PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
page 311
JOHN
W HAMILTON, Justice of the Peace. This sturdy old pioneer of Greene County,
whose portrait appears on the opposite page, has lived in Yellow Springs since
1845, and has held a prominent place in municipal affairs and in
society
he has been Justice of the Peace for thirty-nine years, has had the
office of Notary Public for a lengthy period, and for twenty years was Mayor of
the city. In both physical and mental endowments he was blessed by
nature, and although his early advantages were not the best, he secured a good
common-school education and upon that foundation has built an amount of
information and knowledge equal to that gained by many men whose opportunities
seem much greater. The character of the man is displayed in this, and in the enterprise
which he has exhibited in worldly affairs and the station which he holds in the
community. His home is one of comfort, one of its most noticeable features being
that its walls are lined with pictures, indicating the love of the family for
the beautiful and artistic.
Squire Hamilton is the son of James and
Margaret (Keenan) Hamilton, natives of Ireland, who settled in Perry County,
Ohio, in 1828, the father being a farmer. Companions in life, "in death
they were not divided," both dying September 26,1836. They were the parents
of six children, four of whom are living. The
birth of our subject took place August 1, 1820, and he therefore began his residence in the Buckeye State when a lad of eight
years. He began to carve out his own career in life when eighteen years old, at
which time he was bound as an apprentice to a cabinet-maker at Somerset.
After serving two years he ran away on account of ill treatment, and
walked on the National road to Bellefontaine, Logan County, having but $1 in his pocket.
He worked at clearing land by the acre, then at his trade for a time, and
in 1838, went to Shelby County, where for three years he was employed on the
Miami Canal, taking contracts to build portions of it.
For three years Mr. Hamilton belonged to the
corps of civil engineers under Timothy G. Bates, who worked from Piqua, to St.
Mary's. He then located in Dayton
and spent six months in buying horses there and selling them in the East. He
then, in 1845, located in Yellow Springs, where he has since remained. He
contracted for building a portion of the Miami Railroad, but for over twenty
years his business has been the manufacture of brick, and since 1867 he has made
over one hundred miles of turnpike. During
the Civil War he was enrolling officer for this township. Two of his sons
enlisted in Company D, Forty-fourth Ohio Infantry, and subsequently became
members of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, serving during the war. William ranked as
Third Sergeant and Charles was a private; both spent twenty-seven days in Libby
Prison, after which they were exchanged. Twice
during their army life they were visited by their parents.
The father belonged to the "Squirrel Hunters, which body was called
out at the time of Gen. Morgan's raid.
During his long service as a Justice, Squire
Hamilton has tried over ten thousand cases, never having a decision reversed.
In one case that came before him, suit was brought for a turkey, and the
costs amounted to over $60. He has
tried cases where the renowned Thomas Corwin and John A. McMahon plead before
him. He has been active in
politics, having first given his allegiance to the Whig party, casting his first
Presidential ballot for Gen. William Henry Harrison.
Upon the disintegration of that party and the formation of the Republican,
he became identified with the new political body which embodied in its platform
the
The subject of this notice has been twice married, his first alliance having been contracted in 1841, and his bride having been Miss Ann Hayes, who shared his fortunes until 1870, when she died. The union had resulted in the birth of four children of whom we note the following: William married Mary Haney, and lives at Yellow Springs, their family comprising seven children; Charles married Hester Horney, has three children and also lives in Yellow Springs; James, who is unmarried, resides in New York City; John married Mary Shaw, has five children, and lives at Goes Station. The second marriage of Squire Hamilton took place in 1871, his bride being Miss Elizabeth Musselman, a native of Piqua. This worthy lady is a member of the Christian Church, and a respected and useful member of the community. She has one child, Edward, who is unmarried and lives with his parents.
16 Jan 2000