John Adam Haag (1819 -1907)

HAAG, LADWIG, GUNZ, KELLERMAN

Posted By: Charlotte (email)
Date: 2/14/2008 at 19:35:49

Source: "Historical Sketch And Genealogy Of The John Adam Haag Family" prepared by H. Arthur Haag in 1949.

Note: Hugo Arthur Haag (the author) is the grandson of John Adam Haag

EARLY DAYS OF THE HAAG FAMILY IN GERMANY. EMIGRATION TO U. S.
Our ancestor, John Adam Haag was born (as were his brothers and sisters presumably) at Wildenthierbach, Oberamt Gerabron, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Germany, Sept, 29, 1819. No doubt his ancestors, for generations before were born and lived there also, for people did not move around so much 130 years ago as they do today. His mother was taller than his father and she was the daughter of Johann Michel and Margaretha Barbara (Naerin) Unfug.
His father, John George, was a cabinet maker (in German "Schreiner-Meister") and the sons followed in their father's footsteps and learned this trade also. It is interesting to note the mechanical trend of the family. Most of the men had some kind of a trade, and this mechanical trend is shown down through the family. It was considered essential in those days in order for an artisan to perfect himself in his trade that he had to travel about and work in different parts of the country, the supposition being that in this way he would learn things new to his trade. And so John Adam, being ambitious, became what is known as a journeyman cabinet maker and as such traveled to and worked in Vienna, Budapest, and other parts of Austria, Hungary, Germany and eastern France.
Germany during those days was not yet the solid empire it later became under Bismarck, but was a rather loose confederation of more or less independent small kingdoms and states but recently liberated from the Napoleonic Empire. The people, having assisted in ousting the French, sought more voice in the government of their own countries. But the rule of the little kings in their own countries was practically absolute and the princes and princelings were determined to continue this, persecuting everyone who dared to disagree with them. The best and ablest, unwilling to continue longer enduring oppression and tyranny were coming to America, the land of freedom, and John Adam Haag was one of these. In 1845, with his cousin, John George Horn, he left the home where he had been born and reared and came to Milwaukee, Wis., then a small unincorporated village on the west shore of Lake Michigan.
There is no record of the route of travel followed, but it probably was down the Rhine to Amsterdam or Rotterdam, thence by sailing vessel to New York, which probably took from six to eight weeks, and from there to Buffalo and thence via the Great Lakes to Milwaukee. Needless to say present luxurious modes of travel were not available 100 years ago.
In the growing village of Milwaukee John Adam worked at his trade of cabinet maker during the daytime and in the evenings attended school to learn the English language. The letters that he wrote home during those days would make intensely interesting reading today, but unfortunately none are available. It is evident though that he was favorably impressed with America and the opportunities it afforded to the peoples of the Old World, and that he communicated this information to the folks at home. It is also evident that the family had considerable confidence in the soundness of John Adam's judgement, for the following year, 1846, the year the Mexican War began and when James K. Polk was President of the United States, his father sold his property in Wurttemberg and accompanied by the entire family with such personal belongings as they could bring with them, came to the United States and Milwaukee also. The traveling party consisted of the father and mother with their 5 children, all grown but the 15 year old Conrad, together with two young ladies, the daughters of neighbors, namely Margaretha Barbara Gunz who later became the wife of John Adam, and Margaretha Barbara Kellerman who later became the wife of George Michael. The route over which they traveled is likewise unknown, but presumably was the same as that used by John Adam the year before.
The attachment between the members of the family and their desire to remain together must have been quite strong. It is reasonable to assume that the children would want to come to America but it is hardly likely that the parents (John George the father was already 58 years old) were particularly keen about leaving the home and country where they had lived all their lives and were established, and going to a new and unsettled country with the language and customs of which they were totally unfamiliar. Pioneering is done by young people; I know that from personal experience. Older people remain at home. But the old folks evidently were willing to undergo hardships to be with their children. That the pioneer community in Wisconsin to which they came was composed mostly of young people is shown by the fact that the father John George was familiarly known in the community by the name of "Der Alte" (Old Man) Haag.
After their arrival in Milwaukee and the reunion with their son and brother the family decided to go on to Helenville, 40 miles west where lived friends who had been former neighbors in Germany. John Adam had decided to remain in Milwaukee, where he had employment at his trade. But as he had acquired knowledge of the English language and the customs of the country in the year that he had been here, the family wanted him to be with them. And they begged him so assiduously to come to Helenville with them that he finally assented.
