Daniel Haston Family Association

02 – Hastons Rooted in Switzerland

02 - Our Haston Roots are in Switzerland

For many years, even the most diligent researchers in the extended Daniel Haston family would hit the so-called genealogical “brick wall” with appearances of Daniel in western North Carolina, prior to the formation of the state of Tennessee. They could establish their family connections back to Daniel, but could not document a connection from him to the family he came from. Nor could they prove his European ethnicity. As we saw in the previous chapter, there were many attempts to leap over that brick wall based on family folklore. Some of those leaps landed in England, some in Scotland or Ireland, some in Holland, and some in Germany. Obviously, most of those leaps were blind and they landed in the wrong countries. There is no doubt now–our Haston roots were deeply planted in Swiss soil.

Canton Zurich

The earliest documented evidence, available now, for the whereabouts of any of our Hiestand ancestors is a 1401 tax record in Zürich Switzerland. So, we can say with confidence that the Hiestand family roots can be traced back to Switzerland, specifically Canton Zürich in Switzerland. In case you are wondering, a canton is a territorial district of Switzerland, much like a state in the United States.

The Swiss element among the Pennsylvania Germans is the largest of the ethnic components of the population. It is particularly strong in Lancaster, Lebanon, and other counties where there are Mennonite and Amish settlements. These descendants of the Swiss Anabaptists have given their character from Canton Bern are Stauffer, Schenk, Longenecker, Forney [Fahrni], Eby, [Aebi]; from Canton Zürich, Landis, Nissley [Nussli], Denlinger [Dandliker], Hiestand, and others.^[i]

[i] Don Yoder, “Problems and Resources in Pennsylvania German Genealogical Research,” in Pennsylvania German Roots Across the Ocean, ed. Marion Egge (Philadelphia: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 2000), 9.

Wädenswil and Richterswil

The early Hiestand family was primarily, if not exclusively, a Canton Zürich family, concentrated in and around Wädenswil (pronounced “vey’-denz-veel”) and Richterswil (pronounced “RRrrihcht’-urz-veel”, with a rolled-R at the beginning), including the village and district of Horgen–on the southern shore of Lake Zürich about 10 miles east of the city of Zürich.

According to one source, “Hiestand” (Hier Stehel) probably means “Stand here!”[i] The origin of the Hiestand surname may be related to a significant event in the family’s experience. We cannot be sure, but perhaps our ancestors were granted rights to a certain plot of land and were told to stand there—that was their land. Or maybe they were just stubborn people who were known for taking a stand. We do know from history of the Wädenswil-Richterswil area that the people there were known for being fiercely independent. But maybe “Stand here!” was assigned because of another marker event in the history of our Swiss family, an event that eludes our knowledge of the facts or even our imagination.

[i] Tobler-Meyer, Deutsche Familiennamen. (Zürich: Albert Muller’s Yerlag, 1894), 175.

Wädenswil

According to the History of Wädenswil, written by Johann Heinrich Kagi and published in 1867, the village was nearly 1000 years old at the time of his writing.^[i]

But while the actual village of Wädenswil may have started at about the time Kagi mentioned, in his book Apart from this World, J. Ross Baughman describes multiple civilizations at the Wädenswil site, going back centuries into pre-historic eras.[ii] Apparently, it was an attractive home site for the earliest pre-historic inhabitants who lived along the shore of Lake Zürich.

[i] Johann Heinrich Kagi, History of Wädenswil (1867): cited in Oscar Kuhnz, “The Homeland of the First Settlers in Lancaster County,” (Lancaster, PA: Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society, XXI, no. 2, February, 1917): 24.

[ii] J. Ross Baughman, Apart from this World. (Edinburgh, VA: Shenandoah History Publishers, 1997), 5-9.

In the final centuries of the Middle Ages, Wädenswil became known for the Catholic Order of St. John and the “old” Wädenswil Castle, the ruins of which currently exist within the municipality of nearby Richterswil.

Richterswil

One mile southeast of Wädenswil, along the shore, is Richterswil.

Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann was an 18^th Century Swiss-born philosopher, naturalist, and physician whose books made a great impact throughout Europe.

His book Solitude was translated into almost European language and had great impact on European thought. His visit to Richterswil in 1775, made a deep impression on him. And it gives us a vivid mental picture of the village where some of our Swiss ancestors lived.

At the village of Richterswil, a few leagues from Zürich, in a situation still more delicious and serene…surrounded by every object the most smiling, beautiful, and sublime that Switzerland presents….

The village is situated on the borders of the Lake, at a place where two projecting points of land form a natural bay of nearly half a league.

The mountains extend themselves from the south to the west: the village of Richterswil, is situated at their feet upon the banks of the lake: deep forests of firs cover the summit, and the middle is filled with fruit trees, interspersed with rich fallows and fertile pasture, among which, at certain distances, a few houses are scattered. The village itself is neat, the streets are paved, and the houses, built of stone, are painted on the outside. Around the village are walks formed on the banks of the lake, or cut through shady forests to the hills; and on every side scenes, beautiful or sublime, strike they the eye while they ravish the heart of the admiring traveler.

Every acre of this charming country is in the highest degree of cultivation and improvement. No part of it has suffered to lie untilled; every hand is at work; and men, women, and children, from infancy to age, are all usefully employed.[i]

[i] M. Zimmermann, Solitude: Considered, With Respect to its Influence Upon the Mind and the Heart. (1825; reprinted, www.forgottenbooks.com, 2015), 234-236.

The People of Wädenswil and Richterswil

The people of Richterswil and Wädenswil established quite a reputation for revolting against civic and religious authorities they deemed to be unjust. In the following chapter, we will learn that the so-called “Radical Reformation,” the Anabaptist revolt against Ulrich Zwingli and the Swiss Reformed Church. This religious revolt became deeply entrenched in Richterswil, Wädenswil, and surrounding villages, soon after the movement’s 1525 beginning. But I will hold that story for the next chapter.

Life was hard in old-time Wädenswil and Richterswil, Switzerland! Near-perpetual warfare, epidemics such as the Black Plague that wiped out a sizeable percentage of Europe’s population, extreme winters and famines, oppression of peasants by ruling authorities, and the unmerciful acts of religious persecution that we will see in the following chapter. How is it that any of our ancestors survived? As descendants of some of these Swiss villagers, we are fortunate to be alive. Think of this: If just one of our direct-descent ancestors had died before our next generation ancestor had been born, we would never have been born. Now, what are the odds that we are here? Hmmm…

Flight over Richterswil at Sunrise

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01 – In Search of Our European Roots

01 - In Search of Our European Roots

It looks like a hopeless task to trace back the family of Daniel, but let’s keep stumbling in the dark until we find something.

Col. Howard H. Hasting, Sr. (1979)

The desire of Daniel Haston’s descendants to know our European ethnicity did not begin with the genealogical interest that surged in the final decade of the 20th century, due to the availability of personal computers and internet access to repositories of family records and historical documents. Research files and notes from Haston family researchers in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s reveal that their major quest was to know the European origin of Daniel Haston’s ancestors.

Who and what are we–English, Dutch from Holland, Irish, Scots, Scots-Irish, Germans, Swiss, SWISS-Germans?

Opinions about our ethnicity have varied greatly and sometimes been held tenaciously. “My granddaddy told me…” oral histories within the various sub-branches of the Daniel Haston family have often become accepted as true, even without supporting historical evidence. Even some of Daniel’s grandchildren, two or three generations removed from Daniel, varied in their opinions. Surely, Daniel’s own children would have known their roots–especially the older ones, such as David and Joseph. But apparently, there was not much interest in communicating and perpetuating knowledge of their family’s history from generation to generation.

So, descendants of Daniel Haston have – for many years – had different theories regarding our European roots. Some have claimed English roots; some Scots or Irish or Scots-Irish, some Hollander Dutch; others German or Swiss or SWISS-German (born in Switzerland but lived in Germany before coming to America).

