Wanted Poster

About two years ago I asked my mother about my great-grandfather, Herman Haass. He had an interesting family legend. According to the legend, he embezzled money from the Chicago bank that employed him. The story gets more interesting: He did it for his mistress, a burlesque dancer. When he refused to continue with the embezzling, she became enraged and publicly whipped him from her horse carriage. My great-great grandfather, Herman's father-in-law, was on the board of directors of that same bank. Herman was eventually sentenced to prison and spent several years there. Because of the shame he cast upon his family, he was written out of the family history. My grandmother didn't even know where her own father was buried.