Haury, Daniel S. (1845-1937)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1937 Jun 9 p. 5

Birth date: 1845, Oct 5

text of obituary:

LOCAL

. . .

— Funeral services for the aged Daniel S. Haury, 91 years of age, were held at the Halstead Mennonite church last Saturday afternoon. Through his varied activities during his long life Mr. Haury has become widely known. He was the father of Dr. R. S. Haury of Newton. Death came to him at his home early Wednesday morning, June 2. He had been in good health in spite of his advanced age until a few weeks ago. On April 30 he suffered a light stroke, from which he had however recovered. The funeral services were attended by a large concourse of relatives and friends.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1938 Jun 8 p. 6

text of obituary:

DANIEL HAURY A Memorial Biography

Maximilian I, king of Bavaria, one day in 1800 was traveling through the Rhine Palatinate in Germany. Hearing of the industrious ways of the Mennonite farmers who lived there he visited them. They impressed him and he invited eight families to come and live on his land near Neuburg on the Danube River.

A Neuburg King Maximilian gave these eight families 240 acres of land. Other families followed to the locality, among them being the John Haury family whose forefathers originally had come to Germany from the french Canton of Switzerland. In appreciation to King Maximilian the Mennonites named the little village they settled "Maxweiler".

Petitioned for a Church

After several years the residents of Maxweiler wanted a church and so they petitioned Ludwig I. who had succeeded to the throne of Bavaria in 1825 at the death of his father Maximilian I. the right to build one. King Ludwig was as favorably impressed with these people as his father had been and not only gave them permission to build a church of their own in Maxweiler, but said he himself would build them an edifice in which they could worship. On December 9, 1832, the church, built in simple architectural style according to the wishes of the Mennonites, was dedicate. Several years later King Ludwig wished to aid in educating the children of these God-fearing subjects, sent a school teacher to the village whose salary was paid by the government.

Haury Family Sails for America

By 1850 the original eight families who had come to Maxweiler in 1800 had increased to twenty-five families. Rumors of unrest were heard. John Haury, a farmer and member of the Maxweiler Church, fearing that war would come and his sons be forced to take up military service, sold his possessions and with his family sailed for America in 1856.

To one of the sons, Daniel Haury, it all seemed like one big adventure. The village of Maxweiler where he had been born on October 5, 1845, lay far behind as the boat carrying his parents, four brothers and one sister pushed across the Atlantic to New York City. The trip was one not to be forgotten by the lad, for in mid-ocean he celebrated his eleventh birthday.

Made Home at Summerfield, Illinois

Arriving in America the elder Haury took his family to Summerfield, illinois. With a part of the $400, the only money the family had left, the father that fall bought some wheat and a team of oxen. Here at Summerfeild the eleven-year-old boy Daniel earned his first money by taking care of a neighbor's baby for which he was paid twenty-five cents a week. His father secured work five miles away from home at seventy-five cents per day, and glad to be earning something for his family, he cheerfully each day walked the distance to and from work.

On March 9, 1871, Daniel Haury married Miss Anna Strohm who had come to America when four years old from Eichstock, a sister village of Maxweiler in Bavaria, Germany. She was born on August 11, 1849.

Daniel Haury Visits Kansas in 1873

The swampy area around Summerfield made malaria a constant danger, so in 1873 Daniel Haury, now twenty-nine years old, with several other men went west on an inspection tour to find a new location for a home. He viewed land in Texas but finding the land in central Kansas more favorable, Mr. Haury, his wife, two small sons, and his father came to Halstead, Kansas, in the spring of 1875.

While Kansas seemed to present better opportunities with its cheap land than Illinois, yet the first year at Halstead tended to be rather disheartening for grasshoppers took nearly all of the crop. But there was no time for discouragement. The days and years of Mr. Haury's pioneer life were busy and significant ones.

The sod had to be broken on the land purchased near Halstead and often to give the horses a rest from the extremely hard work, Mr. Haury would walk to town three miles away to get his plow shares sharpened. He was one of the first farmers in central Kansas to plant Turkey Red Wheat that Bernard Warkentin had been influential in introducing into America from southern Russia.

Orchards were begun. Cottonwood and Osage hedges were planted around the orchards to serve as protection to the young fruit trees and along the edges of the fields. Money was scarce and so the pioneering Mr. Haury planted hedge-tree sprouts closely together in rows so that when the trees grew older they would serve as fences in future years. Firebreaks were made by plowing long strips of soil to keep the prairie fires from destroying the pioneer homes.

Charter Member of Halstead Mennonite Church

When the Halstead Mennonite Church at Halstead, Kansas, was founded Daniel Haury, his wife Anna Strohm Haury, and his father John Haury became charter members. For thirty years Mr. Haury served as a Sunday school teacher in this church and as deacon for twenty-two years. When the Halstead Church observed the fiftieth year of its founding in 1925 he was one of the four charter members present at the Golden Anniversary celebration.

After the death of his first wife i 1884, he married Miss Elizabeth Dester who passed away on July 11, 1913. Retiring from farming in 1914 Mr. Haury moved to Halstead.

Always Willing to Help Neighbors

Optimistic in temperament, gentle towards others, and a friend to everyone, Mr. Haury was always willing to help his neighbors when they were in need and made it a habit to visit people when they were ill. Staunch in his support of Bethel College he watched with great interest the growth of the institution from the humble Seminary in Halstead, Kansas, to the place the school now holds in Christian higher education where eleven of his sons and daughters and thirteen grandchildren have attended. As a philanthropist he contributed liberally to Christian education and Mennonite missions.

Passed Away at Age of Ninety-one

Mr. Haury passed to his reward on June 2, 1937, having lived to be ninety-one years old. Shortly before his death he arranged for a gift to the Bethel College Memorial Fund.

The sons and daughters of this Kansas pioneer are as follows: Dr. Richard S. Haury of Newton, Kansas; Albert Haury of Hutchinson, Kansas; Carl Haury of Halstewad, Kansas; Dr. Paul Haury of Lewiston, Idaho; Mrs. Otto Rupp of Moundridge, Kansas; Mrs. S. F. Langenwalter of Gulfport, Mississippi; and the Misses Bertha, Laura, and Irma Haury of Halstead, Kansas. Two sons Edwin J. and Samuel D. preceded their father Daniel Haury to their reward.

The Mennonite obituary: 1937 Jul 13 p. 13