John Alexander Hamilton – 1860 -1934
Grandfather of Norma (Hamilton) Green
My family helped tame the wilds of Ohio. The big city ports on Lake Erie and the fertile farmlands of the Ohio Valley made the state prosperous and influential in the expanding boundaries of the United States. I was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, in a town called Adena. I don’t know anything much about my heritage beyond my grandparents – My dad’s family came west from Pennsylvania and my mother’s family came from Ireland. I arrived in this world just about the time that contention in the U.S. boiled over into the great conflict between the north and the south. While Ohio wasn’t the center of major battles, thousands of troops, commanders and resources came from the state. Of course, I can’t recall much first-hand knowledge because I was only 5-yrs old when the war ended, but I do remember the great number of crippled veterans and families that carried the loss of loved ones into the future. Building and progress was boundless but the scars of war were present on the face of society for years. My family had our own share of sorrows, of which I dodged, but my parents lost a boy and a girl before I was born and then my little sister Sarah died when I was seven. I am the only surviving child of my parents.
My young life wasn’t different from those of my age in the bustling era of development. There was plenty of work if you weren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty. When I was 19, my incentive for getting my hands dirty centered around a pretty young woman named Ida McCullough and she agreed to become my wife. The next 10-years were great years but life is anything but predictable. In 1890 Ida passed to the other side, leaving 9-yr old Eunice and 3-yr old Mattie without a mother. They say that time heals all wounds but I can tell you that while the pain may subside, your heart is never quite the same. In 1891 someone came into my life that helped to heal my wounded heart, but not my heart alone. Anna McLaughlin became my wife and she brought color back into the lives of my daughters. I had known of Anna when we were children as both of our families had deep roots in the Adena, Ohio area. I would have never guessed that our paths would fall together as they did but who can guess at the future. In 1894 Anna delivered a healthy baby boy, Will. Three more children soon followed, two boys and a girl. In 1901 we left our home in Adena for the farmlands of Greely Kansas. I can attest to the old saying that “Time Flies”, we were in Greely nearly 20-years. Twenty years that passed, it seems, in the blink of an eye. In 1920 Anna and I purchased a farm in Jewell County, just south of Superior Nebraska and our four younger children made the move as well. Will was the only one of them that was married at that time. 1920 had a dark cloud around it though, Mattie was expecting her third child and had contracted a bad flu that was going around, it turned to pneumonia and in a day, she was gone. Mattie had left 12 and 14-year-old daughters and it brought back some painful memories of when her mother died. It has been 10-yrs since Mattie past and her older sister, Eunice died just this past year. If there is anything more difficult than losing one of your children, I don’t know what it would be.
I am old now and can’t get around much on my own. The past few years have brought drought, flooding, searing heat, and a lot of sickness. I’m not long for this earth and I would be a defeated man if it weren’t for the knowledge I have of my God and my Savior. I have carried and valued my membership in the United Presbyterian church all of my adult life and I know that I will see my Savior and my family on the other side of these trials, and I know I will see all of you there as well. Well, that’s a pretty quick look at 70-yrs or so of one man’s life. But it sounds kind of hollow when you look at it on paper. What doesn’t seem to stand out is, how important it is to love each other and to take care of each other. You see, that’s what a lifetime with Anna has taught me – how important a loving soul is for everyone it touches. Anna is that example. Follow her example and you will see a glimpse of the boundless love of God.