There was no means of transportation to Helenville, not even a road, but only a blazed trail through the dense forest. This they followed, the whole party walking the entire way, making the trip in two days, with the overnight stop at Prairieville (now Waukesha).

EARLY DAYS IN WISCONSIN,
The territory that is now Wisconsin was at various times claimed by Spain, then England, and later France. In the peace treaty after the Revolutionary War it was given to the United States. What is now Jefferson County and where the Haag's settled was inhabited by Winnebago Indians before the white settlers came and for some time thereafter. Many of the important happenings of the Black Hawk Indian War of 1831-1832 occurred near to and within the boundaries of Jefferson County. After Black Hawk's defeat white settlers began to come in and in 1836 a territorial form of Government was organized and a land office established at Milwaukee for the sale of public lands, mostly at the price of $1.25 per acre. The first settlers to come to Jefferson County were mainly Americans from New York and New England, with a few Irish immigrants thrown in. These first comers of course took up the best land, that is the open or prairie land, and by the time the first German settlers arrived, about 1842, all that was left was the densely wooded tracts.
The exact date of the Haag family's arrival at Helenville in 1846 is unknown, and it is assumed that at first they lived with their friends there. However, real estate transactions are matters of public record and from these we find that on June 17, 1846, John Adam Haag purchased from the Government for $100.00 the 40 acres of land, containing a high hill at the northwest corner of which St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church now stands, and which is visible from the country for miles around. One cannot help but approve John Adam's first real estate purchase for the top of that hill would have made a wonderful site for a home, from a scenic standpoint, anyway. On Oct. 13, 1846, he entered the 40 just west of it, as well as the 40 just south of this last named 40, price paid for the 80 being $200.00. Evidently he built his first home on this 80, 1/4 mile south of Helenville. On Sept. 19, 1849, just 10 days before his 30th birthday he entered the 40 just south of the first named 40 above, for $50.00, and which now made him the owner of 160 acres of land in a square piece.
On September 3rd, 1846, the father, John George, entered the 40 just south of John Adam's west 80 as above, for $50.00, and on Sept. 19, 1849, the father also entered the other 120 acres on this quarter section for $150.00, which also made him a square 160 acres. John George was now 61 years old.
On Nov. 21, 1849, some real estate trading took place between the father and the sons. John Adam sold his east 80 to his brother George Michael and at the same time bought his father's east 80, which now made him the owner of 4 40’s in a straight line running north and south. On this same day also the father sold his west 80 to his son John Michael, thus having disposed of his entire 160 acres.
The two 80's purchased by Geo. Michael and John Michael, as above are today, 100 years later, still owned and operated by their descendants.
Some time after arriving at Helenville, John Adam and Barbara Gunz decided to get married and to accomplish this they went to Milwaukee, with another couple bent on an errand of the same kind, a four day round trip on foot over the blazed trail.
The first thing done by settlers arriving in a new and unsettled country is the erection of log cabins for shelter and the manufacture of furniture for use therein, and such things undoubtedly were the first things the Haag's did after arriving at Helenville. After that was done it was necessary to clear off some of the dense timber so that crops and gardens could be planted to produce food for their sustenance. The finest oak and walnut trees were cut down, piled up and burned to get them out of the way. Stumps had to be grubbed out by hand - no dynamite, stump pullers or tractors in those days. The three older sons were men in their prime and being expert wood workers and helping one another they no doubt soon had log cabins erected and finished. The nearest point where tools could be obtained was Milwaukee and they had to be walked for and carried home. The lack of transportation, tools, and stock, was a great handicap.
Wild game was plentiful. The woods were full of deer, squirrels and prairie chickens. Friendly Winnebago Indians, while they were supposed to have left the country, according to treaty, still lingered there. Grandfather told me, when I was a boy, of exchanging vegetables he had raised, for venison and other meat killed by the Indians, the sign language being used in making the trades. He also told me that while living at his home 1/4 mile south of Helenville he shot 3 deer. Deer would invade gardens at night, destroying vegetables, and had to be driven off. One dark night he heard deer in his garden but could not see them. He shot his rifle from his bed room window in the general direction of where he thought the deer were, heard them bound away, and returned to bed. What was his surprise upon going out the next morning to see lying in the brush just outside the garden fence a dead buck, shot through the heart. He had shot a deer he had not even seen. George and Jacob used to hunt squirrels with a rifle. While George stood still, Jacob would rest the rifle barrel over his brother's shoulder to steady his aim, and shoot the squirrels.
