Caspar Bernhardt Shafer
Caspar Bernhardt Shafer
(Great Granddaughter of Caspar Bernhardt Shafer). Caspar’s son was Montgomery Rea Shafer, my grandfather. His son, Sayre Shafer, was my father.
Caspar Bernhardt Shafer was a fifth generation American descendent of the original
pioneer, Casper Schaeffer through his son Isaac. Born on July 9, 1848, he was the second child of Archibald S.
Shafer. Although born in New Jersey,
Caspar moved with his family to Virginia at an early age. His father, Archibald Stinson Shafer, owned
and operated a wholesale and retail men’s clothing store in Petersburg,
Virginia until the Civil War and the Siege of Petersburg forced the family to
relocate. It has been noted that Caspar
delivered mail for the Confederate Post Office department and that he drew maps
of the roads around Richmond for General Robert E. Lee.
At the end of the Civil War, Caspar signed a loyalty oath
and, perhaps as a comment on the disruption of the economy, pasted the oath on
the back of a poster for a cotton factory, along with the worthless currency of
the Confederate government and various Southern banks.
Provost Marshal’s Office, District of Virginia
Norfolk Va., …..,Dec 20….,1864
This is to Certify, That, C. B. Shafer (Refugee) aged ...16…
occupation……..Scholar….... residence Petersburg, Va has taken and
subscribed the Oath and Parole required by General Orders, nos 34 and 49,
Current Series, for a Loyal Citizen of the United States, residing in a State
Ever in rebellion, or who has sympathized with the Seceding States.
H.A. Tator
No.4646 Capt.+Asst Provost Marshal
Caspar apparently was living on his own at this time and was probably not with his father when Archibald Shafer brought the family North in April of 1865. The surviving, official “pass” allowing the family to travel north after the war, lists only one daughter and one son, probably the younger son, Archibald (jr).
Between 1865 and 1876, there are newspaper clippings concerning three of Archibald’s business ventures, the last of which resulted in a bankruptcy in 1876. Archibald apparently served as a middleman between his Petersburg connections to raw materials and the wholesale and retail buyers in New York. It is not known to what extent his sons helped him in his businesses but it seemed that the family must have worked closely together.
US Census of 1870
In 1870, Caspar, now 22 years old, is living with his family in East Orange, New Jersey. His occupation is listed as “Clerk in Store” and he may have been working for one of his father’s business ventures. Archibald’s net worth at the time seems to be indicated on the census form as in excess of $50,000.
The next thing that is known about Caspar is that he was married to Margaret Rea in Hackettstown, New Jersey on January 27, 1872. On December 12, 1873, their daughter Mary, now remembered as “Aunt May” was born, followed on October 13, 1875 by another daughter, Margaret, now remembered as “Aunt Madge”. Caspar Irving Shafer was born on January 31, 1878 and Montgomery Rea Shafer was born on August 16, 1879. The two girls were born in Orange, New Jersey so it can be speculated that the young family did not live far from Archibald and Mary. Caspar Irving was born in Baltimore and Montgomery Rea was born in Washington D.C. so it can be seen that some sort of change occurred in the 1878-1879 time frame.
In 1880, the Caspar Shafer family was settled in Washington, D.C. at 1412 11th NW. Caspar is now 31 years old, wife Margaret is 30 years old and the four children are 6 years old and younger. Caspar’s occupation is listed as “Dealer, Mineral Water”. This is the first mention of mineral water in either Archibald’s or Caspar’s information.
(from previous page)
US Census of 1880
The Shafer children, circa 1882, Mary, Montgomery Rea, Caspar Irving, and Margaret
Twenty-four full postcards and eighteen partial postcards (saved by the young stamp collector, Montgomery Rea Shafer) have survived to help tell the tale of the Washington D.C. branch of the Shafer mineral water business. Caspar evidently kept his postcard correspondence held together with something that pierced their edges, but the damage does not interfere with the messages on the cards for the most part.
The earliest postcard in the collection is dated March 24, 1881. The subject matter discussed involves whether or not Caspar will represent this supplier of mineral water:
Mar 24, 81 Red Sulpher Springs, W. Va.
