Jacob and Lisa,
My grandfather Francis Anthony Haas was born in Germany. His father, Christian Haas was a leutenant in the Franco Prussian war. He was stabbed to death in Germany when my grandfather was 9 years old. He was the only child. His mother's maiden name was Katherine Brandstetter. They came to Manhatten, Little Germany years later, where he married my grandmother 20 years younger than himself.
My Grandmother's name was Bertha Helfert. Her father Peter Helfert came over from Germany. He married Louisa Steinmetz. These people owned apartment buildings in Manhatten. My grandfather owned a brewery there, Haas Brewery. We have a bottle to prove it. However, also are some trays from the George Ehret Brewery. When I was doing my genealogy search that name came up, but I don't remember where. I talked to my mother, now 91, and going through an old address book of my father, and came about a name Celia Mandel. My mother said that was a relative, but did not how she was related. My great grandmother Louisa Steinmetz came over from Germany with her sister Mary, married name (Rauchle) around 1888. Louisa married Peter Helfert. My grandmother Bertha Helfert Haas has cousins(either Steinmetz or Helfert side), related to Adolf Wagner, who was in the 1938 Olympics in Germany and won the bronze medal for weightlifting awarde by Adolf Hitler. His son, later on, won the silver in the decathalon. I have no idea where the connection is. No one ever cared to tell us anything. I was young when I heard these things. No one these days remembers much, or they have passed away. My grandparents were wealthy, but lost much when the stock market crashed during the Great Depression. I don't seem to get anywhere with genealogy search, lately.