Harriet A. Haas

Harriet A. Haas

Harriet Averill Haas (born October 17, 1874) was an attorney and member of Piedmont Board of Education. She was one of the most highly regarded members of the Alameda county bar.[1]

Early life

Harriet Averill was born in Virginia City, Nevada, on October 17, 1874, the daughter of Wales Averill and Christina McLaughlin.[2][3] Her mother was born on Prince Edward island in 1840. Her father was born in Highgate Springs, Vermont, in 1837, and descended from sterling old English stock, the progenitor of the family in the United States was William Averill, who set at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1632. Among his descendants was John T. Averill, who served in the war of the Revolution.[1]

Haas lived in Nevada until 1888 and was educated in public schools in Nevada and California. She then moved to Iowa, where she was graduated from the Cedar Rapids high school.[1] From 1894 to 1896 she attended University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.[4] She attended University of California and obtained degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Jurisprudence.[3][1]

Career

Before moving to California, Harriet A. Haas was Assistant Superintendent at the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women, Framingham, Massachusetts.[4][5]

From 1915 to 1924 she served as president of the building association Delta Delta Delta sorority.[1]

She was a member of Piedmont Board of Education from 1916 to 1926,[2][3] assuming the role of chairman of the Finance Committee, and a practiving attorney in Oakland, her office was on the 12th floor at 1615 Broadway, Oakland, the Federal building.[1][6] In 1922 she obtained an A.B. from University of California, Berkeley, her thesis being Financing of the Secondary and Elementary Schools.[7][8]

As an attorney she was the Legal Aid Advisor of the Women's section of the Berkeley Police Department[2] and had the same role for the Berkeley Welfare Society.[6]

She was on the Speakers' Bureau of County Federation of Women's Clubs and Community Chest.[2]

She was a member of the Committee on the legal status of women of the Oakland forum and of the state committee of the League of Women Voters.[6]

In 1926 she was the only women candidate for legislature from Alameda County running for Assembly from the 37th District. She opposed the incumbent, Assemblyman Eugene W. Roland, and Walter Fleberling.[9] She registered as Republican but sought the votes of both Republicans and Democratics.[3][6] She lost by just 10% placing second on four candidates.[10]

Later in life she associated with Lila R. Havens and was assistant manager in the sale and development of the properties owned by the state of Frank C. Havens, which was one of the largest and most beautifully located of any of the East Bay properties.[1]

She was the dean of Iota Chapter of the Kappa Beta Phi legal sorority. She was member and director of the Oakland Women's City Club.[1]

She was a member of the State Bar Association, Women's Athletic Club, Business and Professional Women's Club of Oakland, American Association of University Women, Daughters of the American Revolution, Kappa Beta Phi legal sorority,[2][3][6] Unitarian church, Order of the Eastern Star, Boalt Hall of Law of the University of California, College Women’s Club of Berkeley.[1]

Personal life

Harriet A. Haas moved to California in 1900 and lived at 218 Bonita Ave., Piedmont, California.[1] In 1897, in Carson, Nevada, she married Benjamin G. Haas and had two children: Dr. Wales Averill Haas, chief surgeon for the Six Companies Inc. at Boulder City, Nevada, and Lesben Louis Haas.[1][2][3][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Merritt, Frank Clinton. History of Alameda County, California. Retrieved 24 September 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 50. Retrieved 8 August 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Thirty-seventh District - 29 Aug 1926, Sun • Page 18". Oakland Tribune: 18. 1926. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 The Michigan Alumnus, Volume 45. UM Libraries. 1939. p. 35. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hill and Valley Urged to Hear Broadcast - 18 May 1944, Thu • Page 6". Daily Review: 6. 1944. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "But One Woman Seeks Election to Legislature - 29 Aug 1926, Sun • Page 18". Oakland Tribune: 18. 1926. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Haas, Harriet Averill (1924). Financing of the Secondary and Elementary Schools. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  8. ↑ Register - University of California, Volume 2. University of California Press. 1923. p. 67. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "County Voters Are Interested In Hot Contests - 29 Aug 1926, Sun • Page 18". Oakland Tribune: 18. 1926. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Van Ingen, Linda (2017). Gendered Politics: Campaign Strategies of California Women Candidates, 1912–1970. Lexington Books. p. 54. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Brides-Elect Honored at Tea - 17 Feb 1944, Thu • Page 19". Oakland Tribune: 19. 1944. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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