Levi Bolender & Sarah Haas of Rock Grove

JOHN H HAAS > VALENTINE C HAAS > DAVID HAAS > SARAH HAAS m Jacob Marean

Levi Bolender

The earliest Haas in the line discussed here in the last post I have worked with, is John Heinrich Haas, born 07 Nov 1741 in Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Pannebaker in 1767 in Philadelphia. They had at least 10 children, including Captain Valentine Haas, born 20 Nov 1770 In Upper Providence, Montgomery County.

Capt Haas married Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Mauck in 1798 and they too had at least 10 children, among them David, father of Valentine M., who married into our Cooper line with his marriage to WL Cooper's daughter, Hannah.

Captain Haas served as a Justice of the Peace beginning in 1822 and also served in the 77th Pennsylvania Militia during the war of 1812 under Lt Col George Weirick.

David and Barbara Mitterling, his first wife, had six children. Among them was Sarah, born 27 Apr 1834 in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. She came west with her family and resided in Stephenson County and married Levi Bolender 19 Oct 1852 in Rock Grove. Her parents shortly thereafter moved slightly north to Spring Grove, Green County, Wisconsin.

Sarah Haas Bolender

Levi's family had come to Stephenson County in 1840. His father Reuben John "John" and his father's brother Michael had made the trek west, leaving their parents in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. They were well-situated, Michael purchased land near the state line in Oneco Township and John in Buckeye Township. John purchased 400 acres upon his arrival. After John's death, Levi purchased 150 of those acres and farmed that himself. Their farm was located about one mile east of Rock Grove. Levi was active in civic and political affairs and was considered one of the most influential men in the area at the time. He served the township as highway commissioner and served as a school trustee. He also was vice president of the Old Settlers Association. Shortly after the death of Sarah on 19 Jan 1888 in Rock Grove, Levi retired from active farming but lived, on until 15 Jan 1908.

Levi and Sarah also had at least 10 children. Son Allen would die tragically, due to suicide related most likely to his ill health.

What is a truck farm? I had to look it up! Truck Farming is a horticultural practice of growing one or more vegetable crops on a large scale for shipment to distant markets. It is usually less intensive and diversified than market gardening. At first this type of farming depended entirely on local or regional markets. infoplease.com

Hannah Cooper Haas of Spring Grove

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER > HANNAH COOPER m Valentine "Feldy" Haas

Hannah Cooper and Valentine Haas (front)

W. L. Cooper and his wife Elizabeth Beams can be read about here. Their second oldest child, Hannah, was born 23 Oct 1832 in Clark County, Illinois. Her parents ultimately ended up in Rock Grove, Stephenson County until the death of W. L. in 1886.

Hannah met and married Valentine Mornica "Feldy" Haas, son of David Haas and Barbara Mitterling in April of 1857 in Spring Grove. Born, on 22 Jan 1830 in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, Feldy came with his family to northern Illinois in 1850. David and Barbara settled on Section 33 of Spring Grove, Green County, Wisconsin, in 1856. The town was just over the border from Illinois. The land there was very rich and had been settled a few years earlier by hardy settlers and was thriving. The couple had six children, including the eldest, Valentine. Barbara died in 1859 and in 1864, David married the widow of Samuel Snyder, Mary Lawyer. That couple had at least three children in addition to her child from her previous marriage. They remained there until 1868, when they moved to Section 27, where they would remain. David died in 1880 and his wife Mary died in 1917 in Beloit.

In the meantime, Valentine would marry Hannah on 02 Apr 1857 in Spring Grove. From 1857 to 1863, the couple lived in Stephenson County. The first of their dozen children started arriving in 1858. According to one family chronicler, the reason Valentine was called "Feldy" was because he always wore a felt hat. He was a carpenter by trade. From 1863 to 1869, the couple tried out farming in Chickasaw County, Iowa, near Bremer County, Iowa, where many Cooper cousins had ended up. It was during their time there that the same family chronicler states that Valentine helped build the famous Little Brown Church in the Vale, located in what was Bradford, Chickasaw County.

James Bruce Barn, Stephenson County
built by the Haas Bros. and J Shaffer, 1914

Then, the couple moved on to Spring Grove and farmed on 40 acres near Tyrone.

The "Haas Brothers," sons of Valentine and Hannah's, were noted for building most of the round barns in Stephenson and Green Counties, along with Haas son-in-law Jeremiah Shaffer. What I don't know is which of the brothers participated in the barn building or if all did. Most of the historically relevant barns were built between 1910-1920. Sons Emanuel, Ira Edward "Ed", Lloyd, and Luther, are all listed as carpenters and brother Homer was listed specifically as a barn carpenter, all in the 1910 Census. Henry was listed as working at the Fire Department, Clarence worked as a  tinner (tinsmith),  and George was farming in 1910.

Valentine died 04 Nov 1911 at age 81. Their single son George was farming and lived with them at that time. Hannah survived until 10 Aug 1925. She was still living with son George on the farm when she died. George died 24 Nov 1941 in Albany, Green County at the home of his sister and brother-in-law Florence and Jeremiah Shaffer.

Peter Smull Family: Julia Smull

PETER SMULL > JULIA A SMULL m John Haas

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Julia was born 08 Nov 1830 in Centre County, Pennsylvania and married John Haas, son of David Haas and Barbara Mitterling in 1847 in Pennsylvania. John was born 20 Dec 1832 in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. My family will intersect with this sprawling Haas clan again on the Cooper side of the family.

John was also the grandson of Capt Valentine Haas, a veteran of the War of 1812 serving in the 77th Pennsylvania Militia under Lt Colonel George Weirick. Valentine was also a justice of the peace. The family at that time resided in Snyder County.

The Haas' moved, along with many of the Smulls, to Stephenson County, Illinois after their marriage and settled near Dakota where they farmed. Their daughter Ida was born on 06 Oct 1871 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County. 

The 1910 census indicates that Julia had three children, with two living, but I have found no evidence of other children at this time. Ida is the only one who resided with them during any available census of 1880 and 1910, but I've not located the 1860 and 1870 census for this family so it's totally possible an older child grew up and was gone before the 1880 census. There is a stone on either side of the Haas main monument - both unreadable. I believe one is an infant and since Ida's obit says she is buried in this cemetery, I believe the larger stone to the right is hers. I've been to this cemetery and there is no other monument for Ida here. (CEMETERY: Rock Grove Union Cemetery, Stephenson County, Illinois).

In 1880, their household consisted of John, Julia, Ida and Julia's sister, Charlotte Amanda, who had been cared for by her parents until their deaths (she was classified as "Idiot"). Amanda, as she was called, died three years later at age 38.

John died on 27 Sep 1881 in Dakota at the age of 48. His widow, Julia, remarried at some point, to a man named Miller. The 1910 census supports this as well as her sister Mary Smull Meyers Frantz's 1908 obituary which has Julia Miller as a surviving sister.

Julia died on 24 May 1912 in Dakota.

Ida remained single her entire life and in the 1930 census, she is listed as a servant in the Oscar and Lena Smull's home in Silver Creek in Stephenson County. Oscar was the son of Peter Smull, Jr. Her death record indicates she died on 10 Apr 1938 in McConnell, Stephenson County and her job was listed as housekeeper. Services for her were held at the Oscar Smull home.