author
Jacob K. Huff
1851–1910
A Pennsylvania newspaper writer and humorist best remembered for the "Jake Haiden" pieces, he mixed wit, sympathy, and a strong feeling for everyday people. His work carries the voice of a columnist who could be funny, serious, and warmly human at the same time.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, on January 31, 1851, he grew up in a backwoods setting that later shaped the plainspoken, grounded character of his writing. Sources for his posthumous collection describe him as a contributor to the Reading Times of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he wrote under the name "Jake Haiden."
He is especially associated with The Philosophy of Jake Haiden, a 1911 collection drawn from his newspaper columns and published with a biographical appreciation by Henry W. Shoemaker. Contemporary descriptions of that volume present him as a humorist, artist, and writer of human-interest pieces whose work aimed at ordinary readers rather than literary fashion.
Only a limited amount of easily verified biographical detail appears in the sources I found, so some parts of his life remain faint today. Even so, the surviving record suggests a regional American author whose warmth, humor, and sympathy for common life were the qualities readers remembered most.