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** RETURN TO BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX ** ** RETURN TO HISTORY CONTENTS **   BENJAMIN W. HAIR. M. D., discoverer and manufacturer of Dr. Hair's Asthma Cure," was born July 26, 1819, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, being the youngest of thirteen children. His parents, James and Rebecca (McCowen) Hair, were both born in Berkeley County, Virginia. A few years after their marriage (about 1806) they removed to Pennsylvania, where they lived the remainder of their days. Farming was their life vocation, being pursued both in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Mr. James Hair was also justice of the peace for thirty-four years of his life. At his hands justice was indeed found, for during this long period as a magistrate, both in Virginia and Pennsylvania, there were, out of hundreds of cases, but six that he did not succeed in compromising, and which finally came to trial. He always used every possible influence to secure an amicable settlement between the contestants, in which he was almost invariably successful. He was a true peacemaker, and for this, and many other excellent traits of his character, he was greatly esteemed and respected by all who knew him. He died while yet holding his office. His wife had preceded him, having died in 1840.      Two brothers of Dr. Hair made themselves widely known in the ministry. They were both Presbyterians. One of them died a few years ago in Chicago, while still laboring in his profession. A circumstance worthy of note, as not having a parallel, perhaps, in the United States, is connected with the family of Dr. Hair's oldest brother. The widow, with four generations, all females, constituting the entire posterity of Mr. John Hair, are still living in Sigourney, Iowa, making in all five generations. Dr. Hair attended the common schools until he was nineteen years of age, when he entered Washington College, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, then in charge of the Rev. Dr. McConaha, where he was a school mate of Hon. James G. Blaine, and joined him in debate at college societies, where he graduated in 1842, in high standing. He then began the study of medicine in the office of the noted Dr. Biddle, of Monongahela City, Pennsylvania, and in the meantime entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, where he graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1845. A location for practice was the next question to determine, and finally Fairview, Hancock County, Virginia, was selected, where he remained actively engaged till 1849. He next removed to Hamilton County, Ohio, remaining in Sharonsville and vicinity till 1853. From that place he moved into Butler County, where, with the exception of four years spent in Princeton, Illinois, and an equal time in Franklin County, Indiana, he has since remained. In 1864, while in Indiana, he went out as assistant surgeon of the One Hundredth United States Infantry, serving in that capacity until the close of the war. He was with the army of the Tennessee, under General Thomas.      Returning to Butler County, he resumed practice, which was continued till 1879, when a new departure in his professional career took place. While in the army he contracted spasmodic asthma, which developed in a few years into an exceedingly severe case. For eleven years there was not a day or night that he did not experience asthmatic paroxysms, and was finally reduced to a mere skeleton. He had, during all these years, been studying the disease carefully, and had made many experiments to ascertain its true nature, the method to alleviate it, and a rational philosophy of cure. But finally, on the 8th of January, 1876, he began treating his case with a remedy which he compounded upon scientific principles, based upon his own observations, study, and experiments. It relieved him immediately, and since the first forty-eight hours succeeding its first application he has not, in a single instance, experienced a recurrence of his malady.      