was attempting only to name his living children. He listed them as (1) Orphy, (2) Jacob, (3) Henry, (4) John, (5) Doratha, (6) Angelina, (7) Peter, (8) J George, (9) Julia, (10) Samuel and (11) Lafayette. Through son Peter, the list is accurate enough. He reversed the order of John And Dorothea, but after child seven, things go off the rails. He fails to acknowledge Levi who was still unmarried when he wrote the will but was still very much alive. He names George but then fails to mention William who was not only alive but probably living at home with this father. William was living with his sister Orphy in 1880 (and after his father's death) and he was only 18 years old in 1880. He does manage to mention Samuel, but the he adds two names, Julia and Lafayette, that do not seem to match with any of his actual children. Perhaps Lafayette was a nickname for one of the two sons he failed to mention. But who was Julia? Neither Elizabeth nor Edward are mentioned, but both died in infancy or early childhood and were deceased by the time Jacob wrote his will. One can only wonder why the list was so flawed.

Sources:

Original Settlers of New Glarus, WIsconsin: Citation: Luchsinger, John, and State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The planting of the Swiss colony at New Glarus, Wis., Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company, State Printers, 1892. Content: A list on page 367 of the book The planting of the Swiss colony at New Glarus, Wis. shows that Jacob Stauffacher was among the original colonists of New Glarus, WIsconsin in 1845. He is reported to have arrived with his wife and three children. The settlers included 26 men, 23 wives and 73 children--122 in all.

1850 US Census, Household of Jacob Stauffacher (b c1817): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1850; Census Place: Mount Pleasant, Green, Wisconsin; Roll: 999; Page: 254a. Content: The 1850 US Census of Town of Sylvester (Green) Wisconsin on 24 Aug 1850 shows dwelling (98/102) with a household composed of (1) Jacob Slafwaker [sic], age 35, male, farmer, real estate valued at $400, born Switzerland, (2) Elizabeth Slafwaker, age 30, female, born Switzerland, (3) Offa Slafwaker, age 12, male [sic], born Switzerland, (4) Jacob Slafwaker, age 10, male, born Switzerland, (5) Henry Slafwaker, age 8, male, born Switzerland, (6) Dorotha [sic] Slafwaker, age 4, female, born Wisconsin, (7) John Slafwaker, age 2, male, born Wisconsin.

1860 US Census, Household of Jacob Stauffacher (b c1817): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1860; Census Place: Sylvester, Green, Wisconsin; Page: 287; Family History Library Film: 805411. Content: The 1860 US Census of Sylvester (Green) WI, on 18 Aug 1860 shows dwelling (2061/72) with a household composed of (1) Jacob Stauffacher (b c1817), age 43, male, white, farmer, (4000/1000), born Switzerland, (2) Eliz Stauffacher, age 39, female, white, born Switzerland, attended school [sic], (3) Jacob Stauffacher, age 19, male, white, born Switzerland, attended school, (4) Henry Stauffacher, age 17, male, white, born Switzerland, attended school, (5) Dorothy Stauffacher, age 14, female, white, born WI, attended school, (6) John Stauffacher, age 12, male, white, born WI, attended school, (7) Angelisa Stauffacher, age 10, female, white, born WI, attended school, (8) Peter Stauffacher, age 8, male, white, born WI, attended school, (9) Levy Stauffacher, age 6, male, white, born WI, attended school, (10) Georg Stauffacher, age 4, male, white, born WI, (11) Elizabeth Stauffacher, age 2, female, white, born WI.

1870 US Census, HH of Jacob Stauffacher (b c1817): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1870; Census Place: Sylvester, Green, Wisconsin; Roll: M593_1715; Page: 267A Content: The 1870 US Census of Sylvester (Green) Wisconsin on 29 Aug 1870 shows dwelling (26/26) with a household composed of (1) Jacob Stauffacher, age 53, male, farmer, (real: $11,000, pers:$8,000), born Switzerland, parents foreign born, citizen eligible to vote, (2) Elizabeth Stauffacher, age 52, female, keeping house, born Switzerland, parents foreign born, (3) Henry Stauffacher, age 24, male, farmer, born Switzerland, citizen eligible to vote, (4) Peter Stauffacher, age 18, male, born Wisconsin, attended school, (5) Levi Stauffacher, age 15, male, born, born Wisconsin, attended school, (6) George Stauffacher, age 12, male, born Wisconsin, attended school, (7) ?Wm? Stauffacher, age 10, male, born Wisconsin, attended school, (8) Samuel Stauffacher, age 8, male, born Wisconsin, attended school, (9) Celia Geiger, age 14, female, domestic servant, born Switzerland, attended school.

Marriage of Orpha Stauffacher and John Lemmel: Citation: Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Index, 1820-1907 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000. Volume 2, page 209. Content: A Wisconsin marriage index record shows that Orpha Stauffacher married John Lemmel in Green County, Wisconsin on 31 Mar 1857.

Find a Grave Memorial 13662319 for Elsbeth Stauffacher (b c1858) .

Find a Grave Memorial 13662378 for Elsbeth Speich Stauffacher (b 1819). Note: Elsbeth's date of birth and death are engraved on the stone marking the grave.

Find a Grave Memorial 13662396 for Jacob Stauffacher (b 1817) . Note: Jacob's date of birth and death are engraved on the stone marking the grave. The memorial also includes information on Jacob and Elsbeth gathered by Linda Schiesser, a New Glarus historian.

1876 Will of Jacob Stauffacher (b 1817): Citation: Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2015. Author: Wisconsin. County Court (Green County); Probate Place: Green, Wisconsin. Content: Jacob Stauffacher's will references an anti-nuptual (sic) agreement dated on 18 Nov 1875 made between himself and Sophia Hefty, his wife. It also names Jacob's children, (1) Orphy, (2) Jacob, (3) Henry, (4) John, (5) Dorothea, (6) Angelina, (7) Peter, (8) J George, (9) Julia, (10) Samuel and (11) Lafayette. He nominates John Lemmel, his son-in-law as executor. He signed the document in his own hand on 14 Feb 1876.

1902 Oregon Death Certificate for Sophia Hefty (b 1826): Citation: Ancestry.com. Oregon, U.S., State Deaths, 1864-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. Original data:Oregon Death Records, 1864-1970. Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Archives. Content: A Portland Oregon death certificate shows that Sophia Hefty, white, female, widow died on 12 Dec 1902 was resident at 471 Montgomery Street. She was born on 13 May 1826 in Switzerland. Neither parent is named. Cause of death was rheumatism and senile debility. She died at her residence. She was to be buried in Salem, Oregon on 14 Dec 1902.

Find a Grave Memorial 183508375 for Sophia Hefty (b c1825).