English

Some descendants of Daniel Haston have believed that Daniel and/or his ancestors were from England. Sometimes, adherents of this English theory attempted to tie him to one of the English “Hastings” families that immigrated to America in the 1600s or 1700s and settled in Watertown, MA or Amelia County, VA or the Orange County area of NC. Some were even so strongly convinced of English roots, they adopted and adhered to the “Hasting” or “Hastings” spelling of the surname. But none of these claims cited solid documentation or other kinds of plausible evidence to support a connection to either of the English Hastings families in America or any other proof of English ancestry for Daniel Haston.

Those of us who bear the “Haston” surname, know the tendency for others to look right at “Haston” and pronounce it “Hastings” or to hear us clearly introduce our self as “Haston” and yet respond, “Hello, Mr. Hastings.” That is probably due to the fact that the name Hasting or Hastings is much more common than our H-A-S-T-O-N surname.

Scots-Irish

The “Haston” surname is known to be native to Scotland, leading some descendants of Daniel Haston to assume that we are Scots or Scots-Irish (also known as Ulster Scots). For example, the late Dougal Haston of mountain climbing fame in the Alps and on Mount Everest, was born in Scotland.[i] And to this day, the Haston name still exists in Scotland.

[i] Dougal Haston, In High Places. (Edinburgh: Canongate, 2003).

Apparently, based only on the similarity of the surnames, many earlier Haston family researchers concluded, without any connecting documentation or other hard evidence, that Daniel Haston descended from John Haston of Edinburgh, Scotland, through his son Thomas Haston who married Polly Stacy, and through their son William Haston who married Allison Montgomery in 1735 in Amelia County, VA. Thus, Daniel (according to these assumptions) was of Scottish descent. Unfortunately, that view has continued to circulate, even though it is totally unsubstantiated.

It might make sense to assume that Daniel Haston’s family was rooted in Scotland, IF we were not aware that Daniel’s real/original surname was not “Haston”

SWISS-German

As a boy, growing up in White County, Tennessee (just a few miles from where Daniel Haston’s family settled very early in the 1800s), my mother told me that my paternal ancestors were Dutch. I suppose she thought the same thing that I thought—that my Dad’s forefathers came from the Netherlands. But when I began to research my Haston family’s roots I soon learned that “Dutch” does not necessarily mean Hollanders. In 1995, soon after I moved to York County, Pennsylvania (immediately west of the Susquehanna River and “Amish and Mennonite County” in Lancaster County), I learned that “Dutch” is an Anglicization of “Deutsch,” which means “German” or German speakers.

Pleasant Austin – Grandson of Daniel Haston
A biographical sketch of Daniel’s grandson, Pleasant Austin (son of John Austin, Sr. and Catherine Haston Austin) says that his mother (Catherine) was thought to have been of Dutch descent. Pleasant Austin was born on September 8, 1820, which was six years prior to Daniel’s death. The Austins lived in the Lost Creek community, which is a north-eastern extension of the Hickory Valley community in White County. Daniel’s home place was only about ten miles (down by the White’s Cave and through Big Bottom and around to Cummingsville) from where young Pleasant Austin lived. So Pleasant Austin grew up close enough to his grandfather that he would have known him personally, and at the age six, should have had memories of interacting with Daniel.[i]

[i] Goodspeed, White County History of Tennessee. (1887; reprinted, Signal Mountain, TN: Mountain Press, 1990), 17. This work was originally published about 13 years before Pleasant Austin died. Pleasant Austin was 67 years old at the time of its publication.

William Carroll Haston, Sr. – Grandson of Daniel Haston
The classic “Dutch descent” quote, referring to Daniel Haston, is attributed to William Carroll Haston, Sr. In a biographical sketch of William Carroll Haston, published in A Memorial and Biographical Record of the Cumberland Region (published in 1898), it is said of William Carroll Haston that:

He was born here, March 2, 1829, and on the paternal side is of Dutch descent, his grandfather, Daniel Hastons [sic], being scarcely able to speak English. At an early date, he [i.e. Daniel] came to Tennessee, locating in Van Buren County, near the spring now known as Haston’s Big Spring, where he purchased the land now owned by our subject.[i]

[i] George A. Ogle, A Memorial and Biographical Record of the Cumberland Region. (1898; reprinted, Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1995), 272.