Sirs:
Your favor would have received earlier attention,
but for the fact that I wanted to send you a picture of
the Springs, which I will do in a few days now.
I sent you by this mail a few of our (?)
& will allow you a discount of 20% from (?)
valued per (?). The freight is cheap. It (?) 3 days.
I deliver for you fee at depot in (?). The bottles
are like the Apollinaris. Terms 30 days. Yours truly
Geo. O. Glavis.
Apparently Caspar took on the product from Red Sulpher Springs, for there is another postcard from Mr. Glavis dated April 19, 1881:
Red Sulpher Springs, W. Va.
Dear Sir: Apr.19
If you will send me 100 bottles, I will have
them filled & charge you a small advance on cost.
(?) what ever that may be.
The rates given me are 50 (?) per 100 to Wash-
ington. This is all you ought to pay. I will see about
this.
Your suggestion about the book, I will have
adopted – it is a good one. Yours respectfully,
Geo. O. Glavis
Another interesting early card is dated April 28, 1881.
OFFICE Detroit Mich Apr 28/81
Mich Congress Water Co.
“Taste the Popular Beverage”
Dear Sir Please obtain the
Water from your Depot. What arrangement
would you be willing to make
for the Sole Agency for Mich Congress
in Washington? It takes the lead
in the Northeast & in Mich. We cannot
begin to fill our orders for bottled
water although we run day & night. Have
tasted (?) bottle as these (?) fine.
W. S. Edwards
Evidently within two months a business relationship had been formed:
Office of (?) (?) Mich Congress Water
Chicago June 30, 1881
Dear Sir
Yours of the 22nd just is at
hand. In regard to the two barrels of Mich
Congress held subject to our orders. We (?)
things you to obtain it and take it at the
same rate that we sold you the others,
Please ship us the barrels. Especially the black
tin lined!! I shall probably visit Washington soon
and will call & see you. We are shipping about
a carload per day of water. Please request (?) to
send back our barrels with (?) and oblige Yours
W.S.
Edwards (?)
Unfortunately, no business is without problems, as can be seen from this next postcard from July 25, 1881.
94
Griswold St.
Detroit
July 25/81
Dear
Sir,
Let
us know at once if the two
barrels you have with water in, are the
tin lined barrels.
Is the water all right
in them? Try &
see and let us know.
Return the others at once.
We wrote
several times without answer. What will
You give for the water in the two barrels?
Let us hear form you.
Yours
The
Mich Congress Water Co.
Setting up the water business must have had its ups and downs in those days. Hopefully, the tin lined barrels weren’t soldered with lead solder!!
The Shafers understood the power of advertising and ads for Shafer mineral water are available from both the Washington Post and the Washington Star archives. There must have been advertisements in other papers from Baltimore to Philadelphia but those have not been researched as yet.
The
first advertisement that has been found for the Shafer water business was in
the Washington Evening Star of June 7, 1881.
As can be seen from
the ad, “Pamphlets and Bedford Water can be had at our General Agencies, viz:
A. S. Shafer, 43 North Charles st. , Baltimore, Md : C. B. Shafer, 1010 F St.,
Washington D.C. and Shafer & Co. , 1003 Arch St. Philadelphia”. Archibald, with Archibald (jr), was now
living in Baltimore at 2122 St. Paul Street.
Young Archibald married Edith Richards on December 14, 1880 and eventually
moved to 121 W Third N Street, Baltimore.
Obviously someone must have been representing the family interests at
the Philadelphia location but nothing is known about this operation yet. This sort of ad, from The Bedford Mineral
Springs Hotel appeared from May 21, 1881 to June 18, 1881 almost daily. We can guess that Archibald probably set
himself and his sons up in the water business and it wasn’t long before Caspar
was doing well on his own.
This next advertisement is from the April 5, 1882 Washington Post, page 3 and is typical of the kind of ad Caspar used at that time.
On September 17, 1882, Caspar’s sister Mary died at the age of 36. Her husband, Parker Burbank, seems not to have been around and he dies the next year in New Orleans on December 25, 1883. Mary’s children are cared for and raised by their grandparents, Archibald and Mary.
