| Male, Born | in Dallas, Lucerne Co., PA on 1/31/1831 |
| Died | ?/?/? (Salem, MO) |
Spouses / Children
Adam, or "Shafer", as he was generally known, led a most interesting life and because of some surviving letters which he wrote when he was about 85 years old, he provided us with some very valuable genealogical information on his maternal grandfather's family - the Shafers. He also gave us a brief glimpse of his colorful and eventful life.
He was in the Civil War in California (quoted from California Union Volunteers, 7th Regiment, California Infantry.) "Organized at large October to December, 1864. Attached to Dept. of the Pacific. Companies "A" and "K" ordered from San Francisco to Camp Drum, Southern California, March 1865. Companies "A" to Fort Yuma, and "C" to Fort Mojave. Regiment moved to District of Arizona June 1865, and duty there, stationed at various posts till June 1866. Mustered out June 28, 1866." Adam mentions in one of his letters, "In the Spring of '62 I went to California and in the Fall I joined the army and they sent me to Arizona on the deserts to keep the Apache Indians quiet. I was mustered out in June '66 and went back by way of New York into Pennsylvania to make a visit at the old home." He also writes, "I was a soldier in the rebellion and I get 27 dollars per month."
In another letter he makes the statement that he was converted in his 20th year and always tried to behave himself. He taught a total of 21 terms of school in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Iowa. He left Iowa, Decatur Co., in the sprint of 1906 and moved to MO where he lived with his daughter and son-in-law. In his early days, he was in Sabbath School work, as librarian, teacher, superintendent. When he first became a Christian, he joined the Methodist Church, but when he went to Iowa there was no Methodist Church where he settled, so he joined the United Brethren. At one point, there was a Methodist class a few miles away, but some of them would dance and so he stayed with the Brethren. He stated that he had been involved in all sorts of church work except a preacher. He served as quarterly conference secretary, class steward, delegate to the annual conference, trustee of the parsonage and church as well as a large cemetery. He was also involved in township business.
Adam Shafer Ross also had a remarkable singing voice. I have an old newspaper clipping indicating that he sang at a Shoemaker Reunion and was accompanied by his cousin Albert Tinkham on the piano. Until he was about 80 years old, he conducted a free singing school every Sunday until his vocal cords gave out.
Now as to his family, Adam was married twice. The first time, he married in 1867 in Iowa Eleanor Cook, a war widow who had two boys. By Eleanor, he had two daughters: Eve born in 1868, and Emma born in 1870. Eleanor died a short time after Emma was born. One of the daughters died in infancy. Two years later, he married Mary Kennedy but they had no children together.
At the time that Adam wrote the letters, he was living with his daughter (Mrs. Madison Stephens) in Salem, MO, was 85 years old, and said that he was responsible for keeping bees, watching the woodpile, trimming the orchard, and taking care of the garden. I don't know what year he died, but family tradition says he died in a stove explosion.
