Paul Werntz Shafer was a politician and judge from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Shafer was born in Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...

 and moved with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John M. Shafer, to Three Rivers, Michigan

Three Rivers, Michigan

Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County in the US state of Michigan. The population was 7,811 at the 2010 census.Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers. It is the home of St...

, where he attended public schools. He was a student at Ferris Institute (now Ferris State University

Ferris State University

Ferris State University is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1884 as the Big Rapids Industrial School by Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, an educator from New England who later served as governor of the State of Michigan and finally in the US Senate where...

), Big Rapids, Michigan

Big Rapids, Michigan

Big Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,849. It is the county seat of Mecosta County. The city is located within Big Rapids Township, but is politically independent.-Geography:...

, and studied law by correspondence with the Blackstone Institute of Chicago, Illinois. He was a reporter, editor, and publisher of newspapers in Elkhart, Indiana, Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

, and Bronson, Michigan

Bronson, Michigan

Bronson is a city located in west central Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,349 at the 2010 census.Bronson is situated on U.S. Route 12 about southwest of Coldwater...

. He was a member of the Indiana State Militia in 1916 and 1917. Years later, he served as a municipal judge in Battle Creek from 1929 to 1936. He was also married to Ila Mack.

In the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 primary elections of September 1936 for Michigan's 3rd congressional district

Michigan's 3rd congressional district

Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a United States Congressional district in Western Michigan. It consists of the counties of Barry, Ionia, and all except the northwest portion of Kent. The district is currently represented by Republican Justin Amash, the second youngest member of the house...

, Shafer defeated the incumbent Verner W. Main. Shafer went on to be elected to the 75th United States Congress

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...

 and to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1937 until his death.

Shafer was injured in an automobile accident in March 1940 while traveling in Columbiana County, Ohio

Columbiana County, Ohio

Columbiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 107,841. It is named for Christopher Columbus and the county seat is Lisbon....

. He suffered head and spinal injuries and spent several weeks being treated in both Salem

Salem, Ohio

Salem is a city in northern Columbiana County and extreme southern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2000 census, the city's population was 12,197....

 and Youngstown

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

 before being flown back to Michigan from Akron

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

 aboard an army plane.

He died on August 17, 1954 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, two weeks after being re-nominated in the Republican primary election to the 84th Congress

84th United States Congress

The Eighty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1957, during the third and...

. He was interred in Memorial Park Cemetery, Battle Creek, Michigan.

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