William Carroll Haston, Sr. was the grandson of Daniel through David, as was Pleasant Austin, through Catherine. The descendants closest to Daniel, to whom published statements exist regarding their ancestry, both point to a “Dutch” descent.

"All evidence indicates that the statement as to the nationality of Daniel (in the William Carroll Haston bio) is correct, notwithstanding contrary statements by others. This may account for the various spellings of the name--an effort to spell a Dutch name in English."

Col. Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

DNA Settles It

When I began researching my Haston family in 1999, I determined to remain neutral regarding the European roots of Daniel Haston until I, or someone else, found adequate proof to declare with certainty where our Haston forefathers came from in Europe. Other than hearsay-based statements or circumstantial evidence, no evidence emerged to support the English or Scots/Irish/Scots-Irish views. But evidence, even strong evidence, did gradually accumulate from my research to indicate that our Daniel Haston was, Daniel Hiestand, the son of the SWISS-German Henrich Hiestand.

When, in October 2008, I received my paternal lineage DNA results, my DNA matched perfectly (on all 43 points!) the DNA of a Hiestand who is known to be a descendant of Henrich Hiestand through Henrich’s oldest son, Jacob. Since that time, male descendants of all known sons of Daniel Haston who have living male-line descendants (David, Joseph, Isaac, Jesse, Jeremiah) have submitted DNA and the results have all been the same—perfect matches with this known descendant of Henrich Hiestand. And, also since the earliest known match, our DNA has matched other known SWISS-German Hiestand men.

This DNA comparison chart was created a few years after DNA testing started to become popular for genealogical purposes.

The DNA (Y-DNA) of the six men at the top of the chart matched perfectly (43 of 43 markers). The chart at the bottom of the image was from a different DNA company, but the DNA of this man perfectly (34 of 34 markers) with my DNA (Donald Wayne Haston).

Kent Douglas Hiestand is a known descendant of Henrich Hiestand, through Henrich’s oldest son Jacob. Jacob Hiestand was the oldest brother of our Daniel Hiestand/Haston.

Donald Wayne Haston descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son David.
Dwight E. Haston descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Joseph.
Frank Edward Hastings descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Isaac.
Nathan Heath Haston descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Jeremiah.
John Haston (man on the bottom chart) descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Jesse.

Who is Harry Hillman Hastain? I think he is probably a descendant of one of David Haston’s sons who moved to Missouri–probably Daniel McComiskey Haston or David Maclin Haston.

The “Most Recent Common Ancestor” (MRCA) of these five men was our Daniel Hiestand/Haston. But the MRCA they share with Kent Douglas Hiestand goes all the way back to Daniel and Jacob Hiestand’s father, Henrich Hiestand–and yet they are still a perfect Y-DNA match! And we know that Henrich Hiestand, who lived and died in what is now Page County, VA, was from a Swiss Mennonite family that was forced to flee Switzerland and settle on the Rhineland of what is now SW Germany. More about that later.

For the Swiss Anabaptist refugees who eventually ended up in America, their abode in Germany was short-lived, one or two or three generations in most cases. They were really Swiss and not German—Swiss who were forced to emigrate from Switzerland and settled in Germany. Therefore, I refer to them as SWISS-German.

Wayne Haston

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Book Project – Heritage of Daniel Haston

Book Progress Update - December 2020

The work on this book actually began in the fall of 1999, when I started interacting with other people who were researching our Haston family history, visiting libraries, reading books, organizing a filing system, and developing www.DanielHaston.com.

When I officially retired in 2017, the writing began. I estimated that it would take five years to create the draft. Here we are over three years later.

What's the Current Status?

At the end of 2019, I had completed 15 chapters covering 536 pages–those are only draft copies, not final.

