Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Keffer and Shunk (Schunck in the German) families were among the first settlers in Vaughan Township, originating from Brother's Valley, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, a decidedly Loyalist area during the American Revolutionary War. Siblings Jacob and Michael Keffer arrived with their families in 1806, settling on Lot 12, Concession 3 and Lots 9 and 10, Concession 3, respectively. The Shunks had arrived in 1804, and purchased Lot 8, Concession 4. The two families became connected by marriage in Vaughan Township and by 1906 there were 125 Keffers and a like number of Shunks occupying several thousand acres in Vaughan. Both families engaged in agriculture well into the 1960's, and were principals in the Sherwood Grange (No. 205), an early agricultural co-operative movement. To date descendants of the Shunk and Keffer families continue to reside in the City of Vaughan.