HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS, E. Polk Johnson, three volumes, Lewis Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, 1912. Common version, Vol. III, pp. 1178-79-80. [Kenton County] WILLIAM CHRISTIAN HILES, retired merchant and tobacco broker, is a descendant of an old Virginia family, his great-grandfather, William Gates, having emigrated to Kentucky, where he became a pioneer settler in Mason county prior to 1800. Mr. Hiles was born on the old homestead farm in Mason county, Kentucky, on the 7th of December, 1846, and is a son of Randolph and Elizabeth (Gates) Hiles, both of whom were likewise natives of Mason county. Christian Hiles, paternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Kentucky early in the nineteenth century. He established his home in Mason county, near Dover, where he reclaimed a farm from the virgin wilderness. Both grandfathers served with distinction in the war of 1812 and were present at the time the great Indian chief, Tecumseh, was killed in the battle of Thames. In 1833 William Gates removed to Bracken county, this state, where he spent the residue of his life, his death having there occurred at the venerable age of seventy-eight years. Christian Hiles was a staunch Union man during the Civil war and served with efficiency in the recruiting department for the United States government. His son, Randolph Hiles, father of whose initiates this review, was a farmer and tobacco buyer in Bracken county, where he died, in 1849, at the early age of twenty-nine years. His wife, Elizabeth (Gates) Hiles, survived him by more than half a century and subsequently married James Stairs, by whom she became the mother of four children. She was summoned to the life eternal in Bracken county, in 1905, at the age of eighty-four years, deeply mourned by all who had come within the sphere of her gracious influence. Her grandfather, William Gates, was numbered among the sterling pioneers who came from Virginia to Kentucky in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He settled in Mason county, where he purchased one thousand acres of government land, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and he became an extensive planter and slave holder. He also erected a distillery, in which connection he carried on a successful business. He shipped produce by flat boat to New Orleans and frequently made the return trip on foot. He gained wide notoriety in his tobacco dealings. His regulation price for this article was six cents a pound, which was considered high in those days. Whenever asked in regard to the price received he always replied "six" and eventually became known by the sobriquet "Old Billy Six," which appellation was handed down through the succeeding generations, the subject of this review being commonly known as "Six Hiles" in connection with his tobacco operations. William Gates Jr., grandfather of William C. Hiles, of this sketch, was born in 1794, in Virginia, and at an early age accompanied his parents to the Blue Grass state. He followed in the footsteps of his father and he served in the battle of Thames in the war of 1812. He likewise saw Tecumseh killed and always maintained that a man by the name of White killed the chief and not General Johnston. William Gates Jr., died on his plantation in Bracken county in 1878. His wife, whose maiden name was Theodosia Collins, was a cousin of Simon Kenton, the well know Kentucky pioneer. Elizabeth (Gates) Hiles had four children by her first marriage, and of this number William C. was the third in order of birth and he is the elder of the two now living. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and attended the district schools of Mason and Bracken counties during the winter terms, assisting in the work of the farm during the summer seasons. When eighteen years of age he showed his intrinsic loyalty to the cause of the Union in the war between the states by enlisting as a private in Company C, Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out at Cincinnati and served with valor during the remaining six months of the war. When twenty-one years of age he initiated his independent career as a merchant at Berlin, Kentucky. One year later he disposed of his store in Berlin and removed to Covington, Kenton county, where he engaged in the tobacco business. He carried on this line of enterprise for many years and achieved eminent success in the same as broker in the Cincinnati market and from 1899 to 1904 he was inspector for that market. In the latter year he retired from active business and is now living in the enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. In politics Mr. Hiles is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democrat party, and he served for five years as a member of the city council and four years as alderman in Covington. In the Masonic fraternity he is affiliated with the Blue Lodge, No. 156, Free & Accepted Masons. In 1871 Mr. Hiles was united in marriage to Miss Mary Sommer, who was born and reared in the city of Covington and who is a daughter of John Sommer, who owned and operated the old Central Hotel at the corner of Pike and Washington streets in Covington for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Hiles became the parents of twelve children, of which number the following named are now living: Mary is the widow of Albert Sloscher; Gertrude is the wife of George Maloney and they reside in Bracken county, this state; Virginia is the wife of Adolph Hager, of Kenton county; Pettus is the wife of Ferdinand J. Ruh, of Covington, to whom a sketch is dedicated on other pages of this work; and Edwin remains at the parental home. The children who are deceased are Abigail, William C., Jr., John R., Leona, Anna and two who died in infancy. Mrs. Hiles and the children are all communicants of the Catholic church, in which they hold membership in the parish of St. Patrick's church in Covington. Hiles Gates Sommer Sloscher Kenton Collins Maloney Hager Ruh Stairs = Mason-KY Berlin-Bracken-KY PA VA http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/kenton/hiles.wc.txt