Alfred Edward Ulshoefer was born to Lizzie Ulshoefer of Brooklyn, New York. Unable to keep her child, she placed Alfred in the Sheltering Arms Nursery and visited him until October 1904. It is believed she had come to New York City to help support her family in Albany, New York, and by 1905 she was back in Albany helping her mother. She later married there and had one son, Samuel. On March 15, 1906, the Children's Aid Society placed Alfred in Hopkinton, Iowa, through agents H.D. Clarke and Anna Laura Hill. At 3 years of age, he found a home with Matt and Elizabeth Pierce and their two children, Katherine "Kittie" and Harry, and Clarke said the family "worshipped him." Elizabeth died 3 months after Alfred's arrival, and "Aunt Kittie" stepped in to mother him. A bright child, Alfred graduated high school with honors and attended Lennox College. On May 30, 1926, he married Clara Augusta Gienapp, and they had two children, Alfred Jr. and Marilyn. During the Depression years the family traveled often as Alfred held a number of jobs, though his primary occupation was teaching in country and public schools. He won the Silver Beaver Award and served as a Boy Scout Leader in every community where the family lived. In 1954 he changed careers and worked as an appraiser until his death in 1975, and he is remembered for his dedication to teaching and guiding young lives.