Sugar maples were plentiful in the forest and nearly every settler owned what was called a "sugar bush", a clump of maples which were tapped in the spring, the sap collected and boiled down to make maple syrup and maple sugar, and John Adam gathered and processed the sap from his "bush" every spring.
He also manufactured wagon tongues from white ash trees obtained on his farm. These were hauled to Madison, 40 miles west, and sold. In the winter he and his son George cut cordwood which Jacob would haul to Whitewater by sled and sell. As a boy when I would complain about something I considered a hardship my father would tell me how, as an 11 year old boy, wearing only thin overalls in the winter time and without any underwear or overcoat, he hauled cordwood alone to Whitewater 14 miles distant and sold it. That was supposed to quiet me - and usually did.
Being a cabinet maker John Adam was called on to make coffins for the pioneer community, price $10.00 each. Boards were kept on hand ready to be made up when required. Had he kept ready made coffins on hand in those days he would no doubt have been accused of wishing people to die so that he could make a profit. Outsides were painted brown and interiors were lined with white cambric for adults, pink cambric for children. Straw was used for padding and pillows were made of cambric. The work room or shop was off the kitchen.
Draft animals used in the early days were practically all oxen, horses being very scarce until the early l860's when some began to come in. It would be interesting to know the details of the circumstances of when and how John Adam obtained his first ox team, but no information is available. Things that were commonplace happenings 100 years ago make mighty interesting reading to us today, the ways of life have changed so much.
As hereinbefore stated the early settlers were nearly all young people of limited means, and while I never heard it mentioned there must at times have been considerable privation, due to lack of transportation and means of communication. Heads of families in those days never thought of getting rich but were concerned mainly with making provision for the support of their families. There was little contention or jealousy among them. Any note of trouble or call for assistance was responded to with alacrity. They had left their former homes to better their condition and make homes for themselves and their families in the new country and were unaware at first of the many hardships they would have to undergo in the early years. Had they known of these in advance, no doubt many of them would have remained at home. As it was many were inspired not a little by the spirit of adventure also.
Practically the entire community around Helenville in those days was composed of people of German descent. They were thorough farmers, having the best cattle and barns. Today from 70 to 80 per cent of the population of Jefferson County is still composed of people of German descent. They were the first to plant ornamental shrubs and perennials and fruit trees. The Americans did little in this line and the Irish nothing. The home of John Adam Haag was noted for the fine fruit trees surrounding it. It required the stubborn and unyielding fight of both men and women to overcome the obstacles of the new country, and they handed down to their descendants thriving farms and homes of peace and plenty. The German settler did real work. He cleared the land and tilled it until it was changed into fertile farms and gardens.
In the l840's and the 1850's grain (oats, wheat and barley) was still being cut with a scythe to which was attached a wooden frame known as a cradle which laid the grain evenly as it was cut. This tool was known as a grain cradle or cradle-scythe, and from which the grain was taken and bound by hand. The reaper as we know it was invented in 1848 and it was many years after that before it was sufficiently perfected and came into general use. Even then it consisted of the cutting mechanism only and the grain still had to be bound by two men who rode on the reaper. The automatic binding mechanism came into use about 1880. Before that twine had been too costly for use.
Until the invention of the threshing machine, along about 1860, grain was threshed by hand with a flail, consisting of a staff or handle, to one end of which was attached a freely swinging stick or bar with which the grain was beat out of the straw. Threshing machines as we know them today loosen the kernel from the straw by means of a rapidly revolving toothed cylinder working in coordination with stationary concave teeth.
Railroads were not available in Jefferson County until 1859 when one was built from Watertown to Janesville via Jefferson, 5 miles from Helenville. The Northwestern to Helenville out of Milwaukee was built in 1881.
John Adam's first wife, Barbara Gunz, died Oct. 12, 1856, when Godfrey, a twin, was born, the other twin dying with his mother. For the first year of his life Godfrey was reared by his aunt, Rosina Keller, and the daughter of a neighbor assisted with the housework in John Adam's family.
