Two members of the German Haase family decided to emigrate in the second half of the 19th century from the town of Sandersleben, in Anhalt, to pursue success in the fur trade business.

While Charles Haase (1828–1907) immigrated to the United States in the 1850s and opened his own business in Richmond, Virginia in the late 1860s, Leopold Haase (1844–1917), a son of Charles’ first cousin, emigrated to the Russian Empire in 1865.

Charles Haase	Leopold Haase (seated, center) and his family

At the age of only 21, Leopold moved to the city of Reval in the Russian empire (now Tallinn, Estonia), where he became a dealer in fur, millinery and "notions" (small accessories such as combs and pipes) and had established his own business by 1874.

Leopold Haase's fur shop in Reval