Source:
Commemorative Biographical Records
of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio
- Illustrated -
Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.,
1894

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	J. H. HALLER, whose successful business career is everywhere recognized in Huron county, was born in 1864, in Germany, son of John Haller, a tailor in the Fatherland, where he followed his trade.  J. H. Haller received a practical education in the schools of his native place, and, in 1880, immigrated to America.  He had acquired sufficient knowledge of the tailor's trade from his father to enable him to work as a journeyman, and on arriving in New York City he found ready employment, and worked at his trade in the metropolis until 1885, when he revisited Germany.      On his return to the United States Mr. Haller took a course in Mitchell's Cutting Academy, and after graduating as employed as a cutter in New York and other large cities, becoming remarkably proficient in this important branch of the tailor's trade.  In 1887 he engaged with a firm of merchant tailors in Plymouth, Ohio, with whom he remained nearly four years, and in September, 1891, established an independent tailoring house at Plymouth, meeting fro the beginning with a most liberal patronage.  In order to centralize his trade, in August, 1892, he transferred his stock to Chicago Junction, and his success here has been as decided as at Plymouth.  He carries a large assortment of men's and boys suitings, and conducts a profitable merchant tailoring establishment, doing good work at prices which do not fear competition.  In 1887 our subject was married to Miss Jennie Peters, of Pataskala, Ohio, whom he brought to his home at Plymouth, and there, as well as at Chicago Junction, they have been highly esteemed.  In Society affairs Mr. Haller is a member of Plymouth Lodge, F. & A. M.  His life furnishes an example of what may be accomplished by energy in business and earnestness in the desire to please customers. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 491
	SHELDON J. HAWKINS, a successful merchant of Townsend township, was born May 18, 1861, in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and is the eldest of four children born to John W. and Lavanche (Hillman) Hawkins.      John W. Hawkins was born in 1840, the youngest of thirteen children, and was left an orphan at the age of six years, his father having been killed in the Mexican war.  Thus early thrown upon his own resources, the half orphan lad had no literary advantages, and never attended a term of school.  But diligent application overcame these obstacles, and, after the day's work was ended, night after night did he devote to study, thus securing a good education.  From early boyhood he was employed in the sawmill and lumber business, which he followed until attaining his majority, since when he has given his time to agricultural pursuits.  He served with distinction in one of the Ohio regiments during the Rebellion, and fought at Harper's Ferry, also in many other engagements.  In 1860 he was united in marriage with Lavanche, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Johnson) Hillman, the latter of whom is now living with her grandson, Sheldon J. Hawkins.      Mrs. Hillman is descended from the earliest colonists of Connecticut, and her ancestors took an active part in the struggle for Independence, many of them serving with distinction in the Continental army.  Her father, Sheldon Johnson, was a sailor in early life, and, rising rapidly from a lowly position, eventually became captain of his vessel.  During the war of 1812 he transported supplies from foreign countries to the American army, and, in 1814, being captured by one of the British cruisers, vessel and cargo were confiscated.  Immediately after the war he and his family removed to northern Ohio, first settling in Erie county, where they endured the hardships and dangers inseparable from pioneer life.  He erected a log house, and began the task of clearing the farm which was surrounded by Indians, their white neighbors being few and far between.  They had numerous adventures with bears, panthers and wolves, which roamed through the vast forest, often carrying off the stock.  Wolves were especially troublesome, and night after night would howl about the pioneer cabins, killing the dogs or driving them into the house.  A few years later the Johnson family removed to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and again settled in the woods, where the father followed agriculture and droving until his death, which occurred in his eighty-fourth year, in 1866.  His younger brother, David, died in 1890, in Erie county, Ohio, at the age of one hundred years.  Sheldon, when a young man, was  married to Martha Mason, a native of Massachusetts, whose ancestors were English Puritans, and among the first settlers of the old Bay Colony, having taken an active part in the Revolutionary war.  Jane, daughter of Sheldon Johnson, was born Dec. 19, 1820, in the old cedar house in Put-In-Bay, Ohio, and came with her parents to Erie county, then to Cuyahoga.  She was married Aug. 3, 1840, to Samuel Hillman, and she had one child, Lavanche (Mrs. John W. Hawkins).  