Ezekiel Hughes

Ezekiel Hughes History of Hamilton County Ohio
Biography of Ezekiel Hughes
with
Portrait of Ezekiel Hughes
facing page 412
transcribed by Karen Klaene

Ezekiel Hughes.

EZEKIEL HUGHES.

Ezekiel HUGHES was the descendant of an ancient and honorable family in the parish of Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, North Wales, Great Britain. The first of his ancestors was Evan ap Owen FACH, who died in 1680. His son, Hugh Evan ap OWEN, died in 1720, and was succeeded by his eldest son Edward, who, according to the Welch custom, took for his surname the given name of his father, and henceforth the name of HUGHES became the surname of the family. Edward HUGHES was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard, born in 1700, and he by his son, William, born in 1725, and he by his son, Richard, who married Mary JONES, of Pen-y-bout, in the same parish. They had three children: William, Ezekiel, and Martha. The family, for over two hundred years, had lived on a large farm called Cum Carnedd Uchaf, leased from Sir Watkin William WYNNE, the great land proprietor in North Wales. The family owned three farms in the same parish; but the leasehold was so valuable that, for all these years and to this day, they have lived on a rented farm. In accord with the rights of primogeniture, William, the eldest son, became, at the death of his father, in 1807, owner of the real estate, and continued on the leasehold. Ezekiel HUGHES was born August 22, 1767. His father gave him a good education, sending him to Shrewsbury, where a good school was found, that he might acquire the English language. At the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to learn watch and clock making at Machynlleth. His venerable father encouraged him to visit the United States with the view of selecting and purchasing a large tract of land for his future home. In April, 1795, with a good outfit and in company with his cousin, Edward BEBB (father of Honorable William BEBB, late governor of Ohio), sailed in the Ship Maria, of Salem, Massachusetts, reaching Philadelphia after a tempestuous and tedious voyage of thirteen weeks. He remained in this city and vicinity for nearly a year. Congress being in session, he improved his time by acquiring a knowledge of the government and the laws of the country, and preparing for an exploring tour beyond the Alleghanies. In the spring of 1796, he left Philadelphia for the west. He travelled on foot, passing through a Welsh settlement at Ebensburgh, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, he reached Red Stone Old Fort (Brownsville, Pennsylvania), thence on a flat-boat to Fort Washington (Cincinnati). This journey was performed in three months. Mr. HUGHES, accompanied by his trusty and faithful friend, Edward BEBB, explored the Symmes purchase, and bought one hundred acres in section thirty-four, Colerain township, then an almost unbroken forest. Here these two adventurers built a cabin and cleared a few acres, and spent their time cultivating the virgin soil, hunting, and exploring the regions beyond the Great Miami river. In 1800 this great and fertile domain was surveyed, and in 1801 offered, by the United States, for sale. Mr. HUGHES purchased two sections, Nos. 15 and 16, in Whitewater township, paying for it two dollars and five cents per acre. Having secured this fine body of land, he returned to Wales in 1803, and married Miss Margaret BEBB, and in 1804 returned with his bride to their new home on the west bank of the Miami river. In less than a year his estimable wife died, and her remains were the first interred in the Berea cemetery, a beautiful spot donated by Mr. HUGHES for a home of the dead. In 1805 he was again united in marriage with Miss Mary EWING, born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, June 11 1785. Her parents, Thomas and Ann EWING, were from the north of Ireland, staunch Presbyterians. Her father was a soldier of the Revolutionary army, and participated in several battles. He was one of the early settlers of Whitewater township, lived to an advanced age, and his grave is on the farm which he owned near the Cleves bridge. Mr. HUGHES leased most of his valuable lands. He was a kind and generous landlord, highly esteemed by all of his tenants; always ready to help poor, honest, and industrious men. They had a family of six sons and four daughters. Ann, the eldest, was born March 6, 1806, married Edward HUNT in 1830, and has two sons Thomas H., Jacob H., and Mary. Richard was born in 1808, married Elizabeth ELDER, died in 1850, leaving one son, Ezekiel, and six daughters - Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Margaret, Frances, and Rebecca C. Jane was born in 1810, and is now residing on the old homestead. Thomas was born in 1812, married Jane Bond and lives in Kansas. William was born in 1814, married Amarilla ROBINSON. He died in Iowa, in 1845, leaving one daughter Martha H. HUGHES. John was born in 1816, studied medicine, and was a successful practitioner in this neighborhood for over thirty years. He married Mary B. CLARD, and died in 1880, leaving two sons, William and Richard, and three daughters, Frances, Elizabeth, and Anna. Martha was born in 1818, and lives on the old homestead. Edward was born in 1820, married Miss Mary DAVIS, and has a family of three sons, William, John, and Edward, and three daughters, Alice, Henrietta, and Mary. James was born in 1823, and died in 1840, a very estimable and promising young man. Rebecca was born in 1826, married Rev. B. W. CHIDLAW and has a family of four daughters - Martha, who died in 1876; Mary I., Ann, and Jane CARTER, and three sons, John, Benjamin, and James H. At his death, the estate, as divided by Mr. HUGHES, was inherited by his children, and remains to this day, after the lapse of so many years, in their possession. In 1820, Mr. HUGHES suffered a severe fall while descending the steps of the First Presbyterian church, on Main street, Cincinnati, which lamed him for life. Educated in the Christian faith and encouraged by the godly example of his pious parents, he, early in life, embraced the religion of Jesus Christ, and lived a useful, happy Christian life, leaving for his large family the inheritance of a good name, and on the second of September, 1849, died the death of the righteous in a good old age, full of years, and was gathered to his fathers. His bereaved widow continued to reside at the old homestead, surrounded by the comforts of life and the society of her children, until her death, October 2, 1857, aged seventy-two years. She commanded her household in the love and fear of God, and her children arise and call her blessed.

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