Henry Mayer Halff (1874-1934) was an American rancher, horse breeder and

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player.

Early life

Henry Mayer Halff was born on August 17, 1874, in San Antonio, Texas. His father,

Mayer Halff Mayer Halff (1836–1905) was a pioneering rancher in Texas and a prominent member of the Jewish community of that state. Mayer acquired of ranchland in western Texas and New Mexico and at one time was the third largest cattle owner in the Unit ...

, was a French immigrant who became a large rancher in Texas. His mother was Rachel Hart. Halff was educated at the Staunton Military Academy, a male-only military boarding school in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

. He graduated from Eastman Business College, a business school in Poughkeepsie, New York. Halff served in the Spanish–American War.

Career

Halff moved to

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

, to embark upon a career in ranching in 1904. He ranched in Midland County, Crane County, Crockett County and Upton County. He inherited the

Quien Sabe Ranch Quien Sabe Ranch is a ranch in Fremont County, Wyoming, about northeast of Shoshoni. The ranch structures date to the 1880s, part of a ranching operation established around 1883 by three English immigrants: Harry Jevons, Richard Ashworth and R ...

in Midland County and the

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in Upton County from his father. He raised Hereford cattle and grew honeydew melon. Halff was the owner of the H.M. Halff Polo Farm, a polo and horsebreeder farm in Midland, Texas. He bred Belgian stallions with draft horses. He also bred Thoroughbreds with mares to produce polo ponies. Halff was the owner of a real estate business in Midland. When he moved to

Mineral Wells, Texas Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census (14,644 in Palo Pinto and 2144 in Parker). The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly popu ...

, in 1925, he ran a real estate business there. When he moved to Dallas in 1929, he ran a real estate business there as well. Halff served as the president of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce. Halff was a member of the

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Personal life

Halff married Rosa Wechsler in 1905. They had two sons and two daughters. He retired to a farm in Richardson, Texas, in 1931.

Death

Halff died on March 20, 1934, in Richardson, Texas. His funeral was held at Temple Emanu-El. He was buried at the Emanu-El Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halff, Henry Mayer 1874 births 1934 deaths American people of French-Jewish descent People from San Antonio People from Midland, Texas People from Richardson, Texas American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Ranchers from Texas Horse breeders American polo players Jewish American military personnel Jews from Texas