Mrs. Hillman is a firm adherent of Puritan principles, and in early life was a Presbyterian, but recently united with the M. E. Church.      Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins resided on the mother's death, which occurred in 1871.  She had four children, namely: Sheldon J. (whose name opens this sketch), Agnes, Mildred, and a son who died when four days old.      Sheldon J. Hawkins attended the subscription schools until ten years of age, remaining on the home farm in Cuyahoga county until he was eighteen years old.  He then left home with but sixty-three cents in his pocket, and commenced the battle of life for himself.  For the first three yeas he worked by the month during the summer season, attending school in winter, then became baggage master for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, at Collins, Huron Co., Ohio.  During this time he had mastered telegraphy, and was first employed as night operator, then as station agent and operator.  In 1884 he became a partner in the grain business of Frank Pinney & Co., and the following year left the railroad service, engaging in general merchandise in Collins.  He is one of the leading merchants of Townsend township, carrying a large, well-selected stock of merchandise, amounting to seven or eight thousand dollars.  He also deals very extensively in grain, hay and coal at Collins, besides in six or seven neighboring towns, and extending into three or four counties in northeastern Ohio.  On Aug. 27, 1885, Mr. Hawkins was united in marriage with Lizzie A. Love, a native of Huron county, Ohio, and daughter of Andrew and Lucy A. (Hoff) Love, native of Ohio, of English-German descent.  Four children blessed the union of Sheldon J. and Lizzie A. Hawkins, as follows:  Cyril, Lucy L., Agnes, and one deceased.      In 1888 Mrs. Hawkins was elected township clerk on the Citizens' ticket, his opponent being one of the most popular men in Townsend township.  He served two and a half years, and in the spring of 1892 was again elected to the same office.  Mr. Hawkins is one of the most energetic business men of the township, and in 1890 was candidate for county sheriff on the Prohibition ticket.  He is a prominent member of the K. O. T. M., and Mrs. Hawkins is identified with the M. E. denomination. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 376
	BRADLEY HAYES, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Wakeman township, is a native of Connecticut, born in New Fairfield, Sept. 24, 1828.      Sturgis Hayes, his father, was born and reared in the same locality, and taught the trade of wagon-maker.  He married Anna Wakeman, also a native of New Fairfield, Conn., where for a few years thereafter  he worked at his trade, saving his earnings.  About 1830, with their four children born in Connecticut, he and his wife came to Ohio, locating in Clarkfield township, Huron county, the journey being made via Buffalo and Cleveland, Here the father bought seventy-eight acres of wild land, which he cleared and transformed into one of the most productive farms in his section.  In later years he added 122 acres, and in his success he was loyally assisted by his amiable wife and stalwart family of children, of whom the following is a brief record:  Edward died in Missouri; Lewis is a farmer in Kansas; Bradley is a subject of sketch; Eli is a farmer at Hickory Grove, Mo.; Hanna and Phoebe are deceased; Maria is the widow of Ezra Stone, and lives in Clarksfield, Huron county; Harriet is the wife of Abraham Harris, also of Clarksfield; Francis is deceased.  The father of this family died in 1869, the mother in 1880.      Bradley Hayes was two yeas old when the family came to Ohio, and to Huron county; and here amid the dense forest, still haunted by wild animals, the boy was reared and educated.  Until he was twenty-three years old he worked for his father, and then commenced for himself, laboring on a farm from three years on day wages for I. Underhill in a sawmill, while they had water, and on farm the rest of the time.  From there he went to Branch county, Mich., remaining one year, at the end of which time he returned to Wakeman, and for the following six years worked for one Bissell.  While in Michigan he bought eighty acres of land there.      In 1857 Mr. Hayes married Mrs. Mary A. Hanford, who was born Oct. 17, 1828, in South Britain, Conn., a daughter of Justus Wheeler.  To this marriage were born Hinda J., who married Canarus P. Clawson, and is now residing in St. Louis; Jess J., a resident of Wakeman township, married to Roxy C. Ross; and Hattie A., deceased.  Mrs. Mary A. Hayes was two years old when she came from South Britain, Conn., to Wakeman, Huron Co., Ohio.  Mr. Hayes is a stanch Republican, and is respected by all as a useful, loyal citizen. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 151
T. F. Hildreth	REV. T. F. HILDRETH, A. M.   Source:   Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 104