About a year after the death of John Adam's first wife there came to Helenville from Wurttemberg Anna Margaretha Haag, not related to him, who lived off and on with nearby neighbors named Scheller. Here she and John Adam became acquainted and Anna observed the plight of and pitied the motherless family, and it was not long thereafter that she became the mother in this family. That she succeeded admirably in this place is attested to by the fact that her step-children could never praise her enough. It is natural and to be expected that children will have a strong affection for their own mother, but for step-children to develop such a strong affection for their step-mother, as was the case in this family, is rare indeed.
THE FAMILY'S TREK INTO IOWA. EARLY DAYS THERE.
It was now 1868. The Civil War had ended 3 years before and the country was at peace again. John Adam's father and mother and his youngest brother had died, either during the war or shortly thereafter and the big post-war migration to the fertile lands west of the Mississippi was on. John Adam now had 11 children whom he loved dearly. The older ones were reaching adulthood and the time would soon be at hand when they would begin to think of establishing homes of their own. The land around Helenville was now all taken up and John Adam wanted his children to live close by. Also liquor was beginning to flow a little too freely in the neighborhood, something which John Adam, though not a teetotaler, did not consider conducive to good morals.
Friends and former neighbors had recently moved to north eastern Iowa and had written back letters about the fertile black rolling prairie land there and the bountiful crops it produced, and that there was still plenty of land available for settlers. So in the fall of 1868 John Adam and his brother John Michael, accompanied by the former's prospective son-in-law Ferdinand Ladwig, made a trip to northeastern Bremer County to look over the new country. And what they saw looked good to them and John Adam contracted to buy the present Haag farm of 120 acres 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Sumner, presently owned by the writer and his sister. The buildings then on this farm consisted of a 2 room frame house with an attic that was entered from a ladder, and a small wooden barn for horses. Cattle were housed in sheds built of poles and then covered with straw, There were but few fences, around the cultivated land only. The land seekers returned to their homes in Helenville.
In February, 1869, John Adam sold his farm at Helenville, and on March 3rd, accompanied by his sons George and Jacob, then 19 and 17 years old respectively, driving two black teams with wagons on which was contained some of their furniture, left their old home 1/4 mile south of Helenville, for Sumner, Iowa. They stopped that night with his sister, Rosina Keller, at Jefferson, and early the next morning headed west, accompanied now by George Hammetter with team and wagon. The day was bitterly cold and John Adam froze an ear.
When they reached the Mississippi River at Prairie Du Chien, Wis. seven days later, they engaged a pilot to guide them with their equipment across the river on the ice, there being no bridge there. From McGregor on west they found very deep snow, almost as deep as the fences were high, but by the time they reached West Union the weather had moderated, the snow was not so deep, and the road became rough. Between Hawkeye and Sumner, where they arrived Mar. 12th, they saw not a single dwelling place.
On Mar. 20th, 1869, John Adam received the deed to his farm and took possession. That deed I now have. On Sept. 16, 1865, a $600 mortgage had been given on this farm, $400 of which was still unpaid and which John Adam assumed when he took possession. Final payment was made and the mortgage released Mar. 25, 1873, and this is the only encumbrance that appears of record against this farm from the time the original Government patent was issued, May 4, 1855 up to this time. The farm had changed ownership 7 times between 1855 and 1869. Since then it has changed hands but twice, from one generation of the Haag family to another.
Later in March of that year, John Adam's daughter Christina, accompanied by his sister-in-law Miss Sophia Haag, left Wisconsin via rail for the Iowa home to keep house for the father and sons while the spring crops were planted, and to prepare for the coming of the rest of the family later.
The present town of Sumner was then non-existent and the only railroad entering the county, via which came most of the settler's supplies, was the Illinois Central at Waverly. S. P. Cass lived on the adjoining section just 2 miles east of the Haag home and used the front end of his home there as a general store and post office, the latter being known as Sumner Post Office. He bought butter and eggs from the settlers, reselling most of the butter to dealers for use in making soap.
Wheat was the main farm crop then, and settlers had the flour for their own use milled from the wheat they raised themselves.
In May, John Adam returned to Helenville to get the rest of his family, excepting his daughter Margaretha who had married. Relatives took the family, together with the rest of their household articles, to Whitewater, Wis. where they boarded the westbound Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul train in the evening, arriving at Postville, Iowa the end of the line, the following morning. The Mississippi was crossed on a ferry, there being no bridge. At Postville they were met by John Koehler, Sophia Haag's fiance, and the son Jacob, with two teams and wagons, and the 40 mile trip over the rough and rutty prairie road was begun to the farm home near Sumner, where they arrived that same night. Lettuce and radishes were growing in the garden east of the house.
