Born near
Wytheville, Virginia, Shaffer attended the Wytheville public schools. He was graduated from
Plummer College in Wytheville in 1902 and from the law department of the
University of Virginia in 1904. He was
admitted to the bar in 1904 and commenced practice in Wytheville. He served as
Commonwealth's Attorney of
Wythe County 1908-1912. He served as assistant United States district attorney in the years 1920-1924 and served as
United States attorney for the western district of Virginia from 1924-1929. Shaffer was elected as a
Republican to the
Seventy-first Congress (March 4, 1929–March 3, 1931). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1930 to the
Seventy-second Congress. He was reappointed
United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, serving from 1931 until his resignation in 1932. He resumed the private practice of law. Shaffer was a stockholder and officer in Wythe County National Bank. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1940. He died in
Abingdon, Virginia, and was interred in St. John's Church Cemetery, Wytheville. ==Sources==