| Notes |
- Joseph Haines’s life followed a path from family land in Pennsylvania to a new home in western New York. Born in 1756, he was the son of William Haines. A published Haines family history gives his birth date as 22 July 1756, identifies his mother as Lydia Johnson, and names his wife as Rachel Rich. Their marriage before a magistrate was reported to Nottingham Monthly Meeting in November 1773.
By 1790, Joseph was established in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. On 4 December that year, his father conveyed property to him through two deeds expressly identifying Joseph as his son and mentioning paternal love and affection. The property included a principal plantation of 234 acres and additional adjoining parcels. Its history already reflected close family connections: Joseph’s sister Sarah and her husband, Jesse Reynolds, had previously conveyed land to William.
In 1806, Joseph and Rachel made a substantial change in their lives. On 3 April, they sold their Pennsylvania property to Thomas Furniss for approximately $4,133.33. The complete sale included three parcels totaling 273 acres and 65 perches, plus the stated survey allowances. Later that year, Joseph acquired 40¾ acres from William Sherman and 50 acres from Benoni Sherman in Seneca Township, Ontario County, New York. At about fifty years old, he was establishing a new landholding in the Finger Lakes region.
Family remained central to his property dealings. On 8 September 1809, Joseph conveyed the 40¾-acre parcel to Isaac Reynolds, husband of his daughter Mary, for $100. Isaac was also a cousin of Jesse Reynolds, connecting Joseph’s New York household to the extended family network associated with his Pennsylvania land. In August 1810, Joseph purchased another small parcel from Caleb Benton, adding approximately four acres to his remaining Seneca property.
The census entries identified in the family research place Joseph in Seneca in 1810 and 1820. His 1810 household included an older man, an older woman whose age fits Rachel, and a boy under ten whose identity remains uncertain. Nearby households included the Southerland, Reynolds, and Squires families.
By 1830, Joseph apparently lived with Isaac and Mary Reynolds. The older man in Isaac’s household, aged seventy to seventy-nine, fits Joseph’s birth year. On 26 November 1836, Joseph transferred his remaining documented Seneca parcels—the fifty-acre tract and the smaller Benton purchase—to Isaac for $400 and “love and affection.” He was then approximately eighty years old.
An older man in Isaac’s 1840 household, aged eighty to eighty-nine, again fits Joseph. Although that identification remains an inference, it suggests that Joseph spent his later years with his daughter’s family. His death date and burial remain unestablished. His land records nevertheless preserve a meaningful family legacy: property received from his father, a move to New York, and land passed onward to his daughter’s household.
There is a record stating he died 3Feb1847 aged 90y 6m 12d (have not confirmed a source) - but we do know he died after 1840
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