This year (2020) I almost equaled what I accomplished in the first two-plus years–493 pages in 16 draft chapters!

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic for keeping me shut in. Thanks for cancer in mid-year to remind me that life is uncertain and I have no idea how long I will have to finish this project. And thanks to a supportive wife who believes in what I’m doing.

When Will the Book Be Published?

I hope to complete the full draft by mid-2021, a year earlier than I anticipated.

But each chapter needs some “cleaning up” and there are some holes yet to be filled in the text, requiring additional research. As those developments occur, I’ll be handing the text off to a professional designer which will require “who knows how much time?”

The "Reader's Digest" Version

I’m wise enough to know that only the die-hard genealogists and family history nuts (like me) are going to read 1,000 plus pages. That’s unfortunate because I know how much “good stuff” is there to be read–especially by Daniel Hiestand/Haston descendants.

So, my plan is–Lord willing–to print a limited number of the full book (probably requiring two volumes). I want to get it into as many libraries as possible–especially libraries where I know there are concentrations of our family members. And I plan to print the full book for anyone who expresses an interest in purchasing it.

But if the Lord gives me good health and a clear mind, I plan to create a smaller version of the book, perhaps 200-250 or so pages. Obviously, it will be an overview book and will not contain the many hundreds of footnotes in the full book. I hope to write it in a simple, readable, narrative format as much as possible That version will probably be published before the full volume(s).

Contents of the Book

The Heritage of Daniel Haston
Son of SWISS-German Mennonite Immigrant Henrich Hiestand

Four Units – 30 Chapters

Unit 1 – Roots

Early Theories about Daniel’s European Roots
Hiestands in Switzerland
Anabaptists (Mennonites)
Refugees to the Palatinate in Southwest Germany
Village of Ibersheim (Near Worms, Germany)
Emigration to America

Unit 2 – Henrich Hiestand and Family

Henrich Hiestand in Pennsylvania (East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County)
Henrich Hiestand Family in Virginia (what is now, Page County, VA)

Unit 3 – Daniel and Abraham

Daniel Hiestand/Haston in Virginia
Revolutionary War – Was Daniel a Rev War Veteran or Not?
Early North Carolina Connections
Hiestand Families in Early East Tennessee
Hiestand Families in Early Kentucky
Daniel Haston Family in Knox County, Tennessee
McComesky-Roddy-Ryan-Haston Connections
Daniel Haston in White County, Tennessee

Unit 4 – Daniel’s Children

David – White County
David – Van Buren County
Montgomery Greenville Haston
Joseph
Lucinda – Wife of Jacob Mitchell
Catherine – Wife of John Austin
Isaac – Tennessee
Isaac – Missouri
Isaac – California
Jesse
Jeremiah MC
Daniel, Jr.
Elizabeth – Wife of James Roddy
Mary-Polly & Peggy – Daniel’s Daughters?

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Discovering Your Family History

Why Study Dead People?

Or "Discovering Your Family's History"

Podcast Interview with Wayne Haston

DEBORAH JOHNSON, M.A., creator of Hero Mountain™® and past President of Los Angeles National Speakers Association, is an international award-winning music artist, author, speaker and National Media Commentator. Deborah provides principles to produce a successful second half, creating momentum and getting unstuck, reaching expansive goals and a desired lifestyle. Up for multiple GRAMMY Awards and spending over 20 years in the entertainment industry, she’s an expert on how to constantly reinvent yourself in a gig-economy. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Women’s Economic Forum Exceptional Women of Excellence Award. Deborah is the author of 4 books and speaks and performs in both live and virtual events.

Summary Written by Deborah Johnson

This article is based on an interview I had with Dr. Wayne Haston, an expert on discovering family history. So why study dead people? It’s a lonely hobby as it’s so narrowly focused! When Dr. Haston started doing research, he became overwhelmed with all he was finding. He had not yet retired and was fairly busy in his regular work. How was he going to organize all of the information he was discovering about his family history?

