HARRY ALBERT HAINES SR. was born in New Jersey in April of 1866 to Eliza and Henry Haines. He was one of at least six children; the others, according to the 1880 Census, were Jacob, Sarah, Mary, Anna, and Nettie. The family the lived at 1214 South 4th Street. Henry Haines was a glasssblower by trade, and may well have worked at the glass factory that operated a short walk away on Kaighn Avenue. When the census was taken Harry Haines's occupation was "works in a glass house", which probably refers to the same factory. When that factory burned down, Henry Haines found work in Philadelphia. The family remained at 1214 South 4th Street until late 1885 or early 1886, when they relocated to 349 Liberty Street.

Harry Haines moved around his South Camden neighborhood quite a bit in the late 1880s. He married Mary J. Hickman in 1886, a son William was born in January of 1887. The 1887 Directory shows the Harry Haines family at 349 Liberty Street, and the 1888 Directory at 249 Sycamore Street. Daughter Ethel was born in December of 1889. By the end of 1890 the Harry Haines family had moved to 276 sycamore street. A son, Harry Albert Haines Jr., was born on May 8, 1892.

The family lived at 276 Sycamore Street until the compilation of the 1898 City Directory, when they moved to 294 Sycamore Street, near the corner of South 3rd Street and Sycamore  in South Camden.. Also living at the Sycamore Street address was Mrs. Haines' brother, William Hickman. Camden policeman Charles H. Fitzsimmons lived a few doors away at 1135 South 3rd Street in 1900, City Assessor Lewis Stehr Sr. was at 1131 in 1910. Lewis Stehr Jr. served as Camden's Chief of Police from 1928 until his death in 1930.  

Harry Haines Sr., worked as a glassblower, as his father did before him, from the time of the 1880 Census through 1896, according to the City Directories. He and his father were both working in Philadelphia in that trade as late as 1896. About this time Harry Haines Sr. secured an appointment to the Camden Fire department. He served with the Camden Fire Department as a ladderman with Ladder Company 1 in 1897, 1898 and 1899. The 1900 Census indicates that he returned to glassblowing, but by 1904 he was once again a member of the Camden Fire Department, where he served until the 1930s.

In June of 1912, Hook & Ladder 2 and the Chemical Engine [Engine Company 8 - pmc] were responding first due to an alarm at Third and Liberty Streets, South Camden. Both companies turned west on Kaighn Avenue, their horses at a full gallop. At the comer of Broadway, a traffic cop attempted to stop a motorized truck to clear the street for responding apparatus. At the last moment, the commercial truck's brakes failed to halt the vehicle as it rolled across the intersection. Ladder 2's driver pulled hard on the reins and stopped short to avoid a collision. A terrific crash was heard as the Chemical Engine ran into the rear of the ladder company. Fireman Fred Hall, the driver of Chemical Company 2 sustained leg injuries while pinned under the crushed dashboard. Fireman Harry Haines, the ladder company tillerman was also injured in the jarring collision. Both horses of the Chemical Engine were seriously hurt, Ellis with a large gaping hole tom in its flank when the end of a ladder was shoved into the animal requiring seven big stitches to close. The mate was skinned and cut along its entire side. Both steeds were removed to the veterinary hospital for treatment.

Harry A. Haines Sr. was single and was still living at 294 Sycamore Street in South Camden when his son Henry registered for the draft on June 5, 1917. Not long afterward Harry and Mary Haines, along with Harry Jr. moved to 1175 Kenwood Avenue in Parkside, the home of daughter Ethel and he husband Charles King who had married in 1909. The move may have been sparked by the failing health of Mary Haines. Mary Haines died of diabetes in March of 1918.

Harry Haines lived with Ethel and Charles King at 1175 Kenwood Avenue through at least 1924, according to that year's City Directory. Harry Haines Sr., still with the Camden Fire Department, was by this time Captain of Engine Company 2.

Harry A. Haines Jr. married Anna Miller around 1926. He was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on July 1, 1926 and reported for duty the same day. He was assigned to Ladder Company 1 and served with that unit until December 24, 1926 when he was temporarily re-assigned to Engine Company 2, both units located at the old Fire Headquarters on North 5th and Arch Streets. On March 16, of 1927 Harry Haines Jr. returned to duty with ladder company 1.

The 1927 Directory states that Harry Haines Sr. had moved to 1244 Mechanic Street. Harry Haines Sr. was Captain at Engine Company 7 on Kaighn Avenue by 1929. Harry Haines Sr. remained active with the Fire Department for a few years thereafter, finally retiring on December 31, 1932. In 1938 he moved to 126 Maple Avenue in Woodlynne, New Jersey. Harry Haines Sr. died on July 4, 1941 at the age of 75.