By 1883, Caspar was still representing mineral water resorts and selling their water.
In May of 1884, Caspar Shafer even patented a funnel, no doubt an inspiration from his work. The following appeared in the Washington Post on May 28, 1884 on page 4:
In 1884 and 1885, The Bedford Springs Hotel as well as other resorts were still being represented by Caspar Shafer at 1010 F Street.
The Washington Post June 3, 1884; pg.2
The Washington Post July 6, 1885; pg.2
In 1886, Caspar was using small ads in the Washington Star. Notice that he now has telephone service.
By the end of 1886,
Shafer’s Mineral Water Depots were located in Washington at 1010 F Street NW,
in Baltimore at 49 North Charles Street and in Philadelphia at 112 North 9th
Street.
The Washington Post Dec. 5, 1886; pg.6
By this time, Caspar, now approaching 40 years old, had become an important member of his community. He was involved with many organizations that must have kept him quite busy. The newspaper record is, of course, not nearly complete but where Caspar is mentioned as a member of a particular group, historical confirmation of family oral history can be obtained.
Of particular interest are the three items that Caspar handed down to his descendents which, family tradition has said, were given to Caspar by Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux. These items are a peace pipe made of red pipestone, a single string of beads, and a long embroidered sash. Family tradition says that Chief Red Cloud gave these to Caspar Shafer as gifts for his children.
Red Cloud made at least ten documented trips to Washington from 1870 to 1890. On many of these, besides lobbying government officials for better treatment for his people, Red Cloud visited with members of the public. One such visit occurred in 1885.
The Washington Post Mar. 23, 1885; pg.1
As a voice of the Council Fire, “…A monthly journal… devoted to the civilization and rights of the American Indian”, Dr. T. A. Bland was one of the most active defenders of Native American interests in Washington. In 1884, he was invited to the Sioux reservation and met with Red Cloud. The two remained close friends as Dr. Bland fought for the rights of the original inhabitants of the United States. An article in the January, 1889 issue of the Council Fire recounts the formation of the National Indian Defense Association:
Newspaper accounts in the Washington Post, Washington Star and the New York Times, refer to meetings of the National Indian Defense Association, Caspar Shafer, treasurer. Page 2 of the Washington Post dated January 12, 1886 reported the following:
.
Saturday, January 23, 1886 The Washington Star
Although Caspar is not
mentioned in this article, it should be noted that he was active in the First
Presbyterian Church. The next mention
of the National Indian Defense Association is at the end of 1886.
The Evening Star – Wednesday, December
22, 1886
The Dawes Indian Severalty Bill being
discussed in Congress was very important to this group. Basically, the Dawes Bill would have taken
away a great deal of the Native American’s land and the displaced Indians would
have been encouraged to take up farming on the remaining land instead of the
nomadic tribal lifestyle to which they were accustomed. The National Indian Defense Association was
the only group who took the position that the Indians should decide by
democratic vote how quickly they would be assimilated into the American
culture. Instead of being forced to
follow the timetable of greedy business interests and sincere but misguided
people who sincerely felt that complete immediate immersion was the best
approach, it was felt that the Indians should have the final word on whether or
not their land would be taken and how much per acre they would get if they did
sell their land.
It can be assumed that Caspar Shafer,
although his name is misspelled in this article, was the first and original
Treasurer of the National Indian Defense Association and probably their only
one since the group seemed to be only active for less than ten years.
Notice that the organization has 457 members
and “Treasurer Shaffer(sic) reports a healthy state of its finances”.
On January 17, 1887, the (second) annual
meeting of the NIDA took place.
Saturday, January 15, 1887 The Washington Star
This meeting was also noted in the Washington
Post of Jan. 18, 1887 on page 1.
The NIDA even met with President Grover
Cleveland.
Wednesday,
February 16, 1887 The Washington Star
Caspar was also very involved in the
Presbyterian Church in Washington and was a deacon during the time that the
Church of the Covenant was constructed.
