Jacob and Christine Haas

Erie County Probate records indicate that Jacob Haas married Christiana Koegele on December 21, 1865. (Spellings of Christina's first and maiden name vary widely.) Sadly, by 1874, Christine Koegele Haas had passed away, and she was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

The top of Christine's tombstone features a floral decoration. While I was unable to translate all the German words, the phrase Unsere Liebe Mutter reads "Our Dear Mother" in English. Christine Haas died on May 16, 1874, at the age of 26 years. An abstract of a death record for Christine Haas is found at Family Search Labs. The same resource also contains a death record for an infant named Christine Haas who died on August 18, 1874. An interment card from Oakland Cemetery also records a baby with the last name of Haas, buried in Lot Number 38 at Oakland Cemetery, the same lot as Mrs. Christine Haas.

Jacob Haas lived a long life, working on the Great Lakes as a mariner.



















An obituary for Mr. Haas in the August 29, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that he died on August 28, 1919 at the home of his nephew William Freyensee in Sandusky. Jacob Haas was survived by two sons, William and Edward Haas, of Put in Bay; and two daughters, Emma and Elizabeth Haas, both of Sandusky. Jacob Haas was buried next to his wife Christine in Oakland Cemetery.

By searching through death and birth records at Family Search Labs, along with census records, I was able to determine the approximate birth dates of the children of Jacob and Christine Haas:

• Edward Haas was born May 9, 1866
• William Haas was born September 17, 1869
• Emma Haas was born September 1870
• Elizabeth Haas was born November 15, 1871
• Christine Haas was born and also died in 1874

So at the time of Mrs. Christine Haas's death, her husband was a widower with four children, all ages eight and under. In the 1880 U.S. Census, Eddie and Willie Haas were residing with their aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Doller, at Put in Bay, in Ottawa County, Ohio. The 1900 U.S. Census shows Emma and Elizabeth living with George Koegele, on Perry Street in Sandusky, Ohio. It is clear that Jacob Haas enlisted the help of extended family members in rearing his four children following the death of his wife. The beautiful memorial to Christine Haas speaks to me that her husband Jacob truly loved her and missed her, and that message remains to be seen by visitors to Oakland Cemetery to this day.

An obituary for William Haas, which was carried by the November 20, 1944 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News, reported that William Haas was the manager of V. Doller's general store at Put in Bay for fifty years. He was also the telegraph operator at Put in Bay, sending messages through the Sandusky office of Western Union for many years.