Abraham Haas

Abraham Haas
Born 1847
Reckendorf, Bavaria
Died August 8, 1921 (age 74)
Nationality United States
Occupation businessman
Known for co-founder of Hellman, Hass and Company
Spouse(s) Fanny Koshland
Children Walter A. Haas, Sr.
Charles Haas
Ruth Haas Lilienthal
Eleanor Haas Koshland

Abraham Haas (1847-August 8, 1921) was an American businessman, co-founder of the Hellman, Haas and Company (which became Smart & Final), and patriarch of the Haas family.

Biography

Haas was born to a Jewish family in Reckendorf, Bavaria in 1847[1] and immigrated to the United States in 1864 settling in Los Angeles[2] where he co-founded the retail drug and grocery store, Hellman, Hass and Company with his brother, Jacob, and partners, Herman W. Hellman and Bernard Cohn.[2] Using his profits, he founded the first flour milling and cold storage businesses in Los Angeles, the Capital Milling Company,[1] as well as several electricity and gas companies.[2] In the 1880s, Jacob Baruch bought out the other partners and the company changed its name to Haas, Baruch & Co. in 1889.[2] The company pioneered the "cash & carry" concept in Los Angeles (before clerks would gather the groceries for the customers) and by 1895, benefiting from rapid population growth in the region thanks to the building of the Los Angeles aqueduct, the discovery of oil in Long Beach, and the opening of the Panama Canal, the company had $2 million in sales.[3] Haas became one of the leading philanthropists in the city at the time.[1] He moved to San Francisco in 1900 where he founded Haas Wholesale Grocers and also served as a director for Wells Fargo Bank, the San Francisco Savings & Loan Company, the California Insurance League, and the Union Sugar Company.[1]

Haas was a benefactor of the Eureka Benevolent Society (later the Jewish Family Service), the Federation of Jewish Charities, and the Pacific Orphans’ Asylum and Home Society.[1]

Personal life

Haas married Fanny Koshland, daughter of Simon Koshland, one of the leading wool merchants in San Francisco,[1] with whom he had four children: Walter A. Haas, Sr. (b. 1889) Charles Haas, Ruth Haas Lilienthal (b. 1891), and Eleanor Haas Koshland (b. 1900).[4] Eleanor married her cousin Daniel E. Koshland, Sr., the son of her mother's brother, Marcus Koshland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jewish Museum of the American West: "Abraham Haas: Purveyer of Food Stuffs, Wholesale & Retail, Part 2, Los Angeles" retrieved April 21, 2014
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jewish Museum of the American West: "Abraham Haas: Purveyer of Food Stuffs, Wholesale & Retail, Part 1, Los Angeles" retrieved April 21, 2014
  3. ↑ Smart and Final History retrieved April 21, 2014
  4. ↑ The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life: "Berkeley Haas (Abraham) correspondence, 1885-1886" | The Bancroft Library | University of California | retrieved April 21, 2014
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