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Remembering the soldiers of 1812

A commemoration and dedication of grave markers for three brothers who served with the 2nd Lincoln Militia in the War of 1812 -- Sergeant Mathew Haney, Private James Haney, and Private Leonard Haney -- will happen this Saturday in Ridgeville.
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A commemoration and dedication of grave markers for three brothers who served with the 2nd Lincoln Militia in the War of 1812 -- Sergeant Mathew Haney, Private James Haney, and Private Leonard Haney -- will happen this Saturday in Ridgeville.  They were three of six sons of Isaac Haney, who served as the Warden of Pelham during that War.  All three sons are buried at Hillside Cemetery, along with a younger brother, John.

The ceremony will be held at Hillside Cemetery, formerly Dawdies, 421 Canboro Rd. in Ridgeville. The program will include members of the Honor Guard of the 2nd Lincoln Militia reenactment group, a convocation by Rev. Diane Walker of the Pelham Community Church, Len Fluhrer, a military historian who was part of the Sir Arthur Currie Project, along with other speakers and other descendants. 
The grave markers reflect the service medals that these men were suppose to have received 200 years ago.
Across A Continent and Time
The application for the Haney veterans was unique in many aspects. First, it comprises three brother who are all buried at the same cemetery. But that isn’t the only unusual aspect. 
The application was spear headed by a descendant of Leonard Haney. who lives in Alaska, thousands of miles from Ontario. Barbara Haney learned about the program though her involvement with the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society via social media. As a young girl, Barbara’s father, Van Haney used to tell her about various battles during the war of 1812 and the Lincoln Militia that he learned about when he attended the Maple Street School in Niagara Falls. 
Through the internet, documents at the Niagara Museum and Library and Archives of Canada were accessed to show most of what her father had talked about was accurate and that members of her family served honorably in the 2nd Lincoln. This included the payroll of Decew’s company that showed all three brothers were paid in the summer of 1814 during the time frame of the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, among other documents. These combined with documents of other family researchers had provided over the years were used to apply  for the markers. She submitted the application to the committee from her cabin in North Pole, Alaska. 
After the committee reviewed the application for the Mathew, James, and Leonard Haney, they were approved. Through the internet, she has been able to work with family members and the town of Pelham  cemetery staff, and the others to have the grave markers installed and help coordinate the event. 
About the soldiers
Mathew Haney was born in 1788 and married Anna Maynes, the granddaughter of Loyalist Nicholas Outhouse and daughter of loyalist George Maynes.  He entered service in 1812 as a private and rose through the ranks as gunner and sergeant.  After the war, he took over his father’s milling operations in Thorold.  In later years, one of his sons, Henry R Haney, served as MP for the Monk Second Riding.  Two other sons, Stephen and William, would own the firm that widened the Welland Canal. Another son, Mathew Fletcher Haney, would serve as a doctor and reeve in Humberstone.
James Haney, born in Thorold in 1791, entered service as a Private shortly after his brother Mathew and served to the end.  His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1829 and James married Mary Stringer as his second wife.  He was noted as a builder and farmer and was one of the earliest settlers in Pelham.
Leonard Haney, born in Thorold in 1796, entered service as soon as he was old enough and also served during some of the most heated battles of the war, including Lundy’s Lane.  After the war, he married Elizabeth Maynes, the sister of Mathew’s wife, and they had a large family, many of whom still live in the Niagara region and beyond.  He was the first postmaster of Fenwick, and served as a Methodist Episcopal minister to Fenwick, Binbrook, and Gainsboro for over 30 years.  Newspapers of that time wrote that his funeral procession was the largest gathering ever witnessed in the region.
Their father, Isaac Haney, received a crown grant in Thorold in 1796. He was a chain bearer for August Jones in 1788 when it was Township 9, Nassau and settled mostly by disbanded Butler’s Rangers.  Isaac owned woolen and carding mills, lumber mills, and flour mills in the region and his sons remained in the area.  Other family members included two sons, Ebenezer Haney and Isaac Haney Jr. who were early settlers in Elgin, and John Haney, who settled in Pelham. Another family member, Elizabeth Haney, died in June of 1812 during the war.
Additional information on the Haneys and other 1812 Veterans can be found on the www.1812Veterans.ca website. Additional information on the ceremony is available through contacting the Pelham Historical Society, or by email at [email protected].