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Tryptich of Simon Shaulis  - Courtesy Bob Mariani

Harriet "Hattie" (Weyand) Shaulis was born the day after Christmas 1847 in Somerset County, PA, the daughter of Samuel and Caroline (Umberger) Weyand.

She migrated to Iowa with her parents in 1883, at age 36, where she became the second wife of widower and Civil War veteran Simon Shaulis (March 31, 1844-1931), son of Emanuel Adam and Julia Ann (Harsh) Shaulis, sometimes misspelled "Shauley." 

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Somerset Herald, Sept. 18, 1878 Courtesy Library of Congress

Simon also a native of Somerset County and had been baptized in infancy on April 26, 1844 in Christ's Lutheran Church of the Somerset pastorate. In adulthood, he stood 5 feet, 8½ inches tall, and weighed 160 lbs., with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.

He and his first wife, Louisa Brant ( ? -Aug. 25, 1877), had settled in Iowa on a farm in Black Hawk County, where she died on Aug. 25, 1877 after a dozen years of marriage. Thus he brought these five known stepchildren to the union with our Hattie -- James "Monroe" Shaulis, Ellen B. Peverill, Henry E. Shaulis, Clara M. Peverill and Emma M.A. Shaulis.

Harriet and Simon were joined in marriage in Waterloo County on Sept. 8, 1878 by the hand of Rev. J.R. Berry. The news was sent back home to Somerset County and thence published in the "Married" column of the Somerset Herald.

The couple's union lasted for more than 50 years until the separation of death. They produced four more children of their own -- Ira S. Shaulis, Frank R. Shaulis, Ada Mae Hatch and Anna Grace Queer.

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Cannonfire across the Rappahannock during the Battle of Fredericksburg

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Surgeon's sketch of Simon's groin wound National Archives

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Simon was a 17-year-old who thought himself too young to join the Union Army. At the time he earned income as a hired hand, providing labor for local farmers "at a meager pittance," said one news account. One summer day, he "was sent out to cradle oats by the 'boss' farmer. The oats were lying 'criss-cross' and 'fortty or more other different ways,' the cradle scythe was dull and the sun was beating hot. Shaulis concluded he would 'jack the job,' so at the noon hour he informed the farmer of his intention..."

He thus enlisted in the Union Army on July 31, 1862 in Somerset County and was placed in the 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C. Siimon boarded a railroad train for Harrisburg, PA and upon arriving was mustered into the service as a private on Aug. 25, 1862. He and the regiment went on to take part in their first action, the bloody Battle of Fredericksburg, on Dec. 13, 1862. While in the day's fight, he received a wound at the top of his left thigh, near his testicles, and was sent to the Findley General Hospital in the District of Columbia. 

On Jan. 7, 1863, he was furloughed and may have returned home, but when he did not report back to the regiment on time a month later, he was declared a deserter. He rejoined his regiment in time for the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 1-3, 1863, where he received multiple wounds. A half-century later, a profile in the Waterloo Courier described Simon's experience at Gettysburg: 

The first day of the battle -- July 1 -- Reynolds' corps occupied Seminary ridge and on the second day it crossed over to Cemetery ridge. Mr. Shaulis will ever forget that day, for on it he was wounded thrice. The federals were hid in a cemetery, many of them concealing their bodies behind tombstones, and kept cannonading the confederates throughout the day. Early in the morning, a bullet from a confederate rifle grazed Mr. Shaulis' right ankle, inflicting a skin wound. During this battle he received two other wounds, one in the left leg and a skin wound under the right arm. None of them, however, incapacitated him from service. Indelibly stamped in the memory of Mr. Shaulis are the recollections of Pickett's charge, July 3. Suddenly the exchange of cannon shots between the two armies ceased, there was a lull that caused a queer sensation to creep up the spinal columns of the federal soldiers. Some one along the line was heard to yell in stentorian tones: "Look out yonder." It was Pickett's army moving to the charge. Mr. Shaulis declared that at the behest of their general the federals didn't fire a shot until the confederates were within about 300 yards of the union line. Then, a volley of musketry and cannon balls that made one think the "very doors of hell" had been thrown open, was opened. 