Geo. Hoffmann, Mary's fiance also came to Iowa with the family. They later contemplated locating there but when his brothers in Wisconsin discovered this, they opposed the proposed move and they finally gave it up. Mary returned to Wisconsin in the autumn of 1869 and married Geo. Hoffmann early the next year.
John Adam Haag was not a farmer in the usually accepted sense of that term. As hereinbefore stated he was a cabinet maker, an artisan or wood worker. However, among pioneer families it was necessarily the custom to produce on their own farms most of the food consumed by them. After the arrival in Iowa most of the farm work was performed by the sons, and after their departure, upon reaching their majorities, by a hired hand, John Adam had what today would be called a hobby In that he was interested in horticulture, experimenting in the propagation of fruit trees by grafting, etc. Also in gardening and what today we call landscape gardening. My mother told me that when she came to the Haag farm as a bride in 1882, but 13 years after the family had moved there, that the farm was one of the nicest looking places in the community. I must concur in her opinion as I remember very well from my own boyhood days on this farm the large number and variety of apple, cherry and plum trees, cranberries, raspberries, goose berries, blackberries, elder berries, currants, grapes, etc. that were on it, as well as the various kinds of flowering shrubs, roses, dahlias, peonies, phlox, and many other kinds of plants and flowers that filled the yard, not to mention the big trees surrounding it.
Grandmother made her own soap, washed, carded, spun and dyed her own wool. She knitted me too many pairs of nice warm woolen stocking and mittens for me ever to forget about that. There was a smoke house where hams and bacon were hickory smoked and beef dried. Farmers did their own butchering in those days, pork was fried down and packed in lard in stone crocks, the lard was fried out, and various kinds of sausages were made. In the summer time the town butcher would send out a light spring wagon with a fast team, and back of the driver's seat would be a large box filled with chunks of fresh meat, to sell to the farmers. Each day he would take a different route so he would get around to every farm about once a week.
Grandfather had 3 large grape arbors back of the house, evidently having learned grape culture in the Rhine country from which he came, where he produced fine Concord and other grapes. Many of these were given to his children who lived in the community. Others were sold and from some the juice was pressed. The juice was allowed to ferment in a wooden cask in the cellar, and produced a red wine then with a low alcoholic content which was served when guests were present, in moderation of course. I never knew John Adam or any of his descendants to use liquor to excess. Most I believe are teetotalers. In this connection I think we should strive to uphold the standard of conduct of our forefathers.
In the yard was a large cross cut saw, rigged up in a wooden frame, and attached to a long piston that operated on hardwood bearings. These bearings quickly ran hot if not kept well lubricated. Power was furnished by two horses hitched to a horse-power, and logs were sawed into stove lengths from which to provide firewood. No coal, fuel oil or gas was used for domestic purposes on farms in those days.
There was insufficient room in the new barn which John Adam had built, for winter hay for the stock and considerable hay was therefore stacked outside. A four legged derrick was rigged up with pine timbers, with a heavy timber running lengthwise down the center at the top on which the carrier holding the hay fork ran, and hay stacks were thus made in the same way in which hay is now gotten into the barns. This derrick was dragged from place to place, wherever stacks were to be located. Silos are a comparatively recent invention.
Grain (oats, wheat and barley) after standing in the shock in the field for some time was always stacked in either conical or long stacks for some time before threshing, the theory being that the grain had to first go through a "sweat". Threshing machines were few and far between and threshing frequently ran into November. Twine bends of the bundles were cut by hand (usually by a boy) and the grain was fed into the machine by hand. Power for running the threshing machine was furnished by about five or six teams hitched to sweeps on a "horse-power", which was geared to tumbling rods with knuckles or universal joints, and the power thus transmitted to the threshing machine. Grain was measured in half bushel baskets as it came from the machine, and was then emptied into long grain sacks, which were hauled to the granaries and emptied. The straw carrier on the machine remained in a fixed position, except that it could be raised or loitered, and straw had to be moved to all parts of the stacks by hand.

