John Haff

JOHN HAFF serves as a fair example of what the uneducated German can make of himself in free America - an excellent citizen, with a good home and a respected family.

Mr. Haff was born in Posen, Germany, in 1854. His parents died when he was quite small, and he grew up without educational advantages. Like all young Germans, he served his time in the army, a term of three years. Then, with a spirit of ambition and an eagerness to try life in the western hemisphere, he directed his course to America, and came direct to Kansas, where he found employment in the rolling mills at Rosedale. Later he worked in the Kansas City packing houses, and in 1904 he bought the farm upon which he now lives, eighty acres of choice land near Bethel, in Wyandotte county. Here he raises sufficient stock, cattle and horses, for his farm, and in his fields cultivates a diversity of crops.

Previous to his coming to this country, Mr. Haff married in Germany, Miss Josephine Leavenduskey, who joined him here a year after his arrival, and whose encouragement and help have contributed materially to the success they have enjoyed. Sons and daughters to the number of seven have come to bless their home, as follows: John, Anna, Frank, Mike, Mary, Tony and Martha, and two of the daughters, Anna and Mary, are married and have homes of their own, the former being the wife of C. Gress; the latter, the wife of George Mallott.

Mr. Haff is a devout Catholic and a stanch Democrat. While, as above stated, he grew up without schooling, he has learned life's lessons in the army, the mill, the packing house and the farm; his contact with the world has made him broad and generous, and he ranks today as one of the best citizens of Prairie township.