Fighting in and around graves at Gettysburg's Cemetery Hill Courtesy Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War

A month later, on Aug. 17, 1863, after having been accused ot desertion, he was placed under military arrest and was sent for confinement to Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, PA. He underwent a court martial on the grounds of desertion. The military court exonerated him from the charge, but ruled him guility of absence without official leave. This meant he was to be returned to duty but forfeiture of all pay and allowances and to make up the time he had lost. He only remained in custody for a few weeks and rejoined his regiment in September 1863.

Somerset Herald, June 10, 1885 Courtesy Library of Congress

At some point during the war, Simon was wounded twice more. Said the Courier, "a confederate bayonet almost severed his nose, and he had a narrow escape from being shot when a rifle was discharged three feet in front of his face. The gun was aimed at him, but a comrade directly behind the confederate hit the latter's arm and saved Shaulis. The left side of his head was badly burned, a small powder burn remaining in his temple today."   

Simon contracted severe diarrhea and was sent away from the regiment for treatment, ultimately assigned to Mansion House Branch of the 1st Division General Hospital in Alexandria, VA on Nov. 14, 1863. Simon remained at the Mansion House for a little more than two months until a transfer to the 2nd Veterans Reserve Corps (VRC), Company 144, on Feb. 4, 1864. 

In March 1864, he was detached from the 2nd VRC and provided service at Cliffburn Barracks, said to have been located a few miles north of the White House in the Mount Pleasant section of the District of Columbia. He apparently recovered his health sufficiently enough to rejoin his original unit, the 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry, in September or October 1864. Staying with the 142nd for the duration of the war, he received an honorable discharge in Harrisburg on May 29, 1865.

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Hattie's (above) and Simon's signatures National Archives

Simon returned home to his native soil. He and his first wife and family resided in Berlin, Somerset County until April 1874, when they made the decision to migrate to Iowa. After a cross-country voyage, they put down stakes in Waterloo, Black Hawk County and remained there for the balance of their respective lives.

He is known to have kepr relics from his wartime service, among them, said the Courier, "a remnant of his old regimental flag, two bullets, a piece of army cracker and a towel he carried with him during the war. All of these he prizes very highly."

Simon planted an orchard of maple trees at their farm in about 1874. A dozen years later, in 1886, he harvested some 248 lbs. of sugar and eight gallons of molasses from these trees, as reported in the Audobon County (IA) Republican.

Federal census enumeration records for 1880 show the family in Orange Township, Black Hawk County, with Hattie's married sister Mary Shaulis and her son William living in the household.

The year of his first wife's passing, Simon began receiving a military pension as compensation for his wartime sufferings. [Invalid App. #241.104 - Cert. #253.011] He remained a widower for about 13 months until his marriage to our Hattie.

Heartache swept over the family on May 29, 1885 when their daughter Emma died in Waterloo at age 10 years, six months and 16 days. An obituary appearing in the Somerset Herald reported that the cause was "that dread disease, diphtheria."

Simon's name was in the news in the Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican in April 1903 when a valuable pacing horse was stolen from his barn. Said the Times-Republican, "The thief took the animal from the barn during the night and left no trace of his identity. The horse was not missed until morning and the thief had seveeral hours the start of the officers." 

Later that year, in August, he traveled to Los Angeles to attend a GAR convention, and stopped in Rocky Ford, CO to see his son James Monroe Shaulis. A related story in the gossip columns of the Rocky Ford Enterprise said he "is one of Iowa's broad-gauge and prosperous farmers, who says he has made enough money and is now going to enoy life."  

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Waterloo Courier, ca. 1913 Courtesy Bob Mariani

Hattie and Simon are named in the 1904 book History of Black Hawk County, Iowa and Representative Citizens, authored by Isaiah Van Metre.

