| Warren County
Local History by Dallas Bogan |
One of the many early Warren County residents to make his mark on the county was
Captain
William H. Hamilton.
He was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1795. He was the son of
Robert Hamilton, born in Bainbridge,
County Down, Ireland in 1760.
Robert came to America when a young lad of fourteen. He sometime
later became a
soldier in the
Revolution, and served throughout the war, much of the time under the command
of Anthony Wayne. He was with him at the invasion of Stony Point, and was one
of the men to lift him up when a glancing bullet had toppled him. His brother,
a British officer, afterward captured him. Refusing to go home to Ireland if set
free, he preferred to fight for his newly adopted country.
Robert's first wife was
Susannah
Kean. He worked as a blacksmith in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and
about 1791 moved to Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he married
Ann
Hays, a native of Berkeley County, Virginia. In 1797, he moved to Morgantown,
Virginia, and in 1803 to Trumbull County, Ohio.
This part of the country was wild and crude.
William
spent his early years experiencing the hardships of pioneer life. Dwelling in
log cabins and living in the simplest manner developed into him an iron constitution
with which he was blessed.
After living in Trumble County twelve years, he moved with his father to Warren
County in 1815, where he resided until his death. Possibly his first paying job
as a tradesman was that of a blacksmith. He soon changed his profession to carpenter
and builder, which he followed for about forty-five years. His building expertise
consisted of bridge and mill structures. He was for a period of four years superintendent
of carpenter work on the Little Miami Railroad from Columbus to Cincinnati. He
afterward was employed on the Marietta Railroad from Loveland to Marietta. On
the latter road he superintended the construction of thirteen important bridges.
He was an officer of militia from 1815 to 1822, his assignments being Ensign,
Captain, Adjutant and Lieutenant Colonel; he was known familiarly as "Captain."
He was several years appointed
county
commissioner of Warren County. In this capacity, being the only mechanic on
the planning board, he superintended the construction of many bridges and buildings,
among them being the present infirmary. It was commenced in 1867 and was the largest
of the county buildings; the total cost was $51,459.
His residences in the county included the thriving villages of Millgrove, and
Oregonia. (He was appointed local postmaster of the former 13 Dec 1833, and the
latter 5 Feb 1846.) He lived on a farm near the mouth of Caesar's Creek, on a
farm near Genntown, and in 1871, moved to Lebanon where he resided until his death.
Captain Hamilton was married
to
Elizabeth Schrack September 23, 1819. She was born in Frederick
Co., Virginia, December 18, 1800. To them were born 10 children. He died on Thursday,
June 30, 1887, aged 91 years and 8 months. His health had been failing for some
months. He left five sons and three daughters. His wife of sixty-five years died
in 1884, aged eighty-four years, and two children, a daughter,
Mary,
and a son,
John, had preceded them into eternity.
His character was one of high standing. He was one of the best-known and highly
respected men in the county at this time. His education was one of wanting, but
his sound judgment and high moral standings overrode any obstacles. His son
William
and daughter
Maggie who lived with him comforted his declining
years.
FOOTNOTES: [a place to add additional information that you might want to submit]
NOTICE: All documents and electronic images placed on the Warren
County OHGenWeb site remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication
rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. These documents may
be used by anyone for their personal research. Persons or organizations desiring
to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the submitter, or their
legal representative, and contact the listed Warren County OHGenWeb coordinator
with proof of this consent.
This page created 13 August 2004 and last updated
28 September, 2008
© 2004-2005 Arne H Trelvik
All rights reserved