Henry Haney (1930-2019), a familiar face to many residents of East Hampton, is pictured here with his wife, Louise Hughes Haney, sometime in the 1990s. Morgan McGivern captured the image.
Although Haney spent his life advocating for East Hampton locals, he was born a thousand miles south, to sharecroppers Inez Spurlock Haney (1912-2008) and Otha Haney (1904-1983) of Mississippi. He grew up as one of 10 children.
The rise of mechanical cotton pickers in the 1930s prompted Inez and Otha to move their family to Chicago. Henry, however, sought farm work in Florida and the Carolinas. His search eventually led him to New York in 1954, and in 1957 he settled permanently in East Hampton.
After working at the farm of Ferris Talmage (1897-1968) and the Bistrian Gravel Corporation, Haney started his own landscaping business, Henry Haney Maintenance, in 1976. Haney’s business ventures were supported by his first wife, Mathalda Wallace Haney (1936-1992), whom he met in East Hampton. The couple had three daughters, Connie, Sheena, and Stephanie. After Mathalda’s death in 1992, Haney married Louise Hughes; together they raised two children, Anthony and Mona.
Haney volunteered at numerous organizations here. In the 1970s he served as a deacon at Calvary Baptist Church. In 1980, he became a member of the East Hampton Town Police Department’s minority relations committee, which sought to improve relations between police and the Black community. He was also a longstanding member of the town’s Democratic Committee, advocating for low-income and working-class residents.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Haney hosted “Tell It to Henry” and “Henry on Location” on LTV, East Hampton’s public access television station, providing a platform for residents.
It is clear that Henry Haney had a passion for helping and uplifting others. His remarkable character was recognized back in 1977, when the artist Maggie Kotuk painted his portrait. Her explanation for doing so resonates today: “Some people strike me as being very important to all of us — they should be remembered.”
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Megan Bardis is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