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In 1910, when an atlas of Orange Township was published, Simon was marked as owner of two contiguous farms of 160 acres each. One was known as "Pine Grove Farm" and the other as "Walnut Grove Farm." These tracts were in very close proximity to the farms of former Somerset Countians John and Sarah "Sally" (Saylor) Dull, the Orange Township Cemetery and to the local Church of the Brethren. Many of their neighbors had familiar Somerset County surnames, among them Elmer M., Art M. and Elmer Lichty, Noah J. Fike, Amos D., Samuel and Jonas D. Sweitzer, U.S. Blough, Harvey R. Schrock, Samuel M. and John B. Harbaugh, D.R. Shank, William H. Maust, and D.B. Saylor.

Simon was active with the local Robert Anderson Post of the army veterans organization, known as the Grand Army of the Republic, holding the office of aide-de-camp circa the early 1910s. In 1913, he and Hattie made plans to travel back to Harrisburg to mark the 50th anniversary of the battle. He complained to the Courier reporter that he didn't "exactly agree with the plan of the state officials for distributing the expenses incident to the trip among the veterans. He argues that a number of iowa soldiers, like himself, having relatives in Pennsylania, will no doubt want to stay longer than the tickets purchased for them by the state will permit. He declared without hesistancy that the state should give the veterans their expense money and let them come and go when they please."

The Shaulises retired from farming in 1917, when Simon would have been 73 years of age. They moved to a home at 226 Home Park Boulevard on Waterloo. As he aged, Simon began to lose his eyesight. This prompted Hattie to write in February 1921: he "is blindf in the right eye and that his other eye is and has been failing for more than one year, and that his hearing has been affected and it is difficult for him to hear or carry on an ordinary conversation; also it is impossible for him to talk over the telephone." He suffered a stroke of paralysis on or about July 30, 1924 and his health declined further, with bouts of senility.

Simon later held the posts of commander and patriotic intructor with the Anderson post of the GAR. He also was active with the Sons of Veterans organization

Simon passed into eternity at home the day after Christmas 1931 in Waterloo. The funeral was held at their home on Home Park Boulevard, with full military rites provided, followed by another service at the First Brethren Church. A firing squad and taps bugler were part of the graveside service, with his grandsons Ray Peverill, Leo Peverill, Henry Peverill, Claude Peverill, Edward Shaulis and Edward Queer serving as pallbearers. Members of the Sons of Veterans served as honorary pallbearers -- D.F. Merriman, Warren Kelsey, Merlyn Snodgrass, J.C. Knapp, W.S. Crutcher and Frank M. Stull. An obituary was printed in the Waterloo Courier, which said that among those traveling to the funeral were son J.M. from Rockford, CO and niece Anna Raber of Savannah, MO. Harriet survived him by a little more than three years and was awarded her husband's pension. [Widow App. #1.709.104 - Cert. A-4-11-32]. Sadly, burdened with senility and heart failure, she suffered a stroke and died at home on Feb. 5, 1935, with burial in Orange Township Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave] Because one or more of their children was underage at the time they became orphaned, the pension was awarded thereto until they reached the age of maturity. [XC #2.646.922] Many years later, in 1980, Harriet and Simon were named in an edition of The Cedar Tree newsletter of the Northeast Iowa Genealogical Society..

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Above and below: 1910 Atlas of Orange Township, Black Hawk County. Note Simon Shaulis' adjoining tracts of 160 acres each and the proximity of their farms to the John and Sarah Dull farms, Orange Cemetery and Church of the Brethren.

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~ Stepson James "Monroe" Shaulis ~

Stepson James "Monroe" Shaulis (1866-1935) was born on July 9 or 19, 1866 in Somerset County and came to Iowa in 1874 at the age of eight. 

He married De La "Adella" Irvin (1868-1952). 

The couple eventually migrated to Colorado, making a home in Rockford. 

Circa 1931, as his father was dying, Monroe returned to Waterloo and spent an extended amount of time there until the father's death around Christmas 1931. 