He then began treating other asthmatics, and found that in a very large majority of cases a perfect cure was effected. To test the medicinal powers of his discovery thoroughly, he treated many cases gratuitously all over the country, and the result was that in a short time his medicine met with a general demand, so that in the Spring of 1879, he began the manufacturing of "Dr. Hair's Asthma Cure" in Hamilton, which was carried on with great success till August, 1881, when the enter­prise was removed to Cincinnati under the firm name of Hair & Son. Until recently Dr. Hair has supplied his patrons directly, but the demand became so universal that he decided to furnish all druggists instead, by which means a more general distribution of the cure could be effected. It is now known and used all over America, and has been the means of curing thousands of suffering humanity, its discoverer included. Though established but three years, the enterprise is reputed worth upwards of $300,000, of which Dr. Hair & Son are sole proprietors.      Dr. Hair was married September 24, 1844, to Miss Margaretta L. Hamilton, of Florence, Washington County, Pennsylvania daughter of John and Margaretta Hamilton of that place, farmers by occupation. Mrs. Hair died March 4, 1882, leaving three daughters and one son. The oldest is the wife of Virgil Gilchrist, of Cincinnati, her second husband, and was born August 8W 1844. West Anna, wife of the Rev. T. J. McClelland, of Piqua, Ohio, was born January 25, 1847. James W. was born the 10th of May, 1851, and Margaretta R., wife of Robert Cochran, of Millville, Butler County, was born March 4, 1856.      Dr. Hair is a man of great earnestness and enthusiasm in whatever interests him. In temperance work he has been very active and influential. He has devoted much time and spent much money in organizing and sustaining temperance organizations. His work in this direction has been followed by great good, and reflects great credit on him. In Church work he is no less prominent, being one of the largest supporters of the Presbyterian Church in Hamilton. His benevolence in these particulars are but symbols of his relation towards all worthy enterprises. As an illustration of his zeal and liberality, his action in the recent efforts to enforce the Sunday laws will show. He, upon the first resistance being offered to the law, came forward and sustained Mayor Puthoff, and offered to give five hundred dollars, or even one thousand dollars if needed, to enforce the law.      In politics he is an enthusiastic Republican, and never fails to vindicate the principles he espouses. Socially he is genial and hospitable, and with friends self-sacrificing. .. EPHRAIM HALL was born in Pennsylvania about 1785.  He married for his first wife, in Pennsylvania, Hannah Wynn, who died in 1819, leaving two children.  Benjamin was born about 1815, is married, and lives in Mercer County, Ohio; Jonathan, born February 18, 1818, is married, and lives in Morgan Township.  For his second wife, Ephraim Hall married Dorcas Callahan.  She bore him three children Jeremiah, whose whereabouts is unknown; Matthew, who is dead; Nancy, how is supposed to be alive, but whose residence is uncertain.  Mr. Hall was a resident of this township before 1812, taking up his residence on Paddy's Run.  He died about 1853.  Jonathan Hall married Catherine Brandenburg, who was born November 10, 1823, daughter of Jacob Brandenburg.  He is the father of eight children, as follows:  Hannah, wife of Nelson Shroyer, now of Kansas; Jacob, a resident of Kansas; Mary, wife of David Burnett, of Morgan; William, married and at home; another, wife of Leander Selyer, now of Kansas; Charles and Albert, both single and at home; and Hiram, who also is the oldest.  Mr. Hall, is a self-made man.  He began work as a farm-hand, and has continued to prosper, until now he owns one hundred and sixty-three acres of land.  He is surrounded by many of the comforts of life.   JOHN M. HALL (Hanover Twp.) was born in Hanover Township, in 1809.  He is the son of John Hall and Elizabeth Morris, who came here in March, 1806, from Kentucky.  He is a farmer, and has been supervisor and school director.  His father was in the Revolutionary War as a private in a South Carolina regiment, and received a pension a few years before he died.  This was in the year 1836, his wife dying May, 1838.  They were both buried on their farm.   GRIFFIN HALSTEAD.  Col. Halstead, in 1875, wrote the following account of his life:       My father and mother were John Halstead, of Currituck, North Carolina, and Ruth Richardson, his wife.  Early in their married life they removed from the shore of Albemarle Sound, to the northern central part of the State, where, near Guilford Court-house, I was born, June 11, 1802.  I was the oldest son of the family who survived infancy.  When I was two years old, my parents left their native State for the blue grass regions. . EZEKIEL C. HAMILTON - Page 481, Fairfield Twp.   