Samuel Hueston

As printed in 1894

AMUEL HUESTON. As a worthy representative of the intelligence, integrity and moral worth of the citizens of St. Clair Township, Butler County, the subject of this sketch occupies no ordinary position. Born near the place where he now resides, he is well and favorably known in this section, and the fact that he has the regard of high and low, rich and poor, is sufficient indication of his character. By a course of industry and good management he has become well-to-do financially, and his fine estate of one hundred and sixty acres indicates in a marked degree to what good purpose the owner has labored.

This sketch of the life of Mr. Hueston would be unsatisfactory to himself were no mention made of his ancestors. His paternal grandfather, a resident of Pennsylvania, was killed by the Indians, who were at that time troublesome and dangerous foes of the pioneers; later his wife married again, a Mr. Gray becoming her husband. The father of our subject, Thomas Hueston, was born in Pennsylvania in 1 776, and in an early day came to Ohio, where, in 1817, he married Mary Hardin, a native of Pennsylvania, born July 5, 1792, and a daughter of James Hardin, who with his family came to Ohio and settled in Hamilton County in 1799. Her death occurred at the age of ninety-one.

After their marriage the parents of our subject settled in Butler County, where they reared a family of eight children, namely: William; Ellen, wife of Col. George F. Elliott; James; Matthew, who died in 1869; Samuel; Elizabeth, Mrs. N. B. Tubbs; Robert and John T. During the War of 1812 Thomas Hueston was captain of a packhorse company, and after the war he and his brother Matthew settled in St. Clair Township. A farmer by occupation, he became the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land, one-half of which was located in Indiana. His death occurred in 1881.

Born June 10, 1827, on the farm now occupied by John Hueston, in St. Clair Township, our subject was here reared and educated. In boyhood he assisted in clearing and improving his father’s land, and upon choosing a life calling selected that of agriculture. December 14, 1853, he married Hannah M. Williamson, who was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, February 10, 1832, a daughter of Simeon S. and Eliza (Robeson) Williamson. Her father was born in New Jersey in 1801, but came to Ohio with his family when he was nine years old, settling with them near Cincinnati. There he married and continued to reside until about 1837, when he removed to Milford Township, Butler County, and here he passed away December 2, 1884. His wife, who was born in Milford Township in 1806, died in the same locality June 21, 1858. Both were consistent Christians and church members. They reared six children, as follows: Mary Ann, who married Dr. John Irwin, and died at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Hannah M., Mrs. Hueston; William, who resides in Ft. Worth, Tex.;

John H., whose home is in Milford Township; Amos Alexander, of Webster County, Mo.; and Samuel M., who lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Hueston were May. William and Mary (Wilson) Robeson, who died September 23, 1827, and June 14, 1835, respectively. The Robeson family was founded in America by Mrs. Hueston ’s great-great-grandfather, a Scotch- Irishman, and a man of great piety, belonging to the Presbyterian Church. He came to America and settled in Bucks County, Pa., when his son James was eight years old. The only son of the latter, William, with his father, the great-grandfather, removed to Rockbridge County, Va., and came to Ohio prior to the War of 1812, in which he served as Major, being commissioned as such at Ft. Meigs.

Soon after his marriage Mr. Hueston located upon the property where he has since lived, which is one of the most valuable states in the township. He is a man of prominence in this locality, and has served his township as Trustee for many years. He is interested in the political movements of the day, and earnestly espouses the doctrines and policy of the Democratic party, taking an active part in local affairs and supporting the candidates of his chosen party. Mrs. Hueston is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Seven Mile. They have no children, but reared one young lady from the age of twelve, Mary Snyder, now the widow of Michael Beauman; she resides in Hamilton. They have also assisted in rearing three other children, one of whom was in the family six years.

Mrs. charlotte McGuire miller.