That was over 20 years ago and he has now found a way! His system of organization has been a huge asset in his ability to expand his research now that he is retired. Having two doctorate degrees definitely came in handy as he was used to researching. Approaching age 73 at the time of this writing, his research is rewarding, fun and keeping his mind sharp!

Where to Start with Family History

Wayne started his research by creating a website. (DanielHaston.com) By doing so, he could easily post new findings and illustrations. It was also a fairly easy way to organize his research.

He also started an open Facebook group where he posts updates and is more easily linked with other family members. But most of his work is posted on the website. After taking a DNA test, Dr. Haston even posted his test result on his website. (Quite interesting to view!)

With all his research organized and categorized over the years, he has now combined the material for an upcoming book. The large version will be a library only edition, already at 30 chapters and over 500 pages, eventually to be between 800-900 pages! However, he’ll provide a smaller download version as a free PDF file. Wayne has gone way beyond what many will attempt, but he is providing a long-lasting legacy for his family and future generations to come.

If you are interested in your family history, there are places online to start looking. here’s Ancestry.com, which starts with a free trial, but then a fee. There’s also a completely free site sponsored by the Mormon church, FamilySearch.org which is excellent. There are many other resources you will find with a Google search.

Solving Mysteries in Your Family's History

Look for the unanswered questions. There are usually some theories or stories you will hear from other family descendants. You may have to do a little research to find them, but with social media, this is now more feasible!

It’s also fun to visit some of those family members. We recently took a trip to my birthplace in Georgia and I walked away with new insights about my dad’s side of my family. I also found out the small town I was born used to be called Denhamville, going back to the Civil war, referring to my ancestor’s tannery that furnished shoes and boots for the soldiers! (Denham is my maiden name!)

Wayne discovered three main theories about where his family came from. After his DNA test, he knew which theory was correct and that opened up a whole new world. You may be unaware that many others have also done a lot of research on your family. If you can find and meet those people, you can ask them where they got stuck and what else there is to find. One contact told Wayne, There’s always something more in the bottom of the barrel! He then proceeded to find much more information not yet uncovered. This fact reminded me to check in with some of my family members before taking an extended trip to Italy to research my roots from my mom’s side of my family!

The Importance of Family History

Some people may think a study like this is crazy. You can be out doing other things like playing golf or traveling to exotic places. However, the more details you find, the more exciting it gets to discover more! I had a cousin come up to me during my mom’s memorial service and tell me she had done quite a bit of research in Italy she’d love to share with me. I got super excited and hope to meet with her soon!

The Jewish culture in biblical times definitely thought it was very important to mention the genealogical records in the Old Testament. In fact, they memorized many of those records. When Martin Luther first translated the Bible into German, thanks to the printing press, he sold 5,000 copies in just two weeks. From 1518-1525, Luther’s writings accounted for a third of all books sold in Germany and his German Bible went through more than 430 editions.* There is a large amount of genealogy included in the Bible and this has been very important for not only for religious organizations, but for both American and European history.

History also helps us to understand ourselves, our culture and life’s perspective. We hear the phrase, History repeats itself and it’s true! Just like political history repeats itself, you may find patterns of repetition in your family history. Understanding those patterns can empower you to move forward with steps for positive change and to even create a different path for future generations. That makes discovering your family history even more important and powerful!

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Dave and Estelle Haston

David Rhea and Estelle Suggs Haston

Daniel Haston Family History “Hall of Famers”

David Rhea and Estelle (Suggs) Haston lived in Sparta, Tennessee (White County, TN). You can see their birth and death dates on the Highland Cemetery tombstone below. For 20+ years (mid-1960s until sometime in the late 1980s or so) Dave and Estelle did a phenomenal job of researching and preserving our family’s history. Estelle, in particular, connected with Haston family members ALL over the country and wrote perhaps 100s of letters, engaging them in Daniel Haston family research.

