Representative Jacob K. Shafer

Jacob K. Shafer (December 26, 1823 – November 22, 1876) was a lawyer, local official in California, and a Delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Idaho Territory. He was born near Broadway, Rockingham County, Virginia, where he spent his early years in the Shenandoah Valley. Seeking higher education, he enrolled at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, then known as Washington College, and was graduated in 1843, receiving a classical education that prepared him for the study of law.

Following his collegiate studies, Shafer pursued legal training in Staunton, Virginia. He studied in the law school of L. P. Thompson and completed his legal education there in 1846. After reading law in the traditional manner of the period and qualifying for the bar, he prepared to establish himself professionally at a time when many ambitious young lawyers were looking westward for opportunity.

In 1849, amid the broader westward migration associated with the California Gold Rush, Shafer moved to Stockton, California. He was admitted to the bar in California and commenced the practice of law in Stockton, which was then a rapidly growing commercial center in the San Joaquin Valley. His legal ability and prominence in the community led to his selection as district attorney of the fifth judicial district of California in 1850, an office in which he was responsible for prosecuting cases in a large and developing region of the state.

Shafer quickly became a leading figure in Stockton’s civic affairs. In 1852 he was elected mayor of Stockton, reflecting the confidence of local citizens in his leadership during a period of rapid growth and social change. The following year he entered the judiciary, serving as a judge of the San Joaquin County Court from 1853 to 1862. In that capacity he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters, helping to shape the administration of justice in one of California’s important interior counties during its formative years as a state.

In 1862 Shafer left California and moved to the interior Northwest, settling in a region that would soon be organized as Idaho Territory. His relocation coincided with the development of new mining districts and settlements in the area, and he resumed the practice of law while becoming involved in territorial affairs. As the population of the territory grew, so did the need for representation in the federal government, and Shafer emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s leading figures there.

Shafer was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-first Congress as the Delegate from Idaho Territory and served from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1871. As a territorial delegate, he had the right to debate and serve on committees but not to vote on final passage of legislation. During his tenure he represented the interests of a vast and sparsely populated territory undergoing rapid development in mining, transportation, and settlement. He sought renomination at the end of his term but was an unsuccessful candidate, and his congressional service concluded with the expiration of the Forty-first Congress.

After leaving Congress, Shafer returned to private life and resumed the practice of law. He later moved to Eureka, Nevada, a prominent mining town that had grown quickly following the discovery and development of rich mineral deposits in the region. He continued his legal career there until his death in Eureka on November 22, 1876. Shafer was interred in the Masonic Cemetery, reflecting his association with the Masonic fraternity and his standing in the communities in which he lived and served.