The Hague Family
Some time during the first quarter of the eighteenth century there came, from Holland into the them comparatively unknown New World, William Hague and Ruth Mendonhall, who soon after united their destinies by marriage. For the sake of wider liberty, they had parted with friends, dared the stormy Atlantic, pressed into the heart of an unexplored country, and finally, among the woods and hills of Pennsylvania, surrounded by the denizens of the forest, and the much more formidable savage, they built a cabin and called it home. Here they toiled amid the dangers of a frontier life, and reared a family of seven children, some of whom were in turn to be borne onward on the advancing wave of immigration to become pioneers in the developing West. The children born to them were John, Hannah, Betsy (Mrs. Thomas McConkey), whose family sketch is elsewhere given), Patty, William, Isaac and Aaron.
Hannah Hague grew to womanhood in her native State, and married Lambert McComb, with whom, about 1812, she came to Wayne County, Ohio, and thence, in 1828, removed to St. Joseph County, Ind., where they remained until 1848. During the latter year she once more turned her face westward, and crossing the plains settled near San Francisco, Cal., where, in January, 1888, she passed from earth, at the age of almost one hundred years. Her life had been a most remarkable one, and it was she who may be said to have seen the forerunner of the family into the West.
Isaac Hague, who was next to the youngest child of his father's family, was born in 1796, and remained at the paternal home until 1818, when he was married to Miss Nancy Daugherty, whose parents had come to America from Ireland at an early date. Until 1828 the couple remained in Pennsylvania, and then removed with their four children to Holmes County, Ohio, where he subsequently purchased 120 acres of military land, to which he later added sixty acres more. His first purchase was entirely unimproved, but one by one the forest trees that had defied the storms of many decades went down before the sturdy strokes of the woodman's ax; and soon a clearing was made, and a cabin built, in which a temporary shelter was afforded the family. The home once settled was never moved, although time brought changes. The forest gradually gave place to cultivated fields; the old log house was replaced by a commodious structure, and when death came for the husband and father, it found a life replete with useful deeds expended in the up-building of the county. On December 12, 1868, at the ripe age of seventy-two years, he passed from earth. He was a stanch Whig, and later became a Republican. He was an earnest patriot, standing firmly for the enforcement of law and temperance in all things. For some fifteen years he was treasurer of Ripley Township, and for a time served as township trustee. He and his faithful wife were both members of the Disciples Church, which they had joined about 1835. In 1873 his widow followed him to the grave, at the age of seventy-five years. She was the mother of eight children,viz: Ruth, Jane, William, Sarah, Aaron, Elizabeth, Hannah and Isaac H.
William Hague was born July 8, 1824, and was consequently but four years of age when he was brought by his parents into Holmes county. He worked upon his father's farm, enduring the many hardships of a boy pioneer, helping to clear the land and build the home, until in 1849, when twenty-five years of age, he chose as life's partner Miss Caroline Moreland, a native of Holmes County. For several years they worked on rented land, until by industry and economy they made a sufficient saving to purchase a home of forty acres for themselves. In 1857 he bought and moved upon the farm where his home has since been made, and which under his skillful management he has increased from ninety acres (his first purchase) to 190 acres, while in other parts of the county he has 190 acres more. In 1873 death took from him his beloved wife, who had shared his sorrows and joys, and borne him six children: Amanda, Isaac, Nancy J., George (deceased in infancy), Ruth A. (deceased at about three years) and Grant M. In 1877 Mr. Hague was again married, his second wife being Mrs. Annie D. Crist, a widow, daughter of David Finney