ALFRED HANCOCK - Page 467, Ross Twp.   WILLIAM HANCOCK - Page 572 - Milford Twp.   JOHN HARPER - Page 496, Liberty Twp.   ROBERT HARRIS - Page 572 - Milford Twp.   GEORGE W. HASLET - Page 616, Wayne Twp.   MANNING HATHAWAY - Page 481, Fairfield Twp.   BENJAMIN HAWK - Page 467, Ross Twp.   JOHNSON B. HAYTHORNE - Page 482, Fairfield Twp.   JONAS HECK - Page 606, Madison Twp.   HENRY HERRON - Page 572 - Milford Twp.   EDWARD L. HILL, M.D.  - Page 537, Oxford Twp.   VOLNEY L. HILLS  - Page 538, Oxford Twp.   EDWARD HINSEY - Page 572 - Milford Twp.   JOHN HÖLLE - Page 467, Ross Twp.   GEORGE W. HOOD - Page 573 - Milford Twp.   DR. CHARLES C. HOOVER - Page 467, Ross Twp.   CORNELIUS HOUSE - Page 482, Fairfield Twp.   MRS. LORETTA L. HOWARD - Page 585, Union Twp.   JAMES H. HOWE  - Page 538, Oxford Twp.   THOMAS V. HOWELL, the leading dry-goods merchant of Hamilton, was born in this city, in what is now the First Ward, September 28, 1826. He is the son of Hezekiah and Sarah A. (Virgin) Howell. Mrs. Howell was the daughter of Thomas Virgin, an early settler in Liberty Township, and afterward in the War of 1812. He was killed by Indians, on the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Howell received a limited education in the common schools, and when from ten to twelve years of age entered the employment of George P. Bell, a prominent mer­chant, and continued with him some ten years, when he went to Cincinnati, with the firm of Reilly & Woods. He returned to Hamilton, and entered the employment of Brown & Leigh, remaining there until March, 1849, when, in company with D. G. Leigh, they purchased the business of William B. Van Hook, and began the firm of Leigh & Howell, under which title they traded for two and a half years. Mr. Leigh then sold out to John Dye, and the new firm of Howell & Dye was formed.      About 1854 Mr. Howell purchased the- interest of his partner and carried on business by himself for twelve years. On beginning in 1849, his trade was not limited exclusively to dry goods, but embraced all that is commonly sold in country stores, including at one time a large stock of boots and shoes, and afterwards of millinery. In 1870 he admitted his son, David Leigh Howell, as a partner under the firm name of T. V. Howell & Son. In 187o they built the store since occupied by the firm, a handsome three story building, and admirably adapted to its present use. Their former store had been on the corner of Third and High, in the place now occupied by Hughes Brothers. The firm also carries on an extensive concern in Middletown, and are large dealers in all lines. Much of their goods is imported directly by themselves.      Mr. Howell was married October 20, 1849, to Miss Sarah A. Conner, daughter of David Conner, a former well-known resident of this place. They are the parents of one daughter and one son, the former being Kate C. Howell, and the latter David L. Howell. Mrs. Howell and daughter are members of the United Presbyterian Church. He is a self-made man, and had no early advantages. He is a member of the Masonic order, and contributed liberally of his means and influence in sustaining the government during the last war.   Dr. WILLIAM HUBER was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on the 5th of July, 1813. He was educated in the schools in that vicinity, and when fifteen years of age attended an academy at Lebanon. He began reading medicine when sixteen years old, and attended a course of lectures at the University of New York, in Fairfield, in 1831 and 1832, and a second course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, in 1833 and 1834. He was graduated from that institution in 1834, and began the practice of his profession at Lebanon, April 1,1834. He continued there until ill health compelled him to seek a more congenial climate, and he then came to Columbus, Ohio, where he improved so rapidly that he concluded to remain in this State. He went to West Alexandria, Preble County, where he remained one year, then going to Eaton. There, in company with Dr. A. H. Baker, he stayed two years, then coming to Hamilton. He located here in 1841, and has ever since been in the practice of his profession in this town.      Dr. Huber is one of the oldest members of the Butler County Medical Society, and is a member also of the Union District Medical Society. He is a very prominent physician. Dr. Huber was married in 1846 to Miss Mary D. Budd, who was born in New Jersey. They are the parents of eleven children, of whom six survive. He is a member of the Episcopal Church and of the Masonic order.   