Leopold Haby was born in the Haby Settlement, now called Riomedina, in Medina county, November 15, 1851. His parents came from Oeberenzen, Alsace, Germany, in the spring of that year and located in that settlement, where they raised a family of nine children, seven sons and two daughters, namely, Leo­pold, Gregor, Raymond, Guido, John, Alex, Otto, Theresia and Katie. Theresia married M. J. Ripps and afterwards died. Guido and John Haby are also dead. Katie married Chas. Wurzbaeh, and still lives at Riomedina. Gregor lives at Bonita, Ariz; Ray­mond at Uvalde, Alex and Otto live at Riomedina, and Leopold lives near Medina Lake. The father, Jacob Haby, died December 11, 1899, aged 76, and the mother, Mrs. Catherine Haby (nee Mann) died February 17, 1916, aged 83.
When Leopold was eight years old he accompanied his father on a freighting trip to Port Lavaca with an ox-team. Two trips were made in the year 1859, and two trips the next year, 1860. Each trip required three to four weeks time. Other trips were made in 1863 from San Antonio to Eagle Pass, then young Haby was needed at home to take care of the stock and farm, as all of the young men went into the army. Indians were very troublesome in those days. Nick Haby, an uncle, killed an Indian one night when the redskin was trying to steal horses from a pen at his home in the Haby settlement.
      In 1868 Leopold Haby went on his first cow-hunting trip, coming up in Bandera county to the ranch of August and Celeste Pingenot, which is now owned by Louis Haegelin. In the party with him were Jacob Koening, Louis and August Rothe, Adolf Wurzbach, Ben Wernette, George Heyen, Bill Shoemaker and Justin Hans. August Pingenot joined the party and they hunted 
and rounded up cattle throughout the country around Bandera, penning at the ranch of Polly and Jose Rodrigues, at the Jack ranch, at the Bandy ranch, and at Bladen Mitchell's.
Mr. Haby relates some of his experiences as follows: "In the spring 1870, myself, Joe Haegelin. Alex Haegelin, John Liebold, and Joe Brieten went with ox teams to San Antonio, and loaded freight to take to Fort Concho, a distance of about 200 miles. We remained at Fort Concho all summer, and hauled hay for the government, Christopher Schuchart having the contract. We returned home and the following year we again hauled freight from San Antonio to Fort Concho. In 1872 I enlisted in Company V Minute Men, composed of George Haby, Captain; John Green lieutenant; Charles Brown, Adolph Wurzbach, Julius Heihling, Frank Monier, Joe Burrell, Sr., Armin Boehme, John Karm, Joe Burrell, Jr., Frank Beal, G. Zapata, Saria Menchaca, Jones and Van Riper. We enlisted at Boerne November 6, 1872, and during the next few months we were kept busy scouting and trailing Indians. A bunch of redskins came down on a raid and stole horses near San Antonio and as far out as the Culebra. They secured 110 head and started west with them, camping the first night at Mescal Spring. Here they killed a horse and ate it. From here they went by Mitchell Crossing, up Cypress Creek, thence west over to the Verdes. They passed within two miles of the Davenport ranch, and near there killed another horse and had a feast, and then went on to Sycamore Spring, about five miles from where Tarpley is now located. John Green and some of the minute men were in camp on the Culebra, and George Haby and men were camped on Elm Creek when this raid took place. There were about twenty men in the two companies. We immediately took the trail which led out towards the head of the Hondo and Verde Creeks, the route being known as the old Indian trail.
It was late in the afternoon, and after getting our supper we took a direct course to the Davenport ranch, where F. L. Hicks, a noted scout and Indian fighter, joined us, and we followed the old cattle trail to the Hondo, stopping about two hours before daylight to secure sleep and rest. Mr. Hicks stood guard and made coffee for us while we slept. We turned out and again got 
in the saddle at daybreak and made our way to Sycamore Spring, and just as we reached there we saw three Indians coming over a hill. They discovered us about the same time and took to the brush and got away. We made diligent search for the remainder of the band but did not find them, but we got the stolen horses, 110 head. After scouting around for sometimes we decided the Indians had made good their escape, so we started back home with the recaptured horses, coming via Bandera. Some of the men went back on the trail in hopes of finding horses that the Indians had abandoned and we all met at Pingenot's ranch that night. We received our discharges in 1873 and the company disbanded. I was married October 18, 1875, to Miss Hortensia Haegelin, the ceremony taking place in St. Joseph's Catholic church in the city of San Antonio. We made our home three miles from the Haby settlement, where I engaged in farming and stock-raising for eight years. In 1883 I moved to Bandera county with my family, settling on Vance Creek, near Mescal Springs, thirteen miles east of Bandera, where I am still living."
Mr. and Mrs. Leopold Haby have six children, three sons and three daughters. They are Titus A. Haby, Helotes; Mrs. Alexandrina Ahr, Lacoste; Mrs. Olga Tschirhart. Medina Lake; Robert Haby, Rio-medina; Mrs. Louise Letcher, Pipe Creek; Arnold L. Haby, Medina Lake.