Asa Laffin (1862 - 1947)

 Pedigree: Me > Norma Haynes > Lillian Laffin > Asa Laffin (my great grandfather)  

Asa Laffin was born 5 October 1862 in Northfield, Hants County, Nova Scotia, the last child of (William) Thomas Laffin and Rachel Miller.  He was christened on 1 November 1863.  

   He inherited the family farm when his father passed away in 1880.  The farm consisted of 400-500 acres.  There was originally a log cabin on the property.  Then a large wooden frame house was built with a living room, dining room, parlor, kitchen, pantry, and one bedroom on the main floor and three bedrooms upstairs.  Asa grew oats, wheat, barley, and vegetables on the farm and had a small orchard.  He also had a dairy herd as well as pigs, sheep, chickens, and horses.  He used some hired help to assist him on the farm. A brook separated his farm from the farm of Chester Laffin to the east, and there was a pond on the farm that had lots of snapping turtles. The kids loved to catch frogs in the pond. Asa loved to trout fish and was quite competitive about it. There were some gypsum holes on his property, but the gypsum was never mined, as it was at other sites in Hants County. Ropes were placed around these holes so no one would fall into them. 

   Asa was a hard worker, didn’t drink, and was well liked by all.  His friends called him “Uncle Asey.” When he drove his first car and he had to stop, he pulled back on the steering wheel and said “Whoa”, forgetting that he was not on a horse! When Asa was introduced to someone new, he always had to know their parents (almost everyone in the area was related by family back then). He would say “Who ARE you?" In his later life, he broke his hip and convalesced for a while at his daughter Ruby Densmore’s house with her son, Lyman Densmore.

   Asa married Rose Ellen (Rosella) Hennigar (born 24 September 1859 in Upper Kennetcook) on 10 July 1890 in Upper Kennetcook at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church.  Rosella’s parents were John A. Hennigar and Letitia Densmore.   Asa and Rosella had seven children—six girls and the last child was a son, Addison. Lillian Laffin was the fourth child and daughter born in Northfield on 16 November 1895. 

                                        Asa and Rosella with their children (L to R): Ruby, Nada, Lillian, Amy, Minnie and Addison

     
His granddaughter, June Haynes, saw Asa for the first and only time in 1946 when she was almost 16 years old. She and her parents, Lillian Laffin and Tom Haynes, were brought from the train station to the house by Uncle Addison Laffin and his wife, Evelyn. When they arrived, she remembers him sitting in a rocking chair by a kerosene lamp. He was still living at his home.  Addison, being the only son, moved in and began to live with Asa after Rosella died in 1930. He and Evelyn raised their five sons there. Lillian had not seen her father, Asa, since before June was born. Her last visit had been in 1929 when Norma Haynes was only 4 years old. It was a very teary situation. June describes her grandfather, Asa, as a typical grandfather, sort of wiry, and just a wonderful disposition, a real gentleman.






















Summer 1929 at Laffin home: Lillian Laffin Haynes, Rosella Hennigar Laffin, Asa Laffin, and Ruby Laffin.
Grandchildren include: Norman Anthony age 13 (son of Minnie Laffin and Alfred Anthony), Norma Haynes age 4 in straw hat, and Wilfred age 4 and Cham age 2 (sons of Ruby Laffin and George Densmore). Baby not identified.






Asa’s mother, Rachel Miller Laffin, lived with the family until she died in 1909.  They also cared for Rosella’s father for several years after his wife died in 1907.  Asa’s sister, Elmira, married Rupert Miller. After Elmira died in 1888, her son Wilfred Miller was cared for at Asa’s home and grew up there.





Asa and Rosella are both buried in the Northfield cemetery at the Anglican Church.  She died 27 September 1930 in her sleep of a heart condition.  Asa died 24 September 1947 of pneumonia. His request for his final meal was maple syrup and Evelyn mixed up some brown sugar and water for him.

References:
1. Lillian Laffin (Haynes), daughter
2. Douglas Township Records
3. Northfield Cemetery
4. June Haynes (Spencer), granddaughter
5. Lyman Densmore, grandson (mother, Ruby Laffin Densmore)