THE CANE MILL
Until about the turn of the century most Iowa farmers raised sorghum (we called it cane) the juice of which was crushed out and then cooked until it became molasses. This was spread on bread and pan cakes, and was used for culinary purposes generally in lieu of sugar. Factories where the cane was thus processed were called cane mills. These mills were operated for three or four weeks during the fall, usually in September, when the cane had matured. Ferdinand Ladwig had owned and operated one of these cane mills in Wisconsin and after he moved to Iowa in 1870, John Adam bought his mill there and had it shipped to Sumner, where the equipment was erected on the south side of the hill, south of the road, 1/4 mile east of the farm home. Here the mill was operated yearly from 1873 to 1891, inclusive. The younger girls, still at home doing the cooking. The crusher was usually operated by a young man hired for that purpose. John Adam himself performed the functions of general manager, as well as being both bookkeeper and cashier. The price charged for processing was 25¢ per gal. cash, or if work was done on shares, 1/2 of the product, owner's option. In the early days John Adam raised some cane himself and usually had from 2 to 3 barrels of molasses in his basement for sale, the price being from 50¢ to 60¢ per gal. come and get it. From some of the molasses which had been processed on the "share" basis, and which was frequently of inferior quality, vinegar was made and this sold for 10¢ per gallon at the home.
The plant consisted of a 3 cylinder crusher powered by one or two horses hitched to a long curved sweep. After the juice was crushed from the stalks it was strained and ran by gravity through wooden pipes to a storage tank in the cooking shed about 35 ft. distant from and below the crusher. The crushed stalks were placed on a big pile and allowed to decay after which they were used for fertilizer. The sweet smell of the cooking molasses could be detected for a mile under favorable conditions of wind and weather. During the cooking process scum constantly formed on top of the juice and this was skimmed off and placed in buckets and fed to the hogs. This must have contained considerable alcohol for the hogs that consumed any quantity of it usually became groggy, if not actually tipsy.
Cane was prepared for the mill by stripping off the leaves, and cutting off the tops which contained the seed. Then it was cut and tied into bundles about 9 in. in diameter. It being easier to handle bundled than when loose. A few farmers preferred handling it loose, however, but John Adam had an inflexible rule, pretty well known throughout the community, that he would process no loose cane. Nevertheless occasionally some misguided or uninformed individual would arrive at the mill with a load of loose cane and more than once have I seen a somewhat crestfallen farmer driving away from the mill with his load of loose cane, headed for the mill of the nearest competitor about 5 miles distant, and who would accept it in that form.
Promptly upon completion of custom work John would turn his mill without charge over to those of his children who lived nearby to process their own cane, each family being allotted one day to do this, and when all were finished the mill was closed down until the following season.
The writer when a small boy always hung around this mill because there was excitement and sweets there. One day in the fall of 1886 when he was about 3{t years old a sudden heavy shower came up and water ran over the dirt floor of the cooking shed and made the black mud slippery. A tub of boiling hot molasses had just been drawn from one of the cooking pans and stood on this slippery floor. Barefooted, he trotted by this tub, slipped, and his right arm plunged into the tub of hot molasses, which stuck and burned. The scars inflicted by the burns of 63 years ago are still plainly visible on my arm today. Had I been a little closer to the tub when I slipped and had my whole body fallen in the tub of hot molasses, well one can't tell of course, but ‘tis possible that then some one else might have been assigned the job of writing this historical sketch.
FAMILY ORIGIN. LANGUAGE.
There are 28 Haags listed in the St. Louis telephone directory. I called up 20 of these to obtain information regarding the family origin, back ground, etc. Ten of them originated in Wurttemberg, where our ancestors came from. Four came from Baden, and one each from Switzerland, Bavaria, Hamburg and Hungary. Two did not know where their ancestors came from. Most of those originating in Wurttemberg followed the occupations of grocers, meat cutters and cattle feeders.
Grandfather said that long before his time his ancestors had come from Holland. In my research I have never found a Haag of Dutch ancestry, though The Hague, the capital of Holland is spelled "Den Haag� on Dutch maps.
During the reign of Louis XIV of France, along about the beginning of the 18th century, his troops drove many of the Protestants from the Palatinate, of which Wurttemberg was a part, into Holland where they were given asylum, though their lot there was still a hard one. Wm. Penn, then engaged in colonizing Pennsylvania, visited Holland and observed the plight of these people and offered them refuge in his American colony, which many of them accepted, and whence come the Pennsylvania Dutch, among whom there were many Haags. It thus seems that some of our ancestors may have been among those driven into Holland by the French at that time, and that later on when things had quieted down in Wurttemberg they returned to their homeland; and from this Grandfather gained the information that some of his ancestors had come from Holland. This seems a logical conclusion under the circumstances.