Our readers will be both pleased and profited to read of this venerable lady, who has for so many years exerted an influence for good, not only in her home and church, but also throughout the community. She is a woman whose amiability and charm of manner under her to friends and commend her to acquaintances, a woman whose real is in her family life, but who is also well known in social circles and who always has a kind word for the distressed and unhappy. Though not a native of Hamilton, much of her life has been passed here, and few of its residents are better known than she.

Cincinnati, Ohio, is the birthplace of Mrs. Miller and March 9, 1814, her natal day. Her father, Robert A. Cameron, was born May 4, 1780, and was a soldier in the War of 1812. His trade was that of a shoemaker, in connection with which he also kept a store. His death occurred in Butler County, January 18, 1838. He married Miss Elizabeth Yalyear, who was born in 1785, and they became the parents of five children, viz.: Robert A., a shoemaker, who died in Venice, Ohio; Charlotte; Joseph B., a carpenter, who died in Butler County; William, who engaged in the manufacture of paper until his death in Butler County; and Catherine, Mrs. James Hagerman, who resides in this county.

Tn the district schools our subject received such advantages as were afforded in those days. She remained with her parents until her marriage in Hamilton, leaving their home August 7, 1835, for that of her husband, James McGuire. This gentleman was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 and came to Ohio in 1834. He was connected with a papermill in various capacities until 1848, when the firm of McGuire, Kline & Erwin was formed. They built the first paper-mill in Hamilton, and Mr. McGuire remained with them until his death, on the 6th of August, 1874. In his business relations he was successful, in private life genial and kind, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian, and socially was identified with the Masonic fraternity. Though ardent in his support of the Democracy, he steadfastly refused to accept office. During the war he was loyal in his support of the cause of the Union.

The gentleman who became the second husband of our subject, June 24, 1883, was William M. Miller. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, April 14, 1818, being the son of John and Margaret (Andrews) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania. John MiUer, who was a lumberman by occupation, was accustomed to float his lumber in rafts down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, where he would buy a horse and return home on horseback, carrying the monejr received for his lumber. He made seventeen such trips and was never molested by footpads. In an early day he removed to Ohio and first stopped at Steubenville, where he had a lumber yard. In 1819 he removed to Wooster, and in 1827 settled in Union Township, Butler County, on a farm, for which he paid $6 per acre. Instead, however, of devoting his attention to agriculture, he continued Ins lumber business for five years, after which he retired from active pursuits. He died September 17, 1852. His wife passed away in Wayne County November 5, 1826. Their children, six in number, were as follows: Alexander, who died in Butler Countv; Robert A., who passed away in Ford County, Ill.; Humphrey, whose death occurred in Woodford County, Ill.; William M.; John, who died in Woodford County, Ill.; and Margaret, who married Michael Paulhamus, and died in Woodford County, Ill.

The only surviving member of the family is Mr. Miller. He passed his early years on the home farm, his school advantages being very limited. In 1846 he married Miss Mary, daughter of Isaac and Margaret (Baxter) Gumming, early settlers of Butler County, where she was born. After his marriage Mr. Miller continued to cultivate a farm in Union Township until 1883, when he removed to Hamilton and retired from active labors. In politics he has at all times been a stanch Democrat and has held various local offices, including that of County Commissioner, in which capacity he served from 1865 until 1871. His first wife died after having become the mother of four children: Alexander, who had one child by his marriage with Fannie Garris, and who is now deceased; Metta, the widow of Obadiah Seward; Robert Ross, a resident of Terre Haute, Ind.; and John H., who is editor and publisher of an educational journal at Lincoln, Neb.

Into their pleasant and commodious home on D Street Mr. and Mrs. Miller take great pleasure in welcoming their many friends. Our subject, who is a woman of unusual ability and intelligence, is still in the full possession of unimpaired intellectual powers, notwithstanding her advanced years. In every position she maintains herself with dignity and elegance, is a devoted member of the United Presbyterian Church, and in her social relations her gentle and accommodating disposition commend her most affectionately to all who are thrown in her daily path.

As printed in Memorial record of Butler County, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of representative citizens of the county together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States (1894). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.