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Transcription contributed by Martie Callihan 10 April 2005 |
| Sources: |
The History of Warren County Ohio Part V. Biographical Sketches Wayne Township (Chicago, IL: W. H. Beers Co, 1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992) |
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HON. SETH SILVER HAINES, President of Waynesville National Bank, was born in Waynesville, Warren Co., Ohio, Feb. 1, 1824, and was the son of Noah Haines, who came from near Winchester, Va., in 1807, and settled at Old Town, in Greene Co., Ohio, whence he removed to Waynesville; he was Postmaster at Waynesville from 1817 until his death, in 1834; he was County Commissioner when the present court house was built, which edifice was approaching completion at the time of his death. Noah Haines was married, in 1808, to Miss Anna Silver (the mother of S. S. Haines, who, with her father, Seth Silver, and her sister, Leatitia (afterward Mrs. David Linton), came from Salem, N. J., in 1806, and settled at Waynesville. Noah Haines was highly esteemed as a man of entire probity, and possessed of eminent business ability, and his death was universally regretted; his widow survived him fifteen years; she was esteemed as a woman of eminent virtue. Seth Silver (for whom the subject of this memoir was named) was one of the early merchants of the village, and was also held in great esteem; he died in 1811. S. S. Haines was the youngest of a family of four sisters and three brothers, all of whom lived until they arrived at their majority, but all of whom have long since passed from this life. S. S. Haines was thrown on his own resources at an early age; in October, 1841, at the age of 17 years, he entered as clerk in the village store of Joseph B. Chapman, on the southwest corner of Main and North streets, where he remained until he came of age; the circumstance that he worked in this store the first six months for $4 per month is still vividly remembered by him, and the fact that, even at that low salary, he came out ahead at the end of the half year specified, was but the foreshadowing of the successful career which followed, and of which it was the happy beginning. In December, 1845, at the age of 21 years, young Mr. Haines felt himself in position to buy out his employer and embark in business on his own responsibility. Soon after attaining his majority, he served one year each as Clerk and Treasurer of Wayne Township. On the 1st of June, 1847, Mr. Haines was married, in Xenia, to Miss Eliza F. Hinchman, daughter of Griffith Hinchman and Mary B. Hinchman, who came from Gloucester Co., N. J., in 1832, and settled in Warren County; the latter died in 1874; she was a woman of sterling good sense and possessed of eminent Christian virtues; her husband survived her but four years, dying in 1879, at the home of his affectionate daughter; he was a hearty specimen of a jovial, warm-hearted man, with a pleasant word for every one, and his memory will long be fondly cherished by a large circle of friends. Mr. Haines |
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continued in business in Waynesville until Jan. 1, 1850, at which date he disposed of his business to Thomas L. Allen and Benjamin Evans, and engaged in the wholesale dry goods business in Cincinnati, becoming a member of the firm of Wynne, Haines & Co.; under careful management, the business of this firm increased until its annual sales amounted, in 1804, to $1,250,000; at this time, Mr. Haines disposed of his interest in the house and retired, with a desire to enjoy a quiet home; but he was not long permitted to indulge in his dolce far niente; "Noblesse oblige" might as well have been the legend upon his crest; he was importuned to do for others what he would have preferred not to do for himself, and in 1866 the wholesale grocery house of Haines & Chapman was established in Cincinnati, in which he remained two and a half years, when this partnership was dissolved, and the firm of Chapin, Sampson & Rogers formed, with Mr. Haines as special partner; two and a half years later, he retired from business in the city and confined himself to his agricultural interests at home, four large farms affording, as it would seem, abundant occupation. for even the busiest brain or most methodical manager; yet, such are the possibilities of systematic and diligent application that, in addition to this, and as if to demonstrate the axiom that the more a man has to do the more he can do, Mr. Haines has, since his retirement from mercantile life, enjoyed but brief cessation from labor in one public enterprise or another. In 1856 and 1857, Mr. Haines represented the people of Warren County in the Ohio House of Representatives; and for many consecutive years he was a School Director in his native town, always performing the thankless yet onerous duties of that position willingly and faithfully. It was by his efforts that the first newspaper, the Miami Visitor, was established in Waynesville; this was in January, 1850; the same is true of the first telegraph office, which was established in November, 1849. In later times, Mr. Haines being placed at the head and front of two important local enterprises, and retained them through a long series of years, demonstrates beyond question his popularity at home and his recognized fitness for positions of trust; these are the Presidency of the Miami Cemetery Association, and of the Waynesville National Bank, in both of which he was the leading spirit, and has ever since been the controlling influence. Miami Cemetery Association was organized in 1866; the National Bank was established in February, 1875; in the latter, Mr. Haines was much the largest stockholder; that both enterprises have been successful—one in a financial as well as artistic sense, and the other in a purely business regard—is not a question susceptible of debate; the cemetery, especially, being closely identified with the people's interests, is the pride of the community near and far, and is acknowledged without a superior, and with very few, if any, equals in natural and artificial advantages; and no one will deny that the great success of this undertaking is largely due to Mr. Haines' personal supervision and sagacious management In 1874, Mr. Haines