Lewis Schaaf (1846-1889) was the son of Conrad (Konrad; 1800-1864) and Philippina (Philapena) Schwind Schaaf (1804-1883) of Brooklyn, Ohio. The Schaaf's settled on the road that bears their name in the Brooklyn Heights area about 1832 and owned land in the Independence, Ohio, area in the 1840s. In 1868, Lewis journeyed to California and Nevada where he worked for three years. In the fall of 1871, he returned to live in the Western Reserve. He died in West Cleveland in 1889 and was survived by his wife Louisa Katherine Smith Schaaf (1855-1915). In 1868 Lewis embarked from Brooklyn "amid sorrow and tears" with the intention of leaving his "native home far behind, although never to be forgotten" and venturing to California by ship via New York and Panama. Although beset by corrupt hackmen in New York and seasickness on the voyage, Lewis was able to enjoy the weather and scenery of foreign ports on the journey to San Francisco, then Sacramento and New England Mills. there he joined his friends the Geistendorfers, working in the hay fields on their ranch before heading to Coburn's Station in the Sierra Nevada's where he secured a job helping the teamsters and log cutters on Geistendorfers' crew. Lewis's diary describes the social life of the frontier including his involvement in the local Odd Fellows Lodge, the celebration of the completion of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads, as well as train robberies and the tragedy of community destruction through fires. By spring of 1870, however, Lewis was disenchanted by the West and his expectations focused increasingly on a small farm, a comfortable life, and a wife. He did not anticipate roaming the country much longer, he insisted, as the need to change jobs and his financial hardship aggravated his distress. In the fall of 1871 he finally purchased a ticket for Chicago and took the Union Pacific across the country. Ending up in Columbus, Ohio, he then headed further east to Utica (probably Ohio) where he visited his cousins prior to returning to his home in the Western Reserve.
The Lewis Schaaf Diary, 1868-1872, consists of the electrostatic copy of a diary chronicling Schaaf's experiences on the far western frontier of the United States.
This collection pertains to the expectations of those who pioneered the American West in the years immediately following the American Civil War as well as to the very real hardships and adventures encountered in frontier communities and mining and lumber camps of the California and Nevada territories. it touches upon Schaaf's journey west, his life in a lumber camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and his disenchantment with the far western frontier. Also included are everyday details for pioneering such as recipes for tobacco substitutes and ways to clear mosquitoes from a room.
The collection is arranged chronologically and is maintained in one folder.
Processed by Bari Oyler Stith in 1989.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4417 Lewis Schaaf Diary, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Lewis Wenger, 1979.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.