John HAFF
John HAFF, was born 06 November 1748 Fishkill, Dutchess co, NY
where he was baptized; died 19 November 1823 Peru, Clinton, NY; married 23
June 1782 to Rebecca STORM in New Hackensack, Dutchess, NY, she born
12 January 1753 Fishkill, died 05 July 1820 Peru, NY. Her parents: Gorus
STORM and Maria PARMENTIER; (see note below)
6 children known:
Jacob, Peter, Sarah, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Rev. Abraham
Note for child Jacob:
born 28 Jan 1783 New Hackensack, Dutchess,NY
CHR'ND> 09 Mar 1783
Note 09/24/06:
From: "Joseph A. GLEAN" < valediction777@hotmail.com >
Hi Rod,
I am researching the Glean line, and have
collected a few bits about Lawrence Haff and his family.
Have been to your website, I see that
you have Lawrence's date of death at 1758. I recently came across an
old newspaper article -- dated 1753 -- and this article relates to the Dutchess
County estate of Lawrence Haff, deceased.
Also wanted to pick your brain for any
information on Lawrence's son, John Haff. Though I cannot prove it,
I reckon that he is one in the same with John Haff, a sailing
master, who served as Surveyor of Customs at the port of
New York from 1813 to 1818. Some of the newspaper articles I have
collected identify John Haff as
sailing master of the Brig Friendship and the Schooner Eglentine (or perhaps
Eglantine).
You may be interested to know that
John Haff shipped merchandise (such as sugar and molasses) between Matanzas
and N.Y.C. with a man named Anthony Glean. And because of this marker
name (John's mother was Phebe Glean), I have been inclined to believe
that these two men were consanguineous... cousins of sorts.
Since it would seem that John's parents
had both died before he had even reached 5 years of age, I have been wondering
if John might have been raised by a member of Glean family.
Perhaps we can compare some notes.
Joe
This "John" appears to be brother of Lawrence and not son. The dates
do not seem to match up, but the Glean connection is there....ROD 12/14/06
John's Parents
Lawrence HAFF, born 1716? Jamaica, Queens,
NY, baptized 26 Oct 1716 same; died Aug 1753 (1758?) (see above) Wappingers, Dutchess, NY; married
_____ Phebe GLEAN, she born ______ ; died 1752 at Wappingers. Her
parents: Anthony GLEAN and Susannah _______ . 5 children known: Winche,
Anthony, Peter, Susanah, and John.
(haffhse1.jpg)
The Haff farm on the Union Road
Original owner: John Haff, Jr.
Date: 1804
John Haff, of Dutch descent, settled on this property in 1793; it was a grant
for his services during the Revolution. He was a slave-owner and a thrifty
farmer noted for his famous Dutch barn. John Jr. built the present house
and his son Schuyler lived 90 years in the same house.
This article from a local Plattsburgh paper circa 1880:
Peru Historical Notes
"Before the fields were shorn and tilled,
Full to the brim our rivers flowed,
The melody of waters filled
The fresh and boundless wood;
And torrents dash off, and rivulets played,
And fountains spurted in the shade"
About one half a mile from Peru village towards the
Union, you come to an antique house on
your left; some poplar trees on your right, and as the road bends to the
west, a substancial stone structure spanning a streak of mud, kept moist
by a slight flow of water from an unknown source.
At this point John Haff, or Huff, as he was generally
called, settled in 1793. He purchased nearly one mile square of densely wooded
land lying between the "Rogers road" and the State road running south from
Peru village. Nearly half of the original purchase is now in the possession
of his grand-son Schuyler Haff.
Uncle John seems to have chosen this spot for his
log-cabin on account of the beautiful stream of water, which at that time
flowed through the place. It was no inconsiderable brook then. Trout from
one to two pounds weight, sported in its cool and sparkling waters, moose
and deer drank from the ever flowing stream, the proud oak and sweet maple
intertwined their branches upon its banks; towards the north, lofty pines
lifted their heads up against the sky, while all manner of small game abounded
on every side.
The log-cabin was just south of the present dwelling.
The place was reached by a lane from the highway near the present residence
of S.K. Smith. The original road, from the Union to Hackstaff's Mills, came
up the bank near the residence of Mr. Holland; the old road bed being still
visible.
John Haff moved to this place from Dutchess county
with his wife and five children, the oldest under ten years of age, and settled
in the midst of the dense forest that covered his whole purchase. He lived
long enough to clear up and bring under cultivation one of the best farms
in the town. He had before coming to Peru, kept a hotel in Dutchess county,
and was noted for his good cheer, and his love for roast pigs and turkeys.