	H. E. HILL.  This representative prosperous citizen, and leading business man of Monroeville, is a native of Ohio, born in Berlin Heights, Erie county, Dec. 11, 1840.      Noah Hill, his grandfather, who was of English descent, came from Connecticut to Ohio in 1817, bringing his wife and five children.  They were veritable pioneers of Erie county, where Noah, who had been a cloth dresser in the East, followed the trade of ship carpenter, becoming a master builder and a very expert workman.  He was also a well-to-do farmer, owning at one time over 400 acres of land, all accumulated by hard work, and for part of which he remained in debt some forty-five years, but eventually succeeded in paying off the last penny.  In 1850 he disposed of his property ad retired, making his final home in Berlin Heights, where he died in 1864.  He was a large, well-built man; a Republican in politics, formerly a Whig, and served as a justice of the peace.  By his wife, Sukey (Butler), he had children, as follows:  Horace L., Edwin I., Elihu P., Benjamin L., Henrietta, Mary Ann, Hester, Sarah, George S., Sterling and Noah.      Edwin I. Hill, father of subject, was one of the five children of Noah Hill who became pioneers of Erie county.  He was born in Guilford, Conn., in 1809, and consequently was eight years old when he came to Ohio.  He learned the cooper's trade, which he followed as long as it was profitable, and then took up farming, in which he continued many years.  He was thrice married, first time to Lucy A. Tenant, who bore him children as follows:  Horace C., killed at Rasaca, Ga., May 15, 1864, while a member of the One Hundred and Third O. V. I. (his brother H. E. was also in the same battle, totally ignorant of Horace being also there, as he had not seen him since enlistment; the interment of Horace took place before H. E. knew of his death); Benjamin I., a farmer, of near Berlin Heights; Alpha A., now Mrs. Charles Tillinghast, of Berlin Heights; and H. E.  The mother of these dying Aug. 31, 1842, Edwin I. Hill married, in 1844.  Miss Catherine Wendall, by which union was born one child, Lucy, who died young.  This wife passed away in 1855, and for his third spouse Mr. Hill wedded Miss Sallie Peabody, by whom there are two children: Sterling L., superintendent of schools at Berlin Heights, Erie county, and Louise, at present attending Oberlin College.  Edwin I. Hill departed this life Jan. 24, 1888, and was buried at Berlin Heights, Erie county.  In his political sympathies he was first a Whig, afterward a Republican, and was well read on all public issues.      H. E. Hill, the subject proper of this sketch, received his primary education at the common schools of his native place, later attending a seminary at Berlin Heights, in those days an educational institution considerably in advance of others in northern Ohio.  He was but eighteen months old when he lost his mother, but he was adopted by an aunt,  Mrs. Horace L. Hill, who reared him, and was as kind to him as the kindest mother could be; her husband also treated him with great kindness, and took much interest in him.  On Apr. 20, 1859, his foster-father having given him two hundred dollars in gold, our subject set out, in company with five others, for Pike's Peak, taking rail to St. Louis, thence boat to Leavenworth, Kans., where they secured their outfit, including provisions, three yoke of oxen, wagons, etc.  In fifty-one days they reached Denver, Colo., at that time a ragged collection of rude huts, the route of the party being across prairies where they saw vast herds of buffalo, some of which fell to their rifles, thus supplying them with plenty of fresh meat.  The summer the party spent in the mountains, and in the fall they made their return trip homeward.      At Huron, Ohio, Apr. 19, 1861, Mr. Hill enlisted in Company E, Seventh O. V. I., three months service, and from Sandusky they proceeded to Cleveland, where was completed the organization of the regiment, which then moved to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio.  About the middle of June, 1861, the three months term having expired, Mr. Hill along with the majority of the old members, reenlisted into the Seventh. The regiment, which was attached to the army of the Potomac, being ordered South, crossed the Ohio river at Bellaire into West Virginia, where at Cross Lanes it experienced its first general engagement with the enemy.  The next campaign was in the Shenandoah Valley, in which, owing to illness, Mr. Hill was unable to participate.  He was sent to the convalescent camp at Washington, D. C., for a few weeks, and on his recovery he rejoined his regiment.  He was present at the battles of Culpeper Courthouse, Cedar Mountain and Antietam; thence marched to Fredericksburg, after which came the two-days' battle of Chancellorsville.  From there the regiment proceeded to Gettysburg, where early on the morning of the third day of the memorable battle there he was wounded in the left arm.  After lying ten days in the field hospital, he was removed to Philadelphia.  In January, 1864, he once more joined his regiment, in time to take part in the battles of Dallas and Resaca, from which latter locality the command was ordered to Chattanooga, where it remained till the end of June, 1864, and July 6, following, our subject received an honorable discharge at Cleveland, Ohio, returning to Berlin Heights having served there years and three months.  