Haft, John

HAFT, KUBBERNUS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/12/2009 at 18:19:36

John Haft

Among the natives of Germany who, emigrating to the United States, have established permanent homes in this country, may be mentioned the name of John Haft, a prosperous resident of Jasper County. The farm he has occupied since 1879 is one of the most valuable in Palo Alto Township, and comprises one hundred and thirty-five acres, located on section 2. Upon the land there have been placed all the improvements characteristic of a model farm, and the soil is under excellent cultivation as a result of proper fertilization and systematic rotation of crops.

In Prussia, Germany, the subject of this sketch was born on the 3rd of September 1845, being a son of John and Dorothea Haft, both of whom were natives of Germany. Early in life he was orphaned by his father's death, he being only seven years of age when that sad bereavement occurred. From boyhood years he has been familiar with agriculture, and is therefore thoroughly informed upon every phase of farm life. In his native land he received a fair German education, and since immigrating to the United States he has gained a good knowledge of the English language, and speaks it fluently.

In 1867, Mr. Haft, accompanied by his mother and brother-in-law, immigrated to America, taking passage at Hamburg on a steamer, and landing in New York City after an uneventful ocean voyage of about fourteen days. After arriving in the harbor of New York he went at once to Henry County, Ill., where he rented a farm and commenced to till the soil. He was also employed for several years in working by the month on the farms of that neighborhood. In August 1872, while residing in Henry County, the mother died.

From Henry County, Mr. Haft removed to Iowa in 1872, and for seven years resided in Poweshiek County, where he was engaged in farming. In 1879 he came to Jasper County, and located upon the farm in Palo Alto Township where he has since made his home. The one hundred and thirty-five acres he owns bear the best of improvements and are under good cultivation. This fine property Mr. Haft has gained by his personal efforts, seconded by the assistance of his wife, whom he married February 22, 1878. She bore the maiden name of Ricka Kubbernus, and was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, December 19, 1855. At the age of fifteen years she accompanied her parents, Christian and Dorothea Kubbernus, from the old home in Germany to the United States, taking passage on a steamer at Hamburg, and reaching the harbor at New York after an uneventful voyage of about fifteen days. For a time the family resided in Saginaw, Mich., from which city, in 1872, they came to Jasper County, Iowa, settling in Elk Creek Township. Soon afterward they removed to Palo Alto Township, where Mr. and Mrs. Kubbernus still reside, be at the age of seventy- three years, and she at seventy-five. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Haft has resulted in the birth of five children: Mary, Annie, Lena, Emma and Edward.

Few residents of Palo Alto Township are more widely known, and none are more highly esteemed, than Mr. and Mrs. Haft. They are especially prominent in the Lutheran Church, of which they are consistent and active members. Mr. Haft, while not a zealous partisan, is nevertheless a stanch adherent of the principles for which the Democratic Party stands, and always sustains his belief by his influence and ballot. As a farmer he has achieved material success and gained the high regard of the community. Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA Page 316.