David Rhea Haston descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son David, and David’s son Isaac T. Haston and David’s grandson, Montgomery Greenville (M.G.) Haston. In other words, both of David Rhea Haston’s parents were Hastons in the David Haston line:

His father was Joel “Joe” Montgomery Haston (1863-1925), son of M.G. and Rachel Wheeler Haston. M.G. was a grandson of David Haston, through David’s daughter Mary/Polly.
His mother was Elizabeth “Betty” Haston (1871-1946), daughter of Isaac T. Haston. Isaac T. was David Haston’s next-to-the-youngest son.

So David Rhea Haston was a double-descendant of David and Daniel Haston! His parents were first cousins once-removed. No wonder he developed such a keen interest in the history of the Haston family.

When David Rhea (Dave) retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority in October 1965, he and his wife, Estelle move back “home” to Sparta, TN and began to pursue Daniel Haston family research with a passion. Remember: that was when historical research was not easy. Major highways were mostly two-lanes; no copying machines; no internet or email; long distance phone calls were very expensive. When you look at their research files you can understand how challenging it must have been: correspondence was by USPS mail and copies were made using onion-skin paper and carbon copy paper.

I (Wayne Haston) was extremely fortunate to inherit their research files. Actually, I never met Dave nor Estelle although I grew up in the same small town where they lived and was related to them. But Dave and Estelle passed along their resources to J.D. Haston of Sparta, whom I had known all my life. Just a couple of years before J.D. passed away, I began interacting with him about the Haston family history. In about 2002, knowing he had a health problem that might be terminal, J.D. gave me all of Dave and Estelle’s research materials, two boxes full of them. I’ve gone through them page by page and organized them for access by some future Haston family researchers.

Estelle deserves special recognition for her work on the Haston family. Although not a Haston by birth, she worked tirelessly to correspond with Haston relatives all over the USA, even after Dave passed away in 1985. “Helpful” and “kind” are two words that come to mind when people who communicated with her think of her.

A Personal Tribute to Dave and Estelle Haston

From Mrs. Howard (Carol) Haston

As a newlywed in 1971, I was surprised to learn that my husband Howard’s family knew very little of their Haston family history. Richard, my father-in-law, knew only that his father, John Foster Haston, was born into a large brood in Red Top, Missouri in 1884. His dad had told Richard that he left the family farm soon after his mother died and didn’t want to talk about it. When I asked Howard’s mom, Claudina, about the Hastons, she produced a letter from Estelle Haston, Sparta, TN, inviting any and all Hastons to the annual family reunion in Sparta. None of my Portland Hastons knew if they were related but mom-in-law kept the letter.

Ten years later, Howard’s job took us to Tennessee. I determined to find the Missouri to Tennessee Haston connection if one existed. Cranking through microfilm rolls of Missouri censuses in Knoxville, I found the path from Howard’s family to Jeremiah Haston, born around 1798, in Tennessee. With Estelle’s years-old letter in hand, I called Estelle and Dave Haston’s Sparta phone number, hoping they still lived there. Eureka. Estelle answered. I explained my research, telling her that we’d like to attend the annual reunion with 12-15 additional Hastons, Richard’s brothers, sister, spouses. Although Estelle knew nothing of our Jeremiah, we were Hastons nonetheless and were invited.

I asked Estelle how she’d gotten my in-laws’ address years earlier for her U.S. Haston mailing list. It seems that Ma Bell had a hand in her methodology. Whenever she and Dave’s families or friends traveled to a city outside of Tennessee, Estelle asked them to comb that city phone book and bring her the Haston page or copied info from that book. As you may remember, printed phone books usually displayed a person’s name, phone number and address. This was an ingenious mass-mailing effort prior to the Web. I’m glad it reached us.

In 2010, DNA linked the Jeremiah lineage to Daniel Haston and Heinrich Hiestand showing that Jeremiah was one of Daniel Haston’s sons.

