Re: John & Elizabeth Hafner, Germany,- Moorton ND

I have some information on John and Elizabeth Hafner/Hafener that you may find to be useful. The name was generally, but not exclusively, spelled "Hafener" in the census reports and other official documents. The information I have comes from "A History of Mooreton [ND]1884 - 1984," published by the Mooreton Centennial History Book Committee in September, 1984, the 1865 and 1875 Minnesota censuses, the 1870 and 1880 US censuses, land records, gravestones, family history from Anton's granddaughter, Lillian (Hafener) Kressin, etc.

John Hafener was apparently born in Prussia May 2, 1818, and died in Mooreton, ND March 9, 1900.
Elizabeth Hafener was born in Prussia November 16, 1825, and died in Mooreton, ND November 24, 1906. They were apparently married in Prussia, probably in the 1840's, but I do not have a time nor a place.
They came to the US about 1856, but I haven't been able to pin down the exact date, nor the ship they came on. They settled first in Greenwood, Hennepin CO, MN, and moved to what was then North Dakota Territory between 1875 and 1878. They, and their son Anton, were the first settlers in the area, where they homesteaded farmland in what became Richland CO, ND. On June 4, 1884, John & Elizabeth, Anton, and another settler, Mathias Butala, had the town surveyed into lots, blocks, streets and alleys. John and Elizabeth are both buried in St. Anthony's Cemetery, Barney Township, ND. (Barney is next to Mooreton)

Anton and Rosa donated a city block for the Catholic church on Sept. 4, 1883, and in 1913 donated an acre to St. Anthony's Church for a cemetery. Anton and Rosa, along with sons Martin and Stephen, moved to Alberta, Canada, where Anton died March 12, 1918, and Rosa died in June, 1927.
Anton and Rosa'a children were:
Carl Hafener, birthdate and place unknown
John Henry Hafener, b.Dec. 8, 1869 in Hanover, MN
Louisa (Hafener)Thiel, b. Dec. 1873 in MN
Anton Hafener, b. Sept. 1876 in MN
Martin Hafener, b. March 30, 1880 in ND
Michael Hafener, b. April 1882 in ND
Annie Hafener, b. August, 1884 in ND
Elizabeth Hafener, b. August 12, 1886 in ND
Stephen Hafener, b. Nov. 1888 in ND

I have done considerable research on the Hafener family because John Henry Hafener was my wife's grandfather. Hope this helps, and please let me know if I can be of further help.

Bob Spidell