He was promoted to sergeant, and at Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain and Chancellorsville he is reported as having "served with valor."      Having now resumed the vocations of peace, Mr. Hill took a course at the Eastman Business college, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and Apr. 3, 1865, he made his residence in Monroeville, where he entered the freight office of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, as clerk, remaining as such until Aug. 1, 1873.  On Jan. 1, 1874, Mr. Hill embarked in the grain elevator business, becoming associated with Mr. Fish his present partner; but some time afterward he abandoned this industry and commenced in mercantile trade at Berlin Heights, in partnership with Mr. Wheeler, under the firm name of Hill & Webster.  In the fall of 1878 he once more removed to Monroeville, where he opened up an extensive grain trade, and July, 1881, having again become associated with Mr. Fish, bought the present flourishing business, the firm becoming on the first day of the following September, Skilton, Fish & Hill; in 1886 it was changed to Fish & Hill, its present style - a firm of high standing.      On Dec. 10, 1878, Mr. Hill married Miss Louisa B. Harter, born in Sandusky, Ohio, a daughter of Charles Harter, and the children of this union are Horace C., Ruth T., Marcus H. and Anna L.  Mrs. Hill is a member of the Presbyterian Church.  A Republican in politics, Mr. Hill takes an active interest in all matters tending to the welfare of his country, State, county and town; he is a member of the village council, and while a resident of Erie county served his township as treasurer.  He is a past master of Roby Lodge No. 534, F. & A. M. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 89
	WILLIAM HIMBERGER, one of the representative, pushing, wide-awake business men of Norwalk, junior member of the firm of Smith & Himberger, proprietors of lumber yard and planing mill, was born in the Province of Nassau, Prussia, November 23, 1841.  He is the eldest in the family of eight children of William and Minnie (Horn) Himberger, the former of whom was born in Prussia in 1816, and was accidentally killed in 1863, while his son William was serving in the Union army.  The widowed mother, now seventy years of age makes her home with the subject of this sketch.      At the age of fourteen years William Himberger came with his parents to America, and proceeding from their place of landing on these shores to Huron county, Ohio, they here made a settlement, farming being their occupation, in which they met with well-merited success.  Young William, after coming here, received about ninety days schooling in all of three successive winters, learning English; German and arithmetic, in which he was proficient, he had learned in his native land.  In 1861 he enlisted in the Federal army, in Company C, Third Ohio Cavalry, in which he served sixteen months; then joined the Thirty-fourth Kentucky Infantry, serving in same till the close of the war, the last two years as sergeant.  His regiment was attached to the army of the Cumberland, and the company in which he was enrolled were for the most part of the time employed in provost duty.  On June 24, 1865, he was mustered out at Knoxville, E. Tennessee, and he received his pay July 12, following, at Louisville, Ky., when he returned home to the pursuits of peace.      On February 14, 1866, Mr. Himberger was married to Miss Mary Huntsdorf, a native of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, born in 1845, who came in 1853 to America and to Huron county, her English education being received in Norwalk.  Four children have come to bless their union, viz.:  Minnie, Katie, and Dora and Julia (twins).  In 1868 Mr. Himberger entered the lumber business as yard man and salesman in D. E. Morehouse's planing mill and lumber yard, where he worked his way up, serving some time in the office, then as superintendent of the planning mill, finally becoming salesman, being there some three and one half years in all; was in Brown & Goodnow's lumber yard and mill, five years; in Lawrence & Gilsons lumber yard (present location of the Smith & Himberger yard and mill), three and one half years; and August 1, 1880, commenced as a member of the present firm.  They do an excellent trade, and enjoy the fullest confidence of the people, their patronage extending far and wide.  The firm have twice suffered heavy loss through fire, the shop having been burned on March 8, 1881, loss about three thousand dollars; and October 30, 1891, the lumber yard was burned with a loss of about six thousand five hundred dollars over and above what was covered by insurance.  But their credit remained intact and Phoenix-like they arose from their ashes, strengthened rather than weakened by the calamities.      In politics Mr. Himberger is a Democrat, firm and loyal, and has served as a member of the town council two years, and as president of the same, one year, being elected in a Republican war by a majority of over fifty votes.  Socially he is a member of the G. A. R., U. V. U. and Knights of Pythias; in Church connection he is an Episcopalian. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 258
