Robert Haney (June 8, 1809 – January 7, 1885) was an American politician and businessman. Haney was born in

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population as of the 2020 census was 15,6 ...

to a Dutch family, and attended the city's Boys' Academy. He worked as a hardware merchant from 1839 to 1850. In 1848, Haney went into partnership with John De Bow to open a store in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. Haney remained in Batavia until a disastrous fire in February 1850 persuaded him to move permanently to Milwaukee with his family. Haney operated a retail and wholesale hardware store in Milwaukee until the end of his life. He began in 1848 on the corner of present-day Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street, and moved in 1849 to present-day Plankinton Avenue. A fire again destroyed Haney's store on August 24, 1854, but he rebuilt and business recovered. In 1866, the ''

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'' ranked him as one of the forty-eight most prosperous men in Milwaukee. A contemporary book written on the history of Milwaukee describes Haney in the following manner: Haney was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

for the 1861 term as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haney, Robert Hardware merchants People from Batavia, New York Politicians from Milwaukee Businesspeople from Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1809 births 1885 deaths 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Wisconsin politicians