Monroe passed away in 1935 and rests for all time in Hillcrest Cemetery in Rocky Ford, Otero County, CO. 

De La outlived him by 17 years and died in 1952.

~ Stepdaughter Ellen B. "Ella" Peverill   ~

Stepdaughter Ellen B. "Ella" Shaulis (1868-1919) was born on March 10 or May 16, 1868. 

She married Albert L. Peverill (March 23, 1861-1920). 

Ellen died in 1919 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Waterloo. 

Albert joined her in death a year later on Dec. 3, 1920.

~ Stepson Henry E. Shaulis ~

Stepson Henry E. Shaulis (1869-1956) was born on Dec. 17, 1869. 

He made the migration trip to Iowa with his family in 1874, at the age of five. 

He entered into marriage with Minnie G. (March 1877- ? ), a native of West Virginia. In 1900, the newlyweds lived in Hudson, Black Hawk County, IA and provided a room in their home for a cousin, Charles Albright. 

The Shaulises went on to bear one or more children. 

Circa 1929, their address was 1003 Independence Avenue in Waterloo, and in October that year they hosted a Shaulis family reunion, the first time the clan had gathered in two decades. The Waterloo Courier noted that 39 relatives were present "from Iowa, Colorado and Illinois. J.M. Shaulis, Rocky Ford, Colo., and F.R. Shaulis, La Junta, Colo., came the longest distance to this family gathering, at which the youngest present was Elnora Peverill, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Peverill, Waterloo. Following a picnic dinner the afternoon was spent informally." 

Henry passed into eternity at the age of 86 on June 23, 1956. His remains are in eternal repose in Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery.

~ Stepdaughter Clara M. (Shaulis) Peverill ~

Stepdaughter Clara M. Shaulis (1872-1939) was born on Oct. 3, 1872 in Somerset County. 

She was not yet two years old when she traveled to a new home in Iowa. 

She was joined in wedlock with Hugh Grant Peverill (Nov. 29, 1868-1934). 

Their children were Harold Peverill, Leo Dewey Peverill, Ray Peverill, Henry Peverill, Elmer Peverill, Fred Peverill, Robert Peverill, Etta O. Magee and Jennie Welter. They also lost two daughters in infancy. 

The Peverill farm was located five miles east of Waterloo along the Grant Highway. 

Tragically, their 23-year-old son Harold was lost at sea on Aug. 27, 1918, a friendly-fire casualty of World War I. Circa April 1931, as a gesture for the sacrifice of their sons, the federal government awarded Clara and seven other gold star mothers an all-expense-paid trip to France to visit the wartime battlefields. She spent six weeks in France and saw the battlefields of Verdun and central France as well as the American Cemetery while also touring Paris and London. After sailing back to the United States, on the U.S.S. Washington, she "stopped en route from New York at Somerset, Pa., and visited her birthplace and relatives there," said the Waterloo Courier. 

Hugh died on Jan. 21, 1934 at the age of 65. 

Clara outlived him by about five-and-a-half years. On Sept. 9, 1939, at the age of 66, she passed away. Burial was in Fairview Cemetery in Waterloo.

Stepson Harold Peverill (1895-1918) was born on May 6, 1895. As a boy, he attended the Barclay School and circa 1909 was a contestant in a county-wide spelling contest. He remained in the Waterloo area and earned a living as a laborer in 1915. After the outbreak of World War I, he joined the U.S. Navy in late 1917 and became a machinist's mate. He was assigned to a submarine chaser no. 209, commanded by Lt. Henry J. Bowes. Tragically, on the fateful day of Aug. 27, 1918, while the vessel was patrolling the waters off Fire Island, NY, it was mistaken for an enemy submarine and fired upon by the American steamer Felix Taussig. The chaser was sunk, and while nine crew members were rescued, Harold and the other 15 men were not, and his body was never recovered. Reported the Waterloo Courier, "the little chaser went down ablaze three minutes after being hit by two of the four shots from the gun of the ship a distance of 200 feet. According to the account of the Taussig's captain the gun crew opened fire when an object resembling a submarine appeared and crossed the steamer's bow without showing lights. Apparently one of the shots exploded a depth bomb on board the chaser, quickly ending her career." The horrific news was carried by other newspapers coast to coast. The survivors were so aghast at the senseless loss of life that a year after the sinking, they gathered 35,000 signatures on a petition to raise the sunken vessel, but nothing ever came of it. In the years following, a marble shaft bearing Harold's name was erected in Fairview Cemetery, over an empty grave, inscribed as follows: "Fallen for liberty. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his country." 