Being of Dutch descent, his vrow understood the mysteries of Dutch
cheese and Buttermilk Slap jacks. Slap jacks and maple honey were a great
favorite in the log cabin. These were made in a long handled frying pan,
out of batter well seasoned with eggs. An adept at the game of frying, would
by a peculiar motion of the frying pan up and down, slap the jack over when
half done.
One of Uncle John's boys, quite a number of years
ago, told a historian, that the acme of slap jack frying, was in tossing
the half cooked slap jack up and over the top of the huge chimney, and catching
it right side up at the outside door of the cabin. He meant perhaps to slap
my Yankee inquisitiveness, and without discouragement, historian kept
on in his researches into the antiquities of his father's estate. Slap jacks,
however, were a great institution in the cabin of Uncle John and Aunt Rebecca.
Butter and honey from the sweet maple made a savory dish that any Knickerbocker
need not disdain. The cake received its name, probably, from the well known
slap in turning a jack, in the pastimes of the people in the slap jack age.
Across the brook on the opposite bank from his house,
Uncle John built a barn. This was the most noticable structure on the estate,
and was known far and near as the Dutch barn. It was four square on the ground,
and towered up to a double story at one corner over the barn floor. The highest
part was like a barrack top, from which the roof sloped off at right angles
to the north and east. It was put up by the Scribe and Phariece rule, which
means to "cut and try," the prevailing style of carpentering in primitive
times.
Huge swallow holes were in the sides of the upper
story to the south and west. A row of sheds, in the shape of an obtuse angle,
ran from the northwest corner to the highway on the south. The road wound
around the barn to the north in crossing the brook, so that in passing it,
all sides became visible. It attracted, by its unique shape, universal attention
fifty years ago, and was supposed to be of a style of architecture imported
from Holland.
About forty years ago the old barn was torn down,
and no trace of it now remains where for many years Uncle John stored the
rich products of his farm, and stabled the noble steeds that were as fleet
as the wind. He took an honest Dutch pride in his model barn, the like of
which may never be seen again.
As a style of architecture however, posterity has
honored it more by the breach than the observance of it. But few of the poplar
trees set out by him remain at the present time. Those that do remain have
a dilapidated and weird appearance. They once were a prominent feature of
John Haff's estate. Tall, symetrical, and graceful, they adorned the high
way to the west, and were in their graceful outlines, in strong contrast
with the diminutive apple trees on either side of the road.
But here as elsewhere great changes have ensued.
The log cabin is no more. The proud cake and sweet staples, the lofty pines
and wide spreading elms, have all disappeared. Dried up is the murmuring brook,
and the trumping moose and antlered deer have fled to Adrondack wilds. Uncle
John and his noble spouse many years ago were gathered to their fathers,
leaving to their posterity a valuable estate, and better still, an unblemished
Christian reputation.
Note from ROD: Funny, how even in 1880 there
was the yearning for the old days when life was sweeter, or more sweetly remembered.
Also the love of nature and how we built in harmony with the surroundings.
I hope to cover in another page some of The Union
history mentioned in the beginning of this article.
One of the tall tales from the oral history of Levi White was about John
HAFF:
"One concerns the old Haff farm in Peru. In Clinton County histories, settler
John Haff is cited for his pioneering zeal, his building skills, and his
wizadry with pancakes--but the supernatural qualities of Haff's hardware
escapes mention. When White was three, his father leased the place."
"John Haff was a Dutchman, one of the first settlers of Peru village. In
one of those old farms was an old-fashioned latch on the door to the cellar
and at night you'd hear that latch go clickety-click. Well, my father got
sick of that. He bent some nails over it. Still clicked! You could sit right
there and look at the damn thing, I did it myself, it wouldn't move but it'd
still click. You got to where you could live with it."
Note2:
Subject: Jacob Hoff
Date: Sun, 09 May 1999 14:46:04 -0400
From: "Burr F. Rockwell" < bfrpor@cyberportal.net
>
I am wondering if there is a connection between your
Hoffs and mine. I am looking for info on Jacob Hoff who was married to Eleanor
Newkirk in 1824 in Montgomery County, NY. He was my gg grandfather. There
were several children other than my g grandfather, William N. Hoff. William's
daughter Elizabeth Ann was my grandmother She married Burr A. Rockwell
in 1877. If there is any connection I'll be happy to send you what I have
If not, we can both keep digging.
Sincerely,
Burr F. Rockwell
Georges Mills, NH
Rod Bigelow
Box 13 Chazy Lake
Dannemora, N.Y. 12929
< rodbigelow@netzero.net > 
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