United Brethren Historical Center

Jacob Haas ... Indiana Pioneer Preacher

On September 27 or 28, 1876 the Rev. Jacob Haas of Spencer Township, Harrison County, Indiana left this earthly realm. For forty-five years he labored "as a minister of the gospel to help build up the church of his choice". 

Jacob Haas was born in 1790 Shenandoah County, Virginia and it was there that he joined the United Brethren church in the early part of his life. Funkhouser's "History of ... Virginia Conference" says he was a local preacher and blacksmith and lived in Edinburg, Va. On April 29, 1831 he was given the following certificate by the Conference that is signed by Bishop Henry Kumler:

Rev. Haas' obituary says he was ordained on this date but evidence notes otherwise. The minutes of Virginia Conference indicate he was licensed but not ordained at this point. Notice that the certificate was both in English and German. At that time the denomination was still primarily using German for its major documents. Until 1833 all English Disciplines were translations from the German. The 1837 Discipline was the first to be written in English and translated to German. 

In September of 1833 Joseph along with his wife Catherine, whom he married in 1819, and eight children moved from Shenandoah Valley to the forested edge of what was then known as "the barrens" of Harrison County in Southern Indiana not far from the Ohio River. "The Barrens" was a large swath of northern Harrison County that was mostly devoid of trees because of frequent fires. It was the last part of Harrison county to be settled. The location of Jacob Haas homestead was about halfway between the communities of Corydon (the former state capital) and Milltown along what is now State Rd. 337.

In Sept. of 1835 Jacob Haas was ordained by the Indiana Conference and his certificate was signed by Bishop Henry Kumler and Bishop Samuel Hiestand. Notice that his 1835 certificate was only in English. The tide was turning among the United Brethren with the German language being overtaken by English.

From his obituary it appeared that he was a fervent preacher of the gospel. "He immediately commented labor as a citizen to help build up his adopted county, and as a minister of the gospel to help build up the church of his choice, and the Redeemer’s kingdom generally, by the promotion of vital godliness and true holiness." He must have been successful in his community because the area in which he lived was first known has Haas' Chapel and then later renamed Mt. Lebanon. He is said to have erected two houses of worship. One still stands although it is now abandoned on the edge of Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. 

Haas Chapel or Mt. Lebanon EUB Church. Photo posted by Roger Gleitz on Find-a-Grave

Adam Condo in his "History of the Indiana Conference" notes that "he was a "German" and could not preach in English acceptably". He only held one pastorate in 1842 and it was the Germantown mission which included the town of Jeffersonville and along the Ohio River where he could preach in German. 

Successful in his community Rev. Haas had 13 children, three sons and ten daughters. One of his daughters married David Hottel, a United Brethren minister. The exact date of his death is disputed but he was laid to rest in late September, 1876 at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery near the church that bore his name.

Photo posted by R L Nielsen on Find-a-Grave.

The certificates were given to the archives just recently by an unknown donor. If you know who the donor was please let Randy Neuman know so their donation can be acknowledged. The obituary of Jacob Haas was found in the Religious Telescope, October 24, 1876, which can be found in the United Brethren Historical Center Digital Repository.