Biography - Jacob Haller
JACOB HALLER, one of the most prominent farmers and bank officials of Nokomis, Ill., was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 25, 1834, a son of Henry and Sarah (Shipman) Haller, of whom but little is known more than the mere fact that the father was born in Schuylkill County, Pa., in 1805, and was of German extraction. The mother was a native of New Jersey and about the year 1832 they took up their residence on a farm in Ohio, on which Jacob was born. At the age of eight years he was taken by his parents to Illinois, but his advantages for acquiring an education on the then wild prairies of Illinois were few. When about eighteen years of age, he was seized with the California gold fever, and, making his way across the plains and mountains, he opened and operated a mine that gave him good returns. He soon discovered a gold mine in another direction, for grain of all kinds was very high at that time, and he thought that in the fertile valleys of California it might be raised in abundance and to good financial advantage. Accordingly he opened up a farm in the Sacramento Valley, some thirty miles from Sacramento, and for eleven years operated it with great success. Having accumulated quite a fortune, he then returned to Illinois, and in 1867 located on a farm in Audubon Township, Montgomery County, and in 1880 became the owner pf the fine farm of four hundred and forty acres on which he is at present residing. It is just outside the thriving town of Nokomis.
Mr. Haller is one of the founders of the Nokomis National Bank, is yet a stockholder and has been one of its directors since its foundation. It is one of the substantial financial institutions of the county, its methods are safe and conservative, and its credit is of the highest character. It does a general banking business, its financial status is highly satisfactory and this has been largely brought about by the efficiency and sound judgment of its directors. Mr. Haller is a far-seeing man of business, is an able financier, and is ever upright and honest, in his methods. He was married in California in November, 1859, to Miss Ann Abrahamson, who was born in Norway, but who became a resident of this country when a child, having been brought here by her uncle, as both her parents had been drowned by accident in their native land. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Haller has resulted in the birth of ten children, but only six are living at the present time: Catherine is the wife of Dr. G. S. Easterdy, of Albuquerque, N. M.; Caroline is the wife of D. H. Best, of Nokomis; Nancy, Eugene, Millie and Milton are at home. In his political proclivities, Mr. Haller is a strong Prohibitionist and upholds that party by vote and influence on every occasion. He is strictly temperate in every respect, supports all measures of morality and education, and is considered one of the most useful and progressive citizens of the county. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which they have "kept the faith" for many years.
He is what may be termed the "poor man's friend," for he has assisted many to gain a foothold on the ladder of success, and has given liberally of his means to enterprises that have commended themselves to his excellent judgment. His mother died in Ohio when he was a child, but his father passed from life in California in 1875.
Extracted 12 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, page 488.
