[1][4] He married Catherine (Hays) Haffen (1823–1888), an emigrant from Limerick, Ireland, in 1840.
[4][5] Matthias's German-Irish sons included John Haffen (1847–1910), two term Bronx Borough President Louis F. Haffen and Henry (1852–1932), who served on the New York Board of Aldermen.
[1] He was also involved in a funding deal for Wakefield Park, in return for a beer concession, but blue laws kept the park and its planned Sunday Irish athletic events from happening.
The plan was to close the brewery down and develop the property; it was in a rapidly growing area known as the Hub.
[7] The Haffens are interred in the Bronx on ‘Brewer’s Row’ at Woodlawn Cemetery[4] along with a dozen other brewing scions and their families.