The German dialect spoken in Wurttemberg is Swabian, a High German dialect, which was spoken by the Haags. It is very similar to the dialect spoken by the Bavarians, Hessians, Thuringians, German Swiss and Austrians. I located a good sized town in Bavaria, 100 miles east of Munich, named Haag. Farther east of this in Austria there were two more good sized towns named Haag. Low German (plat deutch) is the dialect spoken from the Netherlands to the northeastern boundaries of Germany.
John Adam Haag and his brothers and sisters, living in predominantly German communities in America, attending German churches, etc. always spoke only German among themselves. John Adam spoke English brokenly and with a decided German accent. His children were truly bilingual, however, in that they spoke either German or English with equal facility. However, it seemed to me that their English usually had sort of German accent, whereas their German likewise had an English accent.
We of the 3rd generation, while taught to speak and read German in childhood, never used that language among ourselves and accordingly were not proficient in its use. It was always a bit embarrassing to me when visiting my grandfather as a boy or young man, because he expected me to speak German with him and it was difficult for me to do so. I think this holds true for most of us of the 3rd generation.
Naturally those of the 4th and following generations were not taught to speak German at all because their parents did not speak it among themselves, and frequently the other partner was of English descent, and knew no German.
After World War I, German was discontinued in the churches, which was a good thing as most of us did not understand the services too well when conducted in that language. While we had been taught to read German in Sunday school and could pronounce the words correctly, they did not mean much to us, because we were not educated in German.
RELIGION.
The Haags were Lutherans in Germany and continued in that faith after arrival in America. Hard though they worked to wring a living from the soil at Helenville, where there was as yet no church or minister, they nevertheless gathered every Sunday at one of the homes in the neighborhood to hold church services, consisting of the reading of prayers and the singing of hymns. In case of illness services were held at the home of the sick person. There was talk of erecting a church and finally in the spring of 1848, two years after the Haags arrived there, a congregation was organized and a log church was built, in all of which the Haags took a leading part. This is St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and in 1948 celebrated it's Centennial Jubilee. It was the first Lutheran church organized in Jefferson County, Wis. The present church (the 3rd one) as well as most of the cemetery, is located on the N. W. Corner of the 40 acres originally bought from the Government by John Adam Haag on June 17, 1846, and hereinbefore referred to.
Before coming to Iowa the families of John Adam Haag and those of his brother John Michael and his sister Mrs. Leonhard Keller, left the Lutheran church and joined the Evangelical Church near Helenville. John Adam also took a leading part in organizing and building Zion Evangelical church 5 miles northwest of Sumner, in 1875. He was for many years a member of the board of directors of the Excelsior School District, and took part in the deliberations of the board, according to the minutes of the meetings which I have read.
THE WILL.
John Adam Haag did not die intestate. He not only anticipated the future, he also remembered the past. In the 8lst year of his age he prepared his last will and testament, of which the following, furnished me by the Clerk of the Court at Waverly, is a verbatim copy, including the order of the Court admitting it to probate:
Know all men by these presents, that I, J. A. Haag of the town of Sumner, state of Iowa, owing to the uncertainty of this life and being of sound mind and memory, do make and declare and publish this as my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills.
First. I give, bequeath and devise unto my three grandchildren, Lillian Buhrmester, William Haag and John Haag the sum of three hundred ($300.00) each, which amounts I direct to be set aside immediately after my decease. I direct that the said sum of $300.00 be. paid to my grand-daughter Lillian Buhrmester as soon as possible after my decease. I further direct that the said sums of $300.00 given to each of my two grandchildren (William and John Haag) be paid to Ferdinand Ladwig of Sumner, Iowa, to be held by him and loaned out at interest for the said William and John Haag, and to pay the same to the said William and John Haag as soon as each of them attains the age of twenty one years.
Second. I direct that the cost of my last sickness and my funeral expenses be paid with convenient speed, and that a tomb stone be erected for myself and wife.