The cornerstone for the church was laid in 1887 and Caspar is mentioned
in the article about the planned building, which was proposed and supported by
some of the leading men in Washington, including at least two Supreme Court
justices among other notables.
The third annual meeting of the National
Indian Defense Association was held on Dec. 20, 1887. Caspar Shafer was again elected Treasurer and the “Association
was reported to be financially in a fairly prosperous condition”.
Saturday,
December 21, 1887 The Washington Post
BARNUM'S AND BAILEY'S
PARADE
The Washington Post (1877-1954)
Washington, D.C.: May 2,
1888. pg. 3, 1 pgs
At 9 o'clock this morning the gorgeous street
procession
of the "Greatest. Show on Earth"
will herald the two days' entertainment of the
new and largest combined exhibition of the
two foremost showmen alive. In speaking of
the parade, one of the Baltimore papers says:
“The parade itself was all that could possibly
be expected.”
Wednesday, May 2, 1888 The Washington Star
Who is little
Sunshine,?
The child who
does not pout,
nor frown, nor
say cross
words but go
about the
house laughing
smiling
singing,
saying kind words
and doing kind
deeds.
that child is
little
Sunshine.
Caspar I. Shafer
May the 1, 1888
A Grand Council of Indian Chiefs and the US
government was held in Washington, D.C. in October of 1888. Sixty of the most important tribal leaders
attended including Sitting Bull. The
government was still trying to force the Indians to accept the severalty
concept and the chiefs were trying to argue against it. The National Indian Defense Association
supported the right of the Indians to hold their land.
In a paper by Dr. T. A. Bland summarizing the
reasons for the Grand Council and the participation of the National Indian
Defense Association, he reports:
“Rev. Alexander Kent, Rev. Simon Domer, Hon.
A. J. Willard, C. B. Shafer, Esq., and Dr. T. A. Bland were a committee
from the National Indian Defense Association to attend these councils, with a
view to being able to preserve a correct report of the proceedings.”
This shows that Caspar Shafer was, indeed, an
important figure in the NIDA.
Notice of the fourth annual meeting of the
National Indian Defense Association on December 19, 1888 appeared in the
Washington Star and the Washington Post along with the election of officers
including, once again, Caspar Shafer, misinitialed in both articles, as
treasurer.
Dec 19, 1888 The Washington Post, pg. 4
In the water business, Pavillion water seems
to have gained prominence at Shafer’s Mineral Water Depot.
Friday,
January 25, 1889 The Washington Star
Oct 19, 1889
The Washington Post, pg. 7
In 1889, Caspar
Shafer continued his role as Treasurer for the National Indian Defense
Association. Chief Red Cloud came to
Washington in April of that year. The
May issue of the Council Fire carried the following reports:
A complete list of
attendees of these functions is not available but it could be strongly argued
that Caspar Shafer met Red Cloud if not before this visit to Washington, certainly
during the week and a half or so that Red Cloud was in Washington in 1889. As a founding member and treasurer of the
National Indian Defense Association, Caspar Shafer was very committed to this
just cause. Family tradition says that
Red Cloud gave Caspar the necklace, sash and pipe for his three children. This would have been Red Cloud’s first visit
to Washington since the death of young Caspar Irving Shafer reduced the family
to three children. In any case, there
were probably multiple opportunities for Caspar Shafer to have met Red Cloud
from his association with the hierarchy of the National Indian Defense
Association.
In addition, the
oral record of Caspar Shafer’s gift from Red Cloud was not transferred over any
great stretch of time or people. The
author’s father, Sayre Shafer, was told
of the gifts from Red Cloud as a boy when grandfather Caspar was still
alive. Caspar Shafer died when Sayre
Shafer was 13 years old. Sayre’s
father, Montgomery Rea Shafer, died when Sayre was 17 years old. It seems quite likely that the history of
the gifts from Red Cloud has been accurately reported.
Also in 1889, the
Church of the Covenant, Presbyterian Church is opened. After years of planning and building, the
structure is finally completed. Caspar
is still serving as deacon.
(Complete
text available)
The annual meeting
of the National Indian Defense Association was, again, held in December. The New York Times (on Page 1) and the
Washington Post took note of the annual meeting in 1889 but apparently both the
Times and the Post must have been given information that it was the fourth
annual meeting when it should have been the fifth. Except for a W. J. Godfrey of Nebraska, all of the officers are
repeated from the previous year including the Treasurer, C. B. Shafer.
Dec 18, 1889 New York Times, pg. 1
Dec 18, 1889 The Washington Post, pg. 7
Caspar Shafer must
have kept busy with his business and other interests for the next five years,
but nothing more has been found in the newspaper archives for the years
1890-1895. Chief Red Cloud made his
tenth and final trip to Washington in 1897 but only scant mention of this trip
was made in the Washington Post of May 5, 1897.
Perhaps the old chief visited with some of his friends from the no longer active National Indian Defense Association.
The years 1890-1895 must have been productive financially because we have the evidence of the partial postcards that are almost all orders for water from 1893-1894. It is possible that a lot of business was being done over the telephone by now. Here are some samples of these later cards:
Caspar’s interests had grown in other directions as well. Apparently there was a great problem in the bottled water industry at the time with what to do with the empty bottles. The suppliers, including Caspar Shafer, wanted all bottles returned to their source. The pricing of the water must have been established with the understanding that the bottles would be returned. Caspar Shafer was the Secretary of the Bottlers Protective Organization in 1895.
Unfortunately, it appears that the public’s thirst for exotic water, dried up in 1895. Caspar went out of business in 1895 and brother Archibald (father, Archibald Stinson Shafer died in 1891) went out of business in 1896. The Washington Post of Sept. 17, 1895 carried the following story on page 10:
The News (Frederick, MD) 05 September 1896
Baltimore Brevities
Caspar name appears in the paper regularly in regard to one or another of his interests. He was apparently a member of the Anti-Division Association, which, it appears, was an organization of responsible people concerned with eliminating what must have been an area of prostitution in Washington, D.C. called the Division. Houses of prostitution were not banned in Washington until 1914. The following article appeared in the Washington Post on April 2, 1896:
Caspar was also heavily involved with a charitable organization called the Sons of Malta. Apparently this group used humor as common ground for men interested in pursuing charitable works. The Sons of Malta came into being just before the Civil War. A good description of the Sons of Malta appeared in the Washington Post on March 5, 1905.
Caspar Shafer must have been a member of this organization for quite a while since on March 7, 1896, he was elected to the office of ‘Generalissimo’ and presided over the meeting of “many of our prominent business men”.
Caspar Shafer was also involved with an organization called the Anglo-Israel Association. In May of 1897, Caspar served as Vice President. This group was apparently based on the idea that Great Britain was one of the lost tribes of Israel and as such, all who descended from British ancestors had a direct link to the tribes of Israel.
With his family responsibilities, business responsibilities, church responsibilities, the NIDA, the Bottlers’ Protective Association, the Anti-Division Association, the Sons of Malta, the Anglo-Israel Association and who knows how many other organizations, Caspar Shafer must have lived a very full life.
The next thing that is known about Caspar is that in 1902, Caspar and his son M(ontgomery) Rea Shafer, and John G. Bryan entered into a partnership. It appears that Caspar was in business with Mr. Bryan for several years, although exactly what that business involved is still somewhat unknown.
At this time, Caspar was 54 years old and M(ontgomery) Rea was 23 years old.
The 1910 Census finds Caspar and Margaret, still in Washington, but living alone except for a servant, Minnie Smith. Notice that Caspar’s occupation is listed as “Store”.
Caspar and Margaret Rea in their later years.
By 1927, Caspar had moved to Rockville, Maryland and on July 22nd of that year, his wife, Margaret Rea Shafer, died. Her obituary has not been located as yet, but the Washington Post made note of the reading of her will on August 4, 1927.
No additional census listing for Caspar has not been located as yet, but in 1930, his son, M. Rea Shafer (and family), are living in Chevy Chase, MD.
Caspar Shafer died on February 22, 1931. He and Margaret Rea are buried in the Hackettstown Cemetery.
