george haney, Jr.
1881-unknown
Life Story
Early Life and Parentage
George Haney, Jr. was born around 1881 in Mississippi to George Haney, Sr. (born 1848 in Alabama) and Jane Crumley Haney (born 1845 in Choctaw County, Alabama). Both of his parents were Alabama natives who later settled in Mississippi during the post-Reconstruction era.
His father worked as a farm laborer, and his mother kept house. Jane had previously been married to a man identified as M. Crumley and had children from that earlier union before marrying George Haney, Sr., forming a blended household that reflected the complex family structures common in the late nineteenth-century South.
By 1900, George was living in Hinds County, Mississippi with his mother and her third husband, Neal Saunders, suggesting that his father was no longer present in the home at that time.
Marriage to Carrie Miller
On December 28, 1904, in Clarke County, Mississippi, George Haney, Jr. married Carrie Miller, daughter of Lee Miller, Sr. and Cora Howze Miller of Shubuta, Mississippi.
The couple initially resided in Eastabuchie, a community in Jones County, Mississippi. Later, they moved to Hattiesburg in Forrest County, where George joined his oldest brother, Maleriah. During this period, George worked as a laborer in the railroad log industry, an occupation tied directly to Mississippi’s booming timber economy.
Together, George and Carrie had nine children:
- Earnest Haney (1907 – before 1919)
- Geneva “Eva” Haney Moore (1909–1985), married Smith “Jig” Moore
- John Lee Haney (1911–1946), married Helen Whitfield and Anna Mae
- Theodore Haney (1912–1976), married Olivia Lang and Mamie Lee
- Louis Haney (1914–1984), married Ruby Dukes and Mary Alice Donald
- Maebelle Haney (1917–2001), married Juary Evans and Moses Bob Williams
- Odelia Haney (1918–1936)
- Priscilla Haney (birth name Fannie Mae) (1922–1982), married Sank Watts, Sr.
- Sarah Mattie Lois Haney (1925–1953), married Melvin L. Phillips
Life in Hattiesburg and the Timber Boom
Between 1910 and 1918, George relocated his family from Eastabuchie to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. According to his World War I draft registration completed in September 1918, he was residing in Forrest County at that time.
In the 1920s, Hattiesburg was a growing Southern city shaped by the timber industry and railroad expansion. Vast pine forests supplied lumber mills, and rail lines transported timber products throughout the region. The city served as a transportation hub, drawing laborers like George who sought stable work in railroad and logging operations. Social life centered around churches, schools, and community gatherings, while educational growth was influenced by the early establishment of what would become the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Haney family lived within this developing industrial environment. George’s steady labor in the railroad log industry placed him within the economic engine of the region.
Racial Violence and Migration
The migration of the Haney family from Shubuta to Hattiesburg and other areas must also be understood within the racial climate of the time. In December 1918, four Black youth—brothers Major and Andrew Clark and sisters Maggie and Alma Howze—were lynched by a white mob in Shubuta. Two of the victims were related to Carrie Miller Haney.
This horrific act of racial violence deeply affected many families in Clarke County and contributed to patterns of migration toward larger towns and cities where employment opportunities and, at times, relative anonymity offered a measure of safety.
Shortly after George registered for the World War I draft in Hattiesburg, the family eventually relocated to Newton, Mississippi.
Loss and Widowhood
By the late 1920s, George and Carrie were living in Newton County. Carrie was again expecting a child when tragedy struck. On December 27, 1929, she died due to complications from childbirth, leaving behind young children still dependent upon her care.
According to her death certificate, Carrie was laid to rest in her hometown of Shubuta, Mississippi.
Her passing marked a turning point for the Haney family. George was left a widower with several minor children at home during the onset of the Great Depression.
Remarriage and Departure
On July 13, 1930, in Newton County, George Haney, Jr. remarried a woman named Mattie. Shortly thereafter, he left Newton County, entrusting the care of his younger children to his eldest daughter, Geneva “Eva” Haney Moore.
Eva, though young herself, assumed a parental role in raising her siblings. This act of responsibility would shape the Moore-Haney family legacy for generations to come.
After his 1930 marriage, George Haney, Jr. disappears from confirmed historical records. The details of his later life, his death, and his burial location remain unknown.
Legacy
George Haney, Jr.’s life reflects the mobility, labor, racial hardship, family resilience, and shifting responsibilities that characterized many African American families in Mississippi during the early twentieth century.
Though his later years remain undocumented, his legacy lives on through his children and their descendants. His story is interwoven with the Moore-Haney lineage and the broader migration patterns that shaped Newton County and surrounding communities.
Resting Place
Unknown
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1900 Federal Census
- 1910 Federal Census
- 1920 Federal Census
- 1930 Federal Census
- U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- U.S., WWI Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918
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