CHRISTOPHER HUGHES - Page 497, Liberty Twp.   ELIJAH HUGHES - Page 497, Liberty Twp.   JOSEPH T, HUGHES.  Joseph Barcalow Hughes, auditor of Butler County, was born November 12, 1848, on his father's farm in Liberty Township, in this county. He is the son of Micajah Hughes, president of the First National Bank, and grandson of Elijah Hughes, a native of Baltimore County, Maryland. The family emigrated to this county from Maryland about the close of the War of 1812, and settled in their present neighborhood, in which they have ever since resided. They are noted for their good, practical common sense, industry, sobriety and sterling honesty, and, as a consequence, have accumulated large estates, and are considered among the first families of Butler County.      Micajah Hughes was married more than fifty years ago to Phebe Freeman Cassidy, a native of the county, a lady whose good sense and good judgment have contributed in no small degree to her husband's prosperity. This long and happy union has been blessed by ten children, of whom Joseph is the sixth.      Reared upon a farm, he grew up with all the advantages of outdoor life and physical exercise; attending district school until he had attained such proficiency that an advanced school became necessary to develop the intellect which nature bestowed so profusely upon him. For this purpose he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and afterwards, to acquire a business education, he went to a commercial college at Dayton, Ohio, at both which seats of learning he showed himself a young man of excellent memory, quick perception, good judgment, and sound understanding.      He was married November 12, 1868, to Miss Mary Davis, daughter of Almon Davis, a wealthy farmer of Liberty Township. Mrs. Hughes was born in April, 1848. She is a lady of culture and refinement, and is one in every way fitted to make home attractive and happy. One child, Gordon Taylor, a bright, intelligent boy now twelve years old, has been given them to bless their union. Mr. Hughes engaged in farming with fair success until 1875, when desiring to furnish his boy with better facilities for education, and being himself of an enterprising commercial and manufacturing disposition which farming did not gratify, he moved to Hamilton and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1881, when he sold out to his brothers. While engaged in business his attention was directed to the subject of manufacturing the beautiful ware known as Wedgewood, large quantities of which are imported from England and sold in this country, and he became impressed with the belief, after in­vestigation, that it could successfully be manufactured in America.      Acting upon this belief, he with others organized the Royal Pottery Company, of which he was elected president, about three years ago, for the manufacture of this ware. The necessary buildings and machinery were constructed, skilled workmen were brought direct from England to start the enterprise, and the problem Was successfully solved by turning out goods equal to the best: imported from Europe, thus demonstrating what American enterprise and skill can accomplish when led by; intelligence and good judgment: Since Mr. Hughes's election to his present position, he has disposed of all his interest in the company, as well as other outside business, that he may devote his whole time and attention to the duties of the office to which the people have elected him; but as a manufacturer and a merchant, his good judgment, thorough methods, and fair dealings procured him a fair share of success, and the respect of all with whom he dealt.      From his earliest youth he has taken ah earnest interest in politics, allying himself with the Democratic party, being a true disciple of the teachings of Jefferson, Jackson, Madison, and the other great founders of that party. He is thoroughly democratic in his principles, is opposed to all monopolies and to all legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, or. to any thing tending towards monarchy, absolutism, or aristocracy.      For years he has been a hard worker in the ranks of his party, acting as committeeman in his township, at­tending conventions, and helping worthy friends to public positions, but not until the Hancock campaign in 1880 was he put forward as a leader by his admirers, who began about that time to estimate the man at his true value.      