[p. 527] a leading citizen and prominent farmer of North Beaver Township, residing on his valuable property which contains 125 acres of excellent land, lying two miles west of Mt. Jackson, on the Small's Ferry road, belongs to an early pioneer family of this section. Mr. Sherer was born October 25, 1830, in the brick house in which he resides, in North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Joseph and Nancy (McFarland) Sherer, and a grandson of Richard Sherer.
Richard Sherer came to North Beaver Township as one of the earliest settlers. Almost all this fertile country was then covered with timber and very few cabins had yet been erected in the little clearings. Richard Sherer acquired 200 acres. He was a man of more ambition and of better business perceptions than his neighbors and, in addition to building a log house in which to shelter his family, he opened up a store in the upper part of the spring house, and with the assistance of his son Joseph, conducting it very successfully. He subsequently purchased for the latter the farm which his grandson, Robert M., now owns, paying $500 for the 125 acres. Joseph Sherer was a boy when he accompanied his father from Eastern Pennsylvania to the wild regions of Lawrence County. He served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He assisted his father in clearing up the farm on which the latter had settled, about one mile distant from the present one, which later became his, and with his father went often into the forest in search of game. Robert M. Sherer owns the rifle with which his grandfather formerly shot deer, on the present farm. In 1823 Joseph Sherer built the standing barn, its dimensions being 80 by 45 feet, and it was a notable structure in its day, being the largest barn in Beaver County, North Beaver Township then being included in that county. Every part of this old and still stanch building was hewed out of solid timber, not a stick was sawed. In 1826, when Joseph Sherer built the present brick house, it attracted attention far and near. There were very few brick houses in the county at that time. Like his father, Joseph Sherer was a man of business enterprise and acquired a large estate. He was married twice, first to a Miss Forbice and second to Nance McFarland. There were four children born to his first union and six to the second, Robert M. being the youngest son of this marriage. In addition to his other enterprises, Joseph Sherer operated a teaming route between Pittsburg and Erie. His death took place April 13, 1869, and he was survived only three days by his widow.
Robert M. Sherer grew to manhood on his present farm, attended the country schools and later became his father's main helper on the farm. He has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits ever since, and although he has reached an age when many men feel like laying aside business cares and responsibility, he still takes an interest in managing a large part of his farming operations as of old. For over seventeen years he also engaged more or less in threshing.
Mr. Sherer was married (first) to Elvira Wallace, who was a daughter of James Wallace, and they had six children, namely: Frank Z., Alice, Eva, William, Hiram and Charles. Frank Z. was married twice, first to a Miss Welker. They moved to North Carolina, where she died and left two children, Jennie and Ruth. Frank Z. married again and resides with his family on a farm near Salisbury, North Carolina. Alice is deceased. She married John Inman and left two children, Robert and Tod, the former of whom is married and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Eva died in girlhood. William lives at Struthers, Ohio. Hiram and Charles both live on the home farm. For some time the former was foreman of the Lawrence Laundry at New Castle. Charles married Maude Taylor, daughter of Lee Taylor of Little Beaver Township, and has two children, Eva Margaret and Robert Lee. After the death of his first wife Mr. Sherer married Nancy Jane Sparrow, a widow. She died in December, 1907. Mr. Sherer and son Charles are both members of the Westfield Presbyterian Church, in which the latter is a deacon.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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