Third. I give, bequeath and devise unto my children G. Jacob Haag, Leonard Godfrey Haag, Maria Hoffman, Margaret Ladwig, Christina Horn, Ida Schildbach, Rose Reimler, Katherine Wuttke, Lydia Dietel, and Emma Lang all the balance of my property, real and personal. I direct to be equally divided.
Fourth. Of the above named heirs the following have already received as advancements the amounts as follows to-wit:
Leonard Godfrey Haag, One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
Rose Reimler, One Hundred Dollars ($100.00)
G. Jacob Haag, One Hundred Dollars ($100.00)
Christina Horn, Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)
I direct that the said advancements which in the aggregate amount to Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00) be added to my said estate and that the said sums advanced be deducted from the said heirs' shares, without interest.
Fifth. I nominate and appoint as executors of this my last will and testament G. Jacob Haag, Herman Wuttke and Ferdinand Ladwig, and I direct that they shall not be required to give bond, and that they shall have full right and power to sell and give warranty deed to any and all real estate of which I may die seized, and that the same shall be binding and a full and valid conveyance of my title in the property.
I also direct that the above named executors of this my last will and testament shall have full right and power to release mortgages of which I am mortgagee.
(Signed) J. A. Haag.
In witness whereof I, the above named testator have, to this my last will and testament contained on two sheets of paper, to each sheet subscribed my name and set my seal this 2nd day of April A.D. 1900.
(Signed) J. A, Haag
Then and there signed, sealed and published by J. A. Haag, the testator, as and for his last will, in the presence of us, who, at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereto set our names as witnesses.
(Signed) W. H. Wehrrnacher,
Sumner, Iowa
(Signed) G. W. Darnell,
Sumner, Iowa

PROOF OF WILL.
STATE OF IOWA )
ss:
BREMER COUNTY,)
I, I. E. Smith, Clerk of the District Court in and for said County, do hereby certify that on this day at the January Term, A.D., 1908, of said Court, the Will and Instrument in writing hereunto annexed, and bearing date on the 2nd day of April, 1900, was duly proved before and allowed by said Court as and for the last Will and Testament of the real and personal estate of J. A. Haag, late of said County, deceased, and was by said Court ordered to be recorded as such Will and Testament.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court at my office in Waverly, in said County, this 7th day of January, A.D. 1908.
(Signed) I. E. Smith, Clerk
By Otto Bredow, Deputy
SEAL.

It is evident that John Adam was concerned that the children of his deceased son should receive what he considered as a fair share of his estate for he made that matter the first provision in his will, directing that the amounts for them be set aside immediately after his decease, - even before provision had been made for paying the costs of his last sickness, funeral expenses, and tombstone. The son-in-law, Ferdinand Ladwig, named as one of the executors, and the custodian of the legacies left to the grandsons Will and John, predeceased his father-in-law by about 6 months and so could not act. The estate accordingly was administered by the two surviving executors.
CONCLUSION.
John Adam Haag lived 26 years in Germany, 24 years in Wisconsin, and 38 years in Iowa. He was a few days over 88 years of age when he passed away, and he lies buried by the side of his second wife in Zion Cemetery, 3 miles west and 2 miles north of Surnner, Iowa.
He may not have set the world on fire and he may have had his faults the same as all the rest of us have. However, that he possessed the qualities of courage, leadership and initiative, is evident from his life. That he was honest, sober, industrious and God-fearing I am sure no one will gainsay. Certainly he was loved by his family and respected by his neighbors. Those are all traits that we his descendants can well emulate. And I feel that we have been fairly successful in doing that. So far as my knowledge of the family goes (and I believe it is as broad as that of anyone) none has ever used intoxicants to excess, been in jail, or come into conflict with the law. The Haags are plain, simple, honest people, not uppish or pretentious; well enough off in a material sense to be capable of taking care of themselves without following mean occupations, and poor enough to show that they are not grabbing everything in sight. Most of them when they settle down own their own homes. Many liked pioneering and moved out to the front to start life in a new country.
Perhaps this sketch and genealogy may be of help some day to generations yet to come in preparing a more extensive account of the family, or some particular branch thereof. I hope it may serve the family and future generations to know who and what we are as a family.
The writer has put in considerable time in research and work in compiling this sketch and genealogy, and has had the valuable assistance of many members of the families, and without such assistance the work would have been impossible. With me of course it has been a work of love and I sincerely hope that it meets with your approval. If it does that then I am happy.
Faithfully yours,
H. Arthur Haag