Sheffner-McFadden Collection

Jean C. McFadden (1923-2015) was the granddaughter of turn-of-the-century Natrona County Sheriff Jesse A. Sheffner. Her mother, Genevieve Sheffner Shultz, had kept many photographs and keepsakes from her childhood and life in Casper, Wyoming. Jesse A. Sheffner (1869-1932) came to Wyoming in 1890 from Nebraska where he first worked at the N.S Bristol grocery store and then as a clerk for the Webb Mercantile Co. He served as Marshal in Casper from 1904 to 1907, Sheriff from 1907 to 1915, also serving at different points as mayor, chief of police, and undersheriff until 1928. His family lived for a time during his term as Sheriff in the Natrona County courthouse. His wife, Frances C. (Butler) Sheffner (1870-1927), served as one of Casper’s first school teachers. She was a member of the Butler family, one of Casper’s first families with additional familial ties to the Demorest family of Casper. They were married in 1895 and had three children, Jesse (1904-1905), Camden, and Genevieve.

Jesse Sheffner died in 1905 at 18 months old. Camden Sheffner (1898-1988) was a long-time employee of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Casper and a game warden. He earned a Purple Heart Medal in 1918 for his service during World War I in France. Genevieve (1900-1983) married Walter A. Shultz in 1920 and after their divorce, spent several decades in Hollywood, California, before returning to Casper in 1973 with her daughter Jean C. McFadden.