Johann Conrad Schefer

Johann Conrad Schefer (* 2. March 1772 in Herisau ; † 19th October 1831 ibid ; heimatberechtigt in Herisau) was a Swiss bookbinder , journalist and ratchet driver from the canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes .

Life

Johann Conrad Schefer was the son of Johannes Schefer, mousseline manufacturer , and Anna Katharina Schiess. In 1799 Schefer married Johanna Barbara Enz, daughter of Johann Jakob Enz, a merchant . In 1806 he married his second wife Anna Barbara Rechsteiner, daughter of Johann Bartholome Rechsteiner .

Schefer completed his training as a bookbinder in Zurich and also conducted historical and natural history studies. From 1791 to 1796 he made stays in Geneva , Strasbourg , Weissenburg and Paris . Schefer founded a bookbinding workshop in Herisau in 1796 . He soon added a bookstore to this. Although Schefer was not a supporter of the Helvetic Republic , he became a member and secretary of the municipality in 1799 . He was also district commissioner and school inspector in 1800 . From 1802 to 1831 he was a councilor alongside his business. In this function he was also a member of the Grand Council and numerous commissions . He made particular contributions to the poor and the cantonal insurance system . In addition, from 1805 Schefer worked as publisher , editor and author of the Avis-Blatt for Herisau and the surrounding area , the first Appenzell newspaper . Quarrels with the censors and a lack of subscribers prompted him to discontinue the paper, which has since been renamed, in 1814. Schefer was a co-founder of the Swiss Charitable Society in 1810 and of the Appenzell Patriotic Society in 1823. From 1812 he was a member of the Swiss History Research Society and from 1817 the Swiss Natural Research Society . He later published his articles in their yearbooks. As the first publicist in Appenzellerland, Schefer was one of the pioneers of liberalism in Ausserrhoden.

literature

• Walter Schläpfer: Press history of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Herisau: Schläpfer 1978, pp. 25-29.
• Oskar Alder: Counselor Joh. Konrad Schäfer 1772–1831: the first Appenzell publicist. In: Appenzellische Jahrbücher, Volume 37/1909, pp. 97–167 Web access via e-periodica.ch.
• Documents 1788–1843 in the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cantonal Library .

Web links

• Thomas Fuchs: Johann Conrad Schefer. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . February 18, 2011 , accessed May 25, 2020 .

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