A Personal Tribute to Dave and Estelle

From Jane Ritter

I am not sure where I found out about their research. Dave and Estelle were such amazing people. They wanted to share what they knew about Haston family history. We corresponded for years sharing information. I also learned many things about them and what their work and family had been doing. Estelle always included her current church and family activities. We visited with them in Tennessee on several occasions. They were great hosts. Dave showed us the cemeteries and buildings and told what he knew about them from what he learned from his grandfather. I do remember that he didn’t think I was a real Haston because it was my mother’s family. I felt more like a Haston though because I was so close to my mother’s family. Dave and Estelle were Baptists like we are so we worshipped with them also. They treated us as special guests and were so happy we were interested in our family history.

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Colonel Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

Colonel Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

1950s-80s Daniel Haston Family Researcher

A Daniel Haston History Hall of Famer

Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

March 23, 1905-April 1, 2003

Oldest of six children. Graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point in 1928. Separated from the armed service in 1931, he practiced law in Arkansas until he was recalled to duty after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps during the war, stationed at West Point. Served as the chief assistant to the American Judge for the War Crimes Tribunal for the Far East after the war.

I began my Haston family research in the fall of 1999 by “standing on the shoulders” of many men and women who had preceded me in researching the Daniel Haston and related families. A few of them I was fortunate to get to know and correspond with. Some are still living and active, to varying degrees. But many more had passed away or were late stages of failing health by the time I became active as a student of our family’s history.

I want you to know about some of these men and women who did so much to keep our family’s history alive and pave the way for the rest of us.

Howard H. Hasting descended from Daniel Haston through Daniel’s son Joseph: Joseph>Isaac (son of Joseph)>James Thomas>Isaac Thomas>James Isaac>Howard Hillman Hasting, Sr. You can read about this family line in Colonel Hasting’s family report. Howard’s father and other family members moved to Yell County, Arkansas in about 1880, where they (as a family group) changed their “Haston” name to “Hasting.”

Mr. Hasting conducted extensive research back in the day when there was no internet, no email, no cell phones, no personal computers, no interstate highways, no “Xerox” machines, and long distance phone calls were expensive. He traveled to Arkansas, Missouri, and even to Van Buren County, Tennessee in the summer of 1951, to visit cemeteries, old Haston homesites, and to talk to old-timers in or related to the Daniel Haston family. He corresponded with Haston family members in various parts of the country. He conducted research in small town courthouses and libraries, as well as the Library of Congress. i

True to his profession as an attorney, he was concerned about accuracy in his research, even though later research has revealed some errors in his work–which is the case for all family researchers.

In about 2002, I located a phone number for Howard H. Hasting, Sr. in San Antonio, TX and decided to give him a call. He answered and we talked briefly. He apparently had dementia at the time and only vaguely recalled some of the Haston names I mentioned. But, at least, I was able to speak with him. A few years after Mr. Hasting passed away, I was on a business trip in San Antonio and had the privilege of eating dinner with his son (Howard, Jr.) and his son’s wife. Howard, Jr. told me about his experiences as a genealogist’s son–more trips to courthouses and libraries than he wanted to remember.

Please inform me of other earlier, now-deceased, Daniel Haston family researchers who should be honored with a tribute.

02 - Our Haston Roots are in Switzerland

Canton Zurich

Wädenswil and Richterswil

Wädenswil

Richterswil

The People of Wädenswil and Richterswil

Flight over Richterswil at Sunrise

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01 - In Search of Our European Roots

English

Scots-Irish

SWISS-German

DNA Settles It

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Book Progress Update - December 2020

What's the Current Status?

When Will the Book Be Published?

The "Reader's Digest" Version

Contents of the Book

The Heritage of Daniel HastonSon of SWISS-German Mennonite Immigrant Henrich Hiestand

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Why Study Dead People?

Or "Discovering Your Family's History"

Where to Start with Family History

Solving Mysteries in Your Family's History

The Importance of Family History

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David Rhea and Estelle Suggs Haston

A Personal Tribute to Dave and Estelle Haston

A Personal Tribute to Dave and Estelle

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Colonel Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

1950s-80s Daniel Haston Family Researcher

Howard H. Hasting, Sr.

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The Heritage of Daniel Haston
Son of SWISS-German Mennonite Immigrant Henrich Hiestand