Santiago Schaerer

Santiago Otto Schaerer Kuenzli (born Jakob Otto Schärer; June 6, 1834 - January 28, 1895) was a Swiss emigrant, trader, settler and important colonizer in South America. He was the founder and administrator of several Swiss colonies, most prominently Nueva Helvecia in Uruguay and San Bernardino in Paraguay. He was the father of the 25th president of Paraguay Eduardo Schaerer and grandfather of businessman and journalist Arturo Schaerer.

Early life and education
Schaerer was born Jakob Otto Schärer on June 6, 1834, in Vordemwald, Switzerland to Jakob Schärer, the municipal clerk of the village, and Johanna Barbara (née Künzli). He attended the local public schools in Vordemwald and Zofingen. In 1855, he married Katharina Karoline Müller (1828-1861) originally from Unterambringen (Kingdom of Württemberg) and the couple had two sons; Jakob Emil Anton (1856-1929) and Hans Otto (1857-1935). His first wife died in childbirth of his third son in 1861.

Career
He sailed from Hamburg in 1862 and arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. Together with other Swiss settlers created Nueva Helvecia, the first Swiss colony in Uruguay. Then he travelled through Argentina, Carmen de Patagones and Santa Fe, and settled in 1869 in Paraguay, in the area of Caazapá, where he married Elizabeth Vera and had two other sons: Santiago Guillermo and Eduardo Schaerer. The latter would eventually become President of Paraguay and one of the most influential politicians in the history of this country. Years later his other sons, Emil Jakob and Hans Otto, came from Switzerland and also settled in Paraguay.

He continued his colonizing work in Paraguay in times of Bernardino Caballero, with the foundation of San Bernardino, Paraguay, the first German and Swiss colony in Paraguay, August 24, 1881. He continued on founding cities like Benjamin Aceval and Yegros. Santiago Schaerer died in Asuncion, Paraguay, on January 28, 1895, at 60 years of age.

Literature

 * La Tribuna Archives
 * Prensa Latinoamericana / Paraguay www.red-redial.net/prensa-pais-paraguay.html
 * Prensa Latinoamericana / Paraguay www.red-redial.net/prensa-pais-paraguay.html