Stepson Leo Dewey Peverill (1897-1966) was born on Aug. 26, 1897 in Black Hawk County and lived his entire life in the county. He apparently never married nor reproduced He served in the U.S. military during World War I. Later, he returned to Waterloo and dwelled on Highway 20. He earned a living repairing automobiles and gasoline engines. Suffering from a heart problem, he was admited to St. Francis Hospital in Evansdale, IL where he succumbed at the age of 69 on Oct. 21, 1966. An obituary appeared in the Waterloo Courier. 

Stepson Ray Peverill ( ? - ? ) is believed to have been joined in wedlock with Ruth Lazemby ( ? - ? ), daughter of Thomas and Carrie A. (Graham) Lazemby. They were tenant farmers in Waterloo and, in March 1914, moved to the Mrs. Clough farm. Then in May 1919 he purchased a 120-acre farm located four miles north of Dunkerton. He and one of his brothers harvested 75 acres of oats over the span of four days n April 1925, and the Waterloo Courier noted that "There was no trouble with tractor or machinery going bad during the time they were operating at top speed." The Peverills are known to have attended the Shaulis family reunion in Waterloo in Oct. 1929, the first time the family had been together in 20 years. Circa 1943, their address was 127 Mohawk Street in Waterloo. He lived in Sunnyvale, CA in 1966-1976. 

Stepson Henry G. Peverill (1903-1970) was born on Oct. 27, 1903 in Black Hawk County. He did not marry nor reproduce. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and was a member of the Becker-Chapman Post of the American Legion. For more than 25 years, he was employed by John Deere at its Waterloo tractor works and gelonged to the United Auto Workers-Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW-CIO). In his spare time, he enjoyed his membership in the local Eagles lodge. After retiring in 1965, the bachelor Henry made his home n the Allison Hotel in Waterloo. At the age of 66, he suffered a stroke and succumbed in Scholtz memorial Hospital on June 28, 1970. An obituary ran in the Waterloo Courier. 

Stepson Elmer Peverill ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). In 1927, he married Della Goss (Dec. 21, 1909-1970), a native of Waterloo and the daughter of Delbert and Augusta Goss. They were the parents of Mrs. Frank Grantham, Mrs. Clifford Miller and Mrs. Harmon Stone. The family relocated to California in 1941, settling in Sunnyville before moving again to Cupertino, where they were in 1966-1976. Sadly, stricken with cancer, the 60-year-old Della passed away in Cupertino on June 7, 1970, and is believed to be interred there. The Waterloo Courier published her obituary. Elmer is thought to have returned to Waterloo where he died at the age of 78 in March 1985. 

Stepson Fred William Peverill (1910-2005) was born on Aug. 6, 1910 in Black Hawk County. On Oct. 5, 1940, when he was 30 years of age, he was united in wedlock with Mary E. Wenger ( ? - ? ), daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Bender) Wenger of Franklin County, PA. Their nuptials were held in New Hampton, IL. The couple produced these offspring -- Fred W. Peverill II, Betty J. Power and Janice Wheeler. He joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II. Fred spent a 37-year career working for Rath Packing Company in its cut and trim department. Mary also worked in the 1960s and early '70s in the fabric department of Wells Discount Store and retired in 1972. The couple resided at 536 Adrian Street in Waterloo in 1966-1976. At the age of 94, Fred succumbed to natural causes on July 28, 2005. The Waterloo Courier ran an obituary which noted that he was survived by seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. His remains were interred in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Waterloo. Mary outlived him by three years and died at the age of 93 on June 12, 2008. 