At the Morrow convention in 1880, which nominated General Ward for Congress, he was selected by the delegation from his county to second the nomination, which he did in a neat and appropriate speech, being the first time he had attempted the difficult task of speaking in public; During the political campaign of that year he spoke at various points in the county, discussing the political questions of the day in a manner that showed a thorough knowledge of the subject, to the gratification and we may add, surprise of his friends, and with credit to himself.      In the campaign of 1881 he contributed greatly to the success of his party by his writings to the Daily Democrat, in a manner that shows him to be a good writer as well as a good speaker, and his abilities as a political strategist are recognized by his being made chairman of the county executive committee of this county. As a speaker he is thoroughly honest and sincere in his utterances, and therefore impresses himself upon his hearers; his sentences go direct, to the point, and convince by their directness rather than by their eloquence. As a writer he is forcible, fair, and direct; but if occasion require, he can be pungent and sarcastic, covering the object of his attack with ridicule, in which respect he is much more effective as a writer than speaker.      It is reasonable to suppose that the public would look to such a man as one well calculated to fill a public office with credit to himself and with honor to them, and therefore when he was nominated by his party by an overwhelming majority, and triumphantly elected to the office of auditor of this county, in the Fall of 1881, it was no more: than was to be; expected in recognition of his abilities and reward for political services.      He entered upon the discharge of the duties of his responsible. position in November, 1881, to serve for three years. In the discharge of those duties it is safe to predict, from the integrity displayed by him in the past, that the interests of the public will be properly guarded, and that the laws governing his official acts will be honestly and faithfully executed. He is a man of incorruptible honesty and unflinching honor, possessing that conscientious regard for the sanctity of an oath that insures its faithful observance. He is a Knight Templar, is a past Chancellor Commander in the Knights of Pythias, and a valued member of other orders with which he is associated. With his natural shrewdness, industry, and ambition, we predict for him a future that will place him in the front ranks as a citizen, a politician, an officer, and a thoroughly cultured, upright gentleman.   JOSHUA E. HUGHES - Page 497, Liberty Twp.   MICAJAH HUGHES, of Liberty Township, president of the First National Bank of Hamilton, was born iu Baltimore county, Maryland, on the 25th of January, 1807. He is the son of Elijah and Sarah (Muchner) Hughes, who were both natives of the same county, and removed to Ohio, settling in Liberty Township, in 1815. Mr. Hughes followed the occupation of a blacksmith in Maryland, but after coming to Ohio, also embarked in farming. He was born November 4, 1777, and died August 8, 1849, and his wife died September 10, 1845, being born May 5, 1780. Micajah Hughes was educated in an old log school-house, in Liberty Township, located in Huntsville. He soon was initiated into farm­ing, and in 1832, in company with Daniel,, his oldest brother, bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Lemon Township, which they owned together until 1837. In the meantime they had bought another farm in the county, then dividing it. Micajah took the farm on which he now lives, of one hundred and twenty acres, and forty acres of woodland, two miles distant. Their partnership was dissolved in 1837, when Mr. Hughes married. His business from that time on has been to farm, trade in stock, and loan money.      He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank in Hamilton, in August, 1863, and has ever since been its president. The first meeting to form this bank was held on the day on which the battle of Gettysburg was fought, but the meeting at which the permanent organization took place was on the 6th of August. The capital was originally $50,000, of which Mr. Hughes owned one-tenth, but a few months after it was increased to $60,000, and in January was made $100,000, its present capital. Mr. James Beatty was the first vice-president. The average dividend of the bank since its beginning has been sixteen and two-thirds per cent; the highest dividend, twenty-four per cent, and the lowest, ten. The deposits now are over $700,000, mostly received from farmers.      