So before I begin talking about the German headstones in this cemetery, I want to make a special note of a fairly new grave marker that was placed on the grave site of Joseph Schwalm, who was “accidentally killed in the construction of the original church and the first one to be buried in this graveyard.”
Joseph Schwalm headstone - first person to be buried in the St. Paul’s cemetery, accidentally killed in the construction of the original church.
Now, let’s talk about all the headstones in this cemetery that are in German. The Lehigh Valley was populated by German immigrants - “Pennsylvania Dutch” doesn’t just refer to the Amish and Mennonites - although there are many who still live in the vicinity - it refers to all those early German settlers. German customs and food are easy to find in this area, which makes me feel very at home because even though everything about me screams Irish, at heart I relate mostly to my German heritage. The German history of this area is pervasive, and so it shouldn’t be surprising that walking into a cemetery in eastern Pennsylvania feels like walking into a cemetery in Germany - headstone after headstone is etched in German, not English. And so today we’re going to talk about the Schaffers - John Jacob Schaffer was born April 10, 1799 and died March 19, 1878. I found him in the 1860 census living in Fogelsville, just north of Trexlertown, with his daughters Harriet and Martha - his occupation is listed as yeoman. In 1870, he was living in Trexlertown with Harriet.
John Jacob Schaffer, 1799-1878.
There are other Schaffers there as well. Justina Schaffer, maiden name Haack, wife of Michael Schaffer, was born in 1735 and died in 1832. It looks like she was an immigrant from Germany - her and Michael’s children were baptized at Christ Church in Berks County in the 1760s.
In these cases, it’s helpful to be familiar with family history words in a different language. You don’t have to be fluent, but if you know that “geboren” means born, “ehefrau” means wife, “jahr” means year, and so on, it makes it easier to pick out the “important” details on a document…or headstone. You don’t even have to memorize these words. By now, I pretty much know these by heart, but I also have my handy dandy cheat sheet that I use for other words.
I also want to make note of this headstone, which was like too many that I came across in this cemetery and too many that I come across any time I visit any cemetery - here we have S. H. Lafayette Hausman, son of Solomon and Elizabeth Hausman, born May 20, 1841, died May 17, 1842, two days short of his first birthday. High child mortality rates were just a fact of life but they always hit me hard, especially now that I’m a mother and I think of what it would have been like to try to care for my children back then…it’s hard enough keeping them alive some days in this day and age! And these children, who die in between censuses, who leave no “paper trail” behind, who have no descendants, are the most likely family members to be lost and forgotten, so I like to make a point to visit their graves and tell them that they are not lost, they are not forgotten. Apparently Solomon and Elizabeth are buried in St. Paul’s, too - sadly, it appears the baby they lost was their only child.
S. H. Lafayette Hausman, 1841-1842