Moses Haines Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1275-1276 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	MOSES HAINES, of Lawrence county, South Dakota, came to the United 
States from the British possessions, being a native of New Brunswick, 
where his birth occurred on the 23d of February, 1846. His boyhood, 
which was uneventful, was spent amid the quiet scenes of the parental 
home, and at intervals until his sixteenth year he attended the public 
schools, acquiring, by close application, a knowledge of the branches 
constituting the prescribed course of study. At the above age he left 
home and entered upon his career as a self-supporting actor in the 
affairs of life, going first to the state of Minnesota, where he worked 
at lumbering for different parties until 1868, when he decided to seek 
his fortune further west. Yielding to a desire of long standing, Mr. 
Haines went to Montana, where he turned his attention to mining, in the 
prosecution of which he traveled extensively over that territory, 
visiting the different mining districts, but meeting with only fair 
success in his operations. He remained in that part of the county until 
the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, in 1876, when he made for the 
new land of promise, joining a company on March 4th of that year, which, 
under the leadership of one William Langston, started from Bozeman, and 
came in via what is now Spearfish and arrived at Deadwood the latter 
part of the following May. The men comprising this company were among 
the first to reach the Black Hills, and at the time of their arrival the 
present flourishing city of Deadwood was nothing but a small collection 
of tents and a few insignificant log shacks, occupied by hardy and 
daring adventurers, who made everything in the shape of comfort 
secondary to the one absorbing desire for gold. After spending about two 
months in Deadwood and vicinity, Mr. Haines came to the foot hills on 
Whitewood creek, where he spent the greater part of the summer and 
following winter, and the next spring he took up his present ranch, four 
miles from the town of Whitewood, and began farming and stock raising. 
In the course of a few years he had a goodly portion of his land in 
cultivation, also increased the number of his cattle the meanwhile, and 
in due time became one of the successful agriculturists and stock men on 
Whitewood creek, which reputation he still enjoys. He added to his real 
estate from time to time, made a number of good improvements on his 
ranch, and his cattle interests continued to grow apace until, as stated 
above, he found himself one of the leaders of the industry in Lawrence 
county, as well as an influential factor in the civil affairs of the 
same. 

	In 1897 Mr. Haines moved his family to Whitewood and has resided 
in the town ever since, though still owning his ranch and giving 
personal attention to his large and constantly increasing cattle and 
other live-stock interests. He was married in Crook City on the 8th of 
May, 1891, the lady of his choice being Miss Hattie Jones, of Iowa, who 
departed this life on December 12, 1897, leaving, besides her bereaved 
husband, a daughter by the name of Nettie. 

	Mr. Haines is a gentleman of high character and excellent repute, 
and enjoys to a marked degree the confidence of the people with whom he 
mingles.