1955 auction of Haish's belongings

Furniture auction at Jacob Haish mansion | Photo courtesy of Joiner History Room, DeKalb County Archives

When Jacob Haish died in 1926, he left his palatial mansion to his longtime housekeeper and caregiver Anna Anderson, who resided in the home for years until her death in 1953. However, Haish's will did not state what should happen to the mansion after Anderson passed, so it was determined that the house and contents would be sold in order to fund other projects in his will, including a hospital.

An auction of the contents of the mansion was held May 12, 1955, on the lawn of the mansion, located on the corner of Pine Street and North Third Street in DeKalb. These photos from that day were provided by the Joiner History Room.

The auction announcement, posted in the May 11, 1955, edition of the DeKalb Chronicle reads:

"ANTIQUE FURNITURE AUCTION: The trustees of the Jacob Haish estate will sell at public auction at 405 North Third Street in DeKalb, Illinois, on Thursday, May 12, beginning at 1 p.m. many items of antique furniture consisting of marble top chairs, cherry tables, walnut chairs, birds eye maple bedroom set, walnut settees, walnut desk-bed, walnut clocks, mirror and some antique dishes. Whitman and Whitman, auctioneers."

Furniture auction at Jacob Haish mansion | Photo courtesy of Joiner History Room, DeKalb County Archives

A large number of items were purchased by Paul Nehring that day, and he enjoyed those items for many years with his wife Shirley Hamilton-Nehring, in their home on the Ellwood House museum grounds.

After they donated their private home to the Ellwood House museum in 2011, the museum purchased the Haish furniture so that it could be enjoyed by the public. Click here to see photos of the furniture as it has been displayed in the Ellwood House Museum's Visitors Center.

Furniture auction at Jacob Haish mansion | Photo courtesy of Joiner History Room, DeKalb County Archives

Remnants of Haish mansion furniture

My great-aunt Pam Haish-Brockhaus recently met Janet Anne Fawcett and the two discussed their connections to Jacob Haish. 

Jacob Haish is Brockhaus' second great uncle, while Fawcett's stepfather, Charles Roland, once had scavenging rights to the Haish mansion before it was eventually razed.

The railing spindles were salvaged from the Haish mansion. Charles Roland, of DeKalb, used them to create a railing for his DeKalb home. The piece was later painted white. | Photo provided by Janet Anne Fawcett

"I so loved the Haish home when I was younger," said Fawcett, who was 11 years old when the house was demolished. "My stepdad brought home the railing when the house was demolished. He used most of it in the upstairs of our house in DeKalb. These smaller pieces he used for legs and feet on woodworking projects he built."

Fawcett still utilizes these pieces throughout her DeKalb home. 

"The top and bottom of the railing were built by my stepdad and the original spindles were mounted in between,"  Fawcett said. "The rail was painted white but I would have left it wood. ... It is possible that this rail was from a back staircase or not one in the main entrance."

A small table was salvaged from the Haish mansion by Charles Roland, and it was later painted white. Roland's stepdaughter plans to refinish the table. | Photo provided by Janet Anne Fawcett

A hope chest, made by Fawcett's stepfather, has "feet" that are repurposed wood pieces from Haish mansion railing. | Photo provided by Janet Anne Fawcett

"My stepdad made several pieces of furniture and saved and salvaged lots of stuff," Fawcett said. "My older sister and I have hope chests that he made us that have small feet made from pieces of the rails."

She was also kind enough to provide Haish mansion spindles to Brockhaus and myself, one of which is pictured below.

A mahogany spindle from the Haish mansion. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Fawcett is grateful to be able to incorporate the various pieces in her home, but she wishes the mansion had a different fate.

"I am still sad about the mansion," she said. "I drive past there often and so wish it could have been saved."


Thanks to Janet for sharing her story, and thanks to Pam for connecting me with Janet.

Jacob Haish furniture exhibit at Ellwood House

The Haish mansion, in DeKalb, housed the furniture that is now in the Ellwood House exhibit. The mansion was demolished in 1961. It has been said that efforts to save historical buildings, like the Ellwood House, were heightened after the Haish house was razed. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

The Ellwood House Museum in DeKalb, Ill. is currently home to a variety of furniture that was part of Jacob Haish's home. I recently visited while the exhibit was being reconstructed and rearranged. 

Many of the items in the Haish mansion were sold during an auction on the lawn of the Haish mansion after Jacob's death. Donna Gable, museum director of visitor services, said Paul Nehring purchased quite a bit of the furniture and his wife, Shirley Hamilton Nehring, used it in their home, the Ellwood-Nehring house, which is located on the museum grounds. 

After the home was donated to the Ellwood House Museum in 2011, the furniture was sold to the Ellwood House Museum so it could be viewed by visitors to the museum. Gable said the Glidden House had also considered purchasing and displaying the furniture, but the Ellwood House had more physical room to host the items.

Interior pieces of the home, which were provided for the exhibit by local historian Steve Bigolin. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Gable said the furniture is interesting because it was used in the Nehring home just like anyone else would use furniture, but once the items were placed in the museum, they instantly became "artifacts."

Photos of items in the exhibit are below.

Rocking chair and settee, circa 1880s | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Occasional table, circa 1880 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Dining room table, circa 1885 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

This table has a total of 12 leaves. If fully extended it would be fourteen feet long.

Details of the dining room table. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Wenzel Friedrich horn chairs, of San Antonio, Texas, circa 1890 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

These chairs were considered "top of the line" of Friedrich's production, and they may have originally been upholstered in jaguar hide. Each chair is made from 22 polished horns from Texas longhorn cattle, with a seat rail of horn and set with a Texas star in the center.

Close-up of chair legs | Photo by Jessi LaRue

The legs of the chair are set with brass-and-glass ball feet made by Tiffany & Co.

Close-up of chair | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Close-up of chair | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Self-propelling wheelchair attributed to Jacob Haish, circa 1900 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

This wheelchair, attributed to Haish, features a chair mounted on a platform with rubber wheels and a spoked wheel. The rear wheels are hand-operated by a crank and chain mechanism.The chair is steered by a hand-tiller. There is also a handle at the back of the chair so that it can be pushed.

Self-propelling wheelchair attributed to Jacob Haish, circa 1900 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Occasional table attributed to Jacob Haish, circa 1901 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

The table features stars, circles, horses, cats, dogs, birds and foxes. Haish, who created this piece, had worked as a carpenter, so he was very familiar with woodworking.

Close-up of occasional table attributed to Jacob Haish, circa 1901 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Andrews' Patent Parlor folding bed, circa 1880 | Photo by Jessi LaRue

This piece was designed to look like a cabinet but opened up to become a folding bed.

Special thanks to the Ellwood House Museum for allowing me to document and share this exhibit.