My Genealogy Hound

Joseph Robinson Haines, auditor of Posey county, editor and publisher, was born at St. Wendel, Ind., January 31, 1864, the son of Charles and Jane (Culley) Haines. The first of the family to settle in Indiana was Peter Haines, a native of Kentucky, who located in Robinson township, Posey county, during its formative period. He was a farmer and the grandfather of the subject of this article. His son, Charles Haines, born in Posey county, also a farmer, married when a young man Miss Jane Culley, also a native of the county, where she was born in 1835. Charles Haines died when our subject was a child. He is survived by his widow, now a resident of Cynthiana, and the following children, viz: Mary E., the wife of James R. Smith, a farmer of Smith township, Posey county; Martha, the widow of Albert Whiting, Anna, Ill.; Ella, the wife of Crawford B. Smith, a farmer of Smith township, Posey county; Joseph R., auditor of Posey county; Charles L., Cynthiana; and Fannie J., the wife of William M. Chappel, a farmer of Oakland City, Gibson county, Indiana. Joseph Robinson Haines was reared on the Haines farm in Robinson township and assisted in the work incident to its carrying on until he was aged nineteen. He received his education in the public schools of Posey county and was graduated from the Cynthiana High School in 1883. From 1883 until 1890 he was engaged in teaching in the schools of the county. In the latter year he purchased the Poseyville “News,” of which he was the editor and publisher until he entered the office of auditor in 1912, and of which he retains the ownership. Mr. Haines has always taken a keen interest in the questions of the day and has been active and influential in the political life of his home county. He is a Democrat. He was elected to the lower house of the State Legislature in 1900 and re-elected in 1902. His work during the sessions of 1900-01 and 1902-03 received the commendations of his constituents and he was considered by his colleagues as one of the energetic and active leaders of his party in the house. He was elected auditor of Posey county in 1910 and entered upon the duties of the office on January 1, 1912. His administration of the business affairs of this department of the county’s official life has received favorable comment, efficiency has been the mark consistently sought, and promptness in the conduct of work constantly maintained. He had previously served as an official of the county through appointment, having filled the office of treasurer from February 28, 1907, until January 1, 1908, succeeding Fred A. Morelock, who had died in office. He is a member of the Masonic order, Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Haines married on December 20, 1893, Miss Virgie C. Dougherty, the daughter of James H. Dougherty, a farmer of Rolla, Mo. They are the parents of one child, Edith May Haines, born May 7, 1895.