	WILLIAM B. HOYT, a leading citizen of Ridgefield township, was born March 4, 1820, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., a son of John and Lydia (Plympton) Hoyt, the former of whom was a farmer of St. Lawrence county, and moved to Jefferson county, same State, in 1832.  They were married February 26, 1810, and John Hoyt died February 25, 1875, Lydia Hoyt on May 16, 1855.      William B. Hoyt attended the common schools of St. Lawrence county, and moving with his parents to Jefferson county, remained there until 1844.  He and three sisters then joined a party bound for Illinois, and following the canal to Buffalo, N. Y., there embarked for Sandusky, Ohio, on the vessel "Commodore Perry."  While on Lake Erie a storm compelled them to land at Huron, Erie Co., Ohio, and some of the party having intended to locate at Cook's Corners, in Huron county, they took a conveyance thither.  They persuaded William to accompany them and finally deciding to remain there, he purchased and settled on a small farm in the vicinity.  On December 22, 1846, he was united in marriage with Mary Ann, daughter of Edward and Rachel (Cook) Williard.  She was a native of Adams, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and having lost her parents when young, came to live with relatives at Cook's Corners, Huron Co., Ohio.  She then became a pioneer school teacher in Ridgefield and Lyme townships, receiving one dollar and fifty cents per week as compensation for her services, and "boarded round" among the pupils.       Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt began wedded life on a place near Cook's Corners, Huron Co., Ohio, where he remained until 1869.  He then purchased the fertile tract of 225 acres where he is now residing, and his parents, coming from New York, passed their last days with his son.  On arriving in Huron county, William B. Hoyt had no property, but by hard work and much expense accumulated his present fertile and productive farm, which is underlaid with twenty-two miles of drain tile.  The children born to Mr. and Mrs. William B. Hoyt are:  Judson W., a farmer living near Bellevue;  W. Julius, an agriculturist of Seward county, Neb.; Charles F., a farmer of Norwalk township Huron county; Hubbard W., a physician of Bellevue; John C., a real estate dealer of El Dorado, Butler Co., Kans.; Fred B., a real estate dealer of Chandler, Oklahoma; Arthur and Edward W., both residing with their parents.  These children have all received a college education, and are proving themselves worthy of the exceptional advantages they have enjoyed.  Mr. Hoyt takes a pardonable pride in the fact that nine Republican votes were cast at one time by his family, as he is an enthusiastic member of that party, having served in numerous local offices.  He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, of which he is a deacon.  Mrs. Hoyt was a charter member of the North Monroeville congregation.     Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894
	WILLIAM M. HUSTED, Norwalk.  Edward E. Husted, father of this gentleman, was born in Danbury, Conn., Dec. 27, 1805, and came with his father's family to Huron county, Ohio, in 1810.  Samuel Husted, father of Edward E., was the first settler of Clearfield township, in that county, and died there during the Civil war, at the age of eighty-two years.      Edward E. Husted grew to manhood in Huron county, and was married in 1832 to Miss Debora Gray, a native of Danbury, Conn., by which union were born children as follows:  Edwin G., machinist in railroad shops; Elmer E., postmaster at Wellington, Ohio; J. Frank, who died in 1890, aged fifty years; Edward L., bookkeeper for G. M. S. Sanborn, coal dealer, Norwalk; Emma G., Mrs. Abner Baker; William M., and Ella J., Mrs. J. H. Husted, of Chicago, Ill.  The mother departed this life Sept. 26, 1884, at the age of seventy-two, an active, Christian woman, and member of the Congregational Church, prominent in its affairs.  Her brother, Erastus Gray, opened a shoe store in Norwalk, in1832, and afterward became a partner of Edward E. Husted, the style of the firm being Husted & Gray, which was afterward changed to Gray & Husted, and finally to Husted & Son.  Mr. Gray, who was a native of Connecticut, and one of the first settlers of Norwalk, reached the age of seventy-six yeas.  Edward E. Husted died Dec. 25, 1878.  He was an upright, intelligent and valuable citizen, and a merchant of wide repute, keeping a shoe store in Norwalk until 1857, which was established by Husted & Gray, as already related.  He was first elected sheriff of Huron county in 1840, at which time he moved from his fine farm to Norwalk, and served his term, not only to the satisfaction of the Democratic friends who had elected him, but of the entire community, and was re-elected.  Afterward he was elected, on the Republican ticket, two terms as county treasurer, and in this office was equally successful in pleasing his constituents.  He was an Abolitionist, and is said to have kept a "station" on the "Underground Railroad."  For many years he was a consistent member of the Congregational Church. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 93

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