Thomas Jefferson Shaffer autograph album

Collection

Identifier: SC-Cent. Misc. Mss. 47

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of pages removed from an autograph album belonging to Thomas Jefferson Shaffer when he attended Centenary College of Louisiana. Shaffer’s classmates at Centenary signed most of the autographs in 1861. Lengthier messages were written by Henry E. Cockerham, J. P. Hudson, and J. S. Leoron.

Dates

1861 - 1865

Creator

Shaffer, Thomas Jefferson, 1842-1915 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Jefferson Shaffer (1842-1915) was born and raised in Terrebone Parish, Louisiana. He is the son of William Alexander Shaffer (1797-1887) and Emily Milette Bourgeois Shaffer (1807-1874). Shaffer attended Centenary College of Louisiana’s preparatory department (1858-1860) and college (1860-1861), then served as a soldier in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. After the war, he owned and operated Anna plantation in Saint Mary Parish. During the last years of his life, Shaffer served as the major general of the Louisiana Division of the United Confederate Veterans.

In 1868, Shaffer married Ann Powers Pelton (1846-1897); they had five children. In 1900, he married Harriet Jones (1877-1941); they had two children.