projected the Miami Valley (now the Cincinnati Northern) Railway, and in 1876 procured from the city of Cincinnati very valuable franchises and rights of way; after investing largely of his own private means, and working earnestly and unselfishly in the undertaking for some time, the company became financially embarrassed and its property changed ownership; the enterprise was happily conceived and one of great value, and its failure of immediate success was in no sense due to any want of judicious management or foresight on the part of Mr. Haines, but was owing to bad faith and want of support on the part of those who were to be benefited by it. and whose co-operation he had every reason to expect. Mr. Haines was in earnest; he threw his whole soul into his cherished plan, and worked indefatigably for its accomplishment, and those who, in after years, receive benefit from the success of this new thoroughfare, will owe Mr. Haines a debt of gratitude they |
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never can repay. In the annals of Warren County, S. S. Haines will occupy an honored niche as one of her worthy representative men; when he was born, his native village was yet in her infancy, and her educational facilities were extremely meager; yet, such as they were, they were made tributary to his mental development: a little polishing, afterward acquired by a course at R. M. Bartlett's Commercial College at Cincinnati, may be mentioned as all the schooling he received; but his education did not stop there; with such as he, education goes on until the craving and receptive mind forever ceases its activity; a youth who, at the age of 20 years, could satisfactorily transact the whole business of selling a farm; who, at $4 a month, could save money; who, at 21, could buy and conduct the principal business in the place of his birth; who, at his majority, could be intrusted with the funds and the records of his township; and who, when arrived at man's mature age, could be chosen to represent his county in the Legislature, preside over a bank, inaugurate enterprises that were destined to endure through future ages, and conceive one of the most important railway lines in the great West—is he not appropriately singled out as a representative man? Not only so in a merely local sense, but, passing beyond the environment of township or county, the career of such a man illustrates the splendid possibilities open to young American manhood everywhere; thrift, prudence, integrity, with a well-directed purpose, are as sure of their grand results to others as they have been in Mr. Haines' experience; and of such a man his fellow-citizens have just cause to be proud. Personally, Seth S. Haines is a "gentleman of the old school;" tall, slender and erect, a finely developed head surmounting a graceful form, the intelligent observer scarcely need be reminded of the fine Old Virginian blood coursing through his veins; blood will tell in carriage as well as conduct; and Mr. Haines, both in manners and morals, has long been a model by which the rising generation in his community have considered it the correct thing to fashion their characters ; possessing a keen insight into the subtle operations of the human heart—in other words, being a good judge of human nature—Mr. Haines is seldom at fault in his measurements of men; he can fell at a glance, as if by instinct, what to expect, what to require, from those whom it may be his pleasure or business to meet; doubtless this faculty, inherent and fostered, has been one important factor in his success in life; quick to perceive, ready to. adopt or reject, and a perfect diplomatist in the management of men and affairs, the busy brain of the man whose salient characteristics we are imperfectly limning, has been and is worthy of a far wider field for its powers of usefulness than its modest master has been content to occupy during all these years: and this fact suggests another and an admirable trait, namely, Mr. Haines' attachment to locality, his constant affection for the place of his birth, the beautiful hills and dales of his native heath, where his home has always been, and where, in all probability, his earthly abiding-place will ever be; in this restless, migratory age, it is comparatively rare to find one so fondly endeared to the place of their birth, and who would toss aside the allurements of social or political preferment and be contented—nay, supremely happy—in the enjoyment of home in the place which had been their honored parents' dwelling-place before them; to the writer, this phase of Mr. Haines' life is as beautiful in all its meanings as it is unusual, and is one of the many evidences of the delicate sensibility and innate refinement of his nature. Mr. Haines is still in the vigor of a well-regulated manhood, and, if so much had. not already been received of him by community that it would seem ungenerous to expect more, it might be said his best work still lay before him; whether this be the case or not, his hosts of friends and the people who revere him for his many noble and genial qualities will be more than gratified if their wishes for his long continuance in his stately |
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home, presided over by the kindly and gracious lady who so worthily bears his name, and surrounded by all that a cultivated taste and ample fortune can procure to make existence happy, are answered by a kind providence. Mr. Haines has but one child—Dr. James W. Haines, now practicing his profession in Cincinnati; although a young man, his versatile talents and engaging manners have already won for him enviable distinction as a theologian and a practitioner of the healing art; a favorite in whatever circle he chooses to move, with splendid talents and liberal culture, supplemented by the systematic diligence inherited from his ancestors, there is no reason, if life be spared him, why the world should not expect great achievements from him as the years come on, that the mantle of exalted merit so long and worthily worn by his father may descend by rightful heritage to him, when cast aside for the brighter robes of immortality, is a hope adundantly warranted by what young Dr. Haines has already accomplished. |
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