Haseltine was born in
Andover, Vermont on July 13, 1821, a son of Orien Haseltine and Rachel (Burton) Haseltine. He was raised and educated in Andover and in
Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and taught school in
Natchez, Mississippi for three years. He moved to what is now
Richland Center, Wisconsin in 1842; Haseltine was one of the founders of the city in 1851, and was credited with both planning its layout and selecting its name. Haseltine
studied law in
Milwaukee with
Don A. J. Upham; he was
admitted to the bar in 1842 and practiced in Richland Center. Active in politics as a
Republican, Haseltine was a delegate to the party's 1854 state convention and to the
1860 Republican National Convention. In 1866, he won election to the
Wisconsin State Assembly, and he served one term, 1867 to 1868. In 1870, Haseltine moved to a farm near
Springfield, Missouri, where his sons and he started Haseltine orchards, a successful apple-growing operation. In the 1870s, Haseltine became an adherent of the
Greenback Party, which opposed corporate monopolies and efforts to return to the pre-
American Civil War gold standard. In 1880, he was a successful Greenback candidate for the U.S. House, and he served one term, March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1883. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882 and resumed his farming activities in Springfield. Haseltine died in Springfield on January 13, 1899. He was buried in Hazelwood Cemetery in Springfield. ==Family==