Stepson Robert Peverill made a home in 1966 on Route 4 near Waterloo and in 1976 near Gilbertville.

Stepdaughter Etta O. Peverill ( ? - ? ) wedded (?) Magee ( ? - ? ). Her home in 1966 was in Independence and in 1976 at 1535 Hawthorne Avenue.

Stepdaughter Jennie Peverill (1908-1976) was born on June 9, 1908 in Waterloo. At the age of 23, on Feb. 26, 1935, she was joined in holy matrimony with John Welter ( ? - ? ), with the nuptials held in Raymond, IL. The couple did not reproduce. The Wallers lived in 1966 at 135 Joder Street in Waterloo and eventually relocated to Brainerd, MN. Sadly, at the age of 67, Jennie died in Brainerd's St. Joseph's Hospital on March 14, after suffering a heart attack. The Waterloo Courier printed an obituary. 

~ Son Ira S. Shaulis ~

Son Ira S. Shaulis (1881-1984) was born on Feb. 6, 1881 on a farm in Waterloo. 

He married Alta D. (Dec. 10, 1886-1966). 

They were the parents of Edward Samuel Shaulis and Evelyn May Graham. 

The couple may have divorced. 

In the 1920s, Ira earned a living as a laborer in Waterloo. 

The 47-year-old Ira tied the knot a second time on Feb. 19, 1928 with 49-year-old Maude (Beaumont) Galvin ( ? - ? ). She was a native of Kesley, Butler County, IA, the daughter of Edmund and Laura (DeLong) Beaumont. Rev. Edwin Boardman Jr., of the Brethren Church of Waterloo, officiated at the ceremony, and Henry E. Shaulis and Minnie Shaulis served as witnesses. 

First wife Alta passed away at the age of 80 in Oct. 1966. 

Ira survived her by 18 years. At the age of 102, he succumbed in Waterloo on Jan. 3, 1984. They rest in Orange Township Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave].

~ Son Frank R. Shaulis  ~

Son Frank R. Shaulis (1885- ? ) was born on Feb. 18, 1885.

~ Daughter Ada Mae (Shaulis) Hatch ~

Daughter Ada Mae Shaulis (1887-1976) was born on Jan. 14, 1887. 

She was united in holy matrimony with Charles C. Hatch (1881-1948), son of William and Elizabeth (Meyers) Hatch. 

They lived in rural Waterloo in 1931. 

Charles died in 1948 with burial in Orange Township Cemetery in Waterloo. 

Ada Mae survived him by 28 years. She succumbed at the age of 89 the day after Christmas 1976.

~ Daughter Anna Grace (Shaulis) Queer ~

Daughter Anna Grace Shaulis (1889-1986) was born on March 9, 1889 in Iowa. 

She was joined in wedlock with William John Queer (July 8, 1886-1964), who was a native of Brothersvalley Township, Somerset County, PA. 

One known child was born to this union, Ruth Harriet Schleusner. 

Their home in 1931 was in Waterloo. 

William passed away on Jan. 8, 1964, at the age of 77. He was was interred in Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery. 

Anna Grace lived as a widow for another 22 years. She joined him in death at the age of 97 on Oct. 2, 1986.

Daughter Ruth Harriet Queer (1916-2009) was born on Feb. 15, 1916 in Waterloo. She married Frank W. Schleusner (1909-1978). They bore three known children, Joanne M. Iverson, Ronald Schleusner and Jacqueline Schleusner. Frank died 1978 at the age of 68 or 69. Ruth lived to the age of 93. She grieved in 1999 when their daughter Joanne died at age 63. Ruth succumbed in Waterloo on Sept. 10, 2009. They rest side by side in Saint Marys Cemetery in Gilbertville, Black Hawk County. Inscribed across the top of their grave marker is the opening line of the Lord's Prayer: "The Lord is my Shepherd," and their children's names are carved at the bottom. 

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