The bank has been uniformly successful in its history, never having been obliged to close its doors or ask the least indulgence. Its stockholders are conservative money­lenders, who never receive favors from the bank or use its funds for their own purposes. In proportion to its capital it has the largest deposits of any bank in the State, except one in Cleveland and one in Cincinnati. Mr. Hughes now owns but one thousand dollars' worth of stock, just enough to qualify him to be president, by request of stockholders, though he formerly owned twelve thousand five hundred dollars of stock. He pays the largest personal tax in Butler County, being on upwards of eighty-seven thousand dollars, all his property being in this county, except ten lots in Louisville, Kentucky.      He was married on the 3d of March, 1837, to Miss Phebe F. Cassidy, born September 19, 1814, of Lemon Township, who was the daughter of John and Sarah Cassidy, farmers. Mrs. Hughes is still living, at the age of sixty-six. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, though but five are now living. The oldest, Mrs. Helen Taylor, was born May 23, 1839; Albert, born April 23, 1843; George W., born June 29, 1844; Joseph B., born November 21,1848; Alexander C., born January 16, 1851, and died August 14, 1867, at Minneapolis, where he had gone for his health. He was a lawyer of Hamilton. Sarah L., born February 4, 1841, died November 9, 1871, was an accomplished scholar and writer. She possessed a high degree of literary skill, and her letters from Europe excited much attention. Alice M., born July 2, 1845, died July 1, 1861; Evelyn, born October 22, 1853, died November 1, 1853; Clarence E., born March 3, 1855, died September 11, 1864.      He has always been a Democrat, casting his first vote for Jackson, in 1828, and voting for the candidates of that party ever since. He has frequently been a delegate to the State Democratic Convention. He was a director of the Butler County Insurance Company for ten years, and was one of its organizers. . PHILIP HUGHES - Page 497, Liberty Twp.   DAVID HULSE - Page 582, Union Twp.   MRS. DAVID HULSE - Page 581, Union Twp.   ALEXANDER F. HUME, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, was born in Delaware County, New York, April 20, 1829. With his parents he came to Clarke County Ohio, in 1838, and received his education in the common schools and high schools in Springfield, graduating there and entering Miami University in 1846, where he remained a year and a half. He then entered the Central College, at Danville, Kentucky, where he graduated in March, 1848. He entered the office of Judges Rogers and White, remaining with them until he was admitted to the bar in August, 1850. He came to Hamilton in the Fall of 1850, and was in practice here until elected judge of the court of Common Pleas, in 1859, which he filled for five years, when he resumed practice. He was re-elected to the same position in 1875, and has held the place continuously since. In 1878, he was a candidate for judge of the Supreme Court of the State on the Democratic ticket, and came within three thousand votes of an election.  He carried his own county by a majority of three thousand. He was married in 1854 to Miss Sarah J. Traber, daughter of John Traber, an early settler. They are the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Second National Bank, of Hamilton, resigning the position afterwards. He has recently purchased the Peter Schwab mansion on Second Street, and is renovating and redecorating it. . ADAM HUMMELL (Hanover Twp.), farmer and stock raiser, was born in Bavaria, Oct. 18, 1842, and is the son of David and Elizabeth Hummell.  The father died June 20, 1854, but the mother is still living in Germany.  Mr. Hummell came to this country in 1865, and was married Feb. 19th, of that year, to Elizabeth Ritter, daughter of Christian Ritter, who died Jan. 24, 1864, in Germany, and of Pheby Ritter, who died Dec. 4, 1874, at Hamilton.  Mrs. Elizabeth Hummell was born Jan. 11, 1844.  Their children have been Katharine, born Jan. 28, 1868; Adam, Feb. 2, 1870; Michael, Jan. 9, 1870; Francis S., Mar. 8, 1874; Frita, Sept. 1, 1876; Anna, Sept. 24, 1878; and Hilda, Sept. 23, 1880.  Mr. Hummell has always been a farmer, and now owns a place of one hundred and forty-two acres.  He was a school director of District No. 2 from 1876 to 1881.   HENRY HURSH - Page 606, Madison Twp.   DAVID B. HUSTON - Page 482, Fairfield Twp.   ROBERT C. HUSTON - Page 538, Oxford Twp. NOTES: