Herman Schaaf
The Schaaf family is one of the oldeest in Holmes County, having resided here over half a century. Jacob Schaaf was born in Germany in 1798, and when a young man came with his brothers to America, landing in New York. He first settled in Somerset County, Penn., where for a number of years he worked at the miller's trade. About 1837 he came to Ripley township, this county, where with his wife and four children he took up his abode about two and a half miles south of Shreve, where he bought 160 acres of woodland. He cleared enough ground on which to erect a cabin, and after getting his family comfortably housed went to work to make a farm out of his land. His labor was rewarded by prosperity, and at the time of his death he owned 343 acres of valuable land. Mr.. Schaaf was married in New York to Magdalina Adenger, and to them were born nine children, all of whom are living: Mary (now Mrs. John Zimmerman), Herman, Adam, William, Aaron, Jacob, Frank, Catherine (Mrs. Shreve) and Caroline (Mrs. Seabolt). Two sons are living in Montana, one daughter in New York, two sons and one daughter in Wayne County, and two sons and one daughter in Holmes County. Mrs. Schaaf died June 28, 1879, and Mr. Schaaf December 19, 1881.
Herman Schaaf, the eldest son of the family, was born in Somerset County, Penn., in 1830, and was seven years of age when his parents moved to Holmes County. He has devoted his attention to farming, and has been successful, now owning a good farm of eighty acres, where he has lived since 1858. He has been active in the public affairs of the township, and has held the offices of trustee and school director. In politics he is a Democrat. He was married in 1858 to Amanda, daughter of John and Elizabeth Hughes, and they have had two children: Mary, now Mrs. McGlaughen, and John, who was killed February 27, 1885, at Shreve, by a pistol shot from the hand of Robert Dowty. Mr. and Mrs. Schaaf are members of the Presbyterian Church.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889