Mayer Halff
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Mayer Halff | |
|---|---|
 Halff in a 1925 publication | |
| Born | February 7, 1836 Lauterbourg, France |
| Died | December 23, 1905 (aged 69) |
| Occupation | Rancher |
| Spouse | Rachel Hart |
| Children | 4, including Henry |
Mayer Halff (February 7, 1836 – December 23, 1905) was an American rancher. He was a pioneering rancher in Texas and a prominent member of the Jewish community of that state. Mayer acquired 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of ranchland in western Texas and New Mexico and at one time was the third largest cattle owner in the United States.
Halff was born February 7, 1836, in Lauterbourg, Alsace, France.[1] Halff's family was engaged in the cattle industry. In 1851, Halff immigrated to the United States, joining his brother Adolphe in Galveston, Texas. Halff was an itinerant peddler for several years in the area around Liberty, Texas. Adolphe perished in a shipwreck in 1856. In 1857, Halff's younger brother Solomon joined him in Texas and the two brothers became business partners.[2] Solomon managed the Halff's dry good store while Mayer increasingly became involved in cattle trading. Halff became a U.S. citizen in 1860.[3]
Halff did not serve in the Confederate States of America army during the American Civil War, but instead relocated to southern Texas and Matamoros, Mexico. His brother Solomon, drafted into the Confederate Army, was jailed for not serving, but eventually became part of a largely Jewish infantry unit.[4] In 1864, the Halff brothers opened "M. Halff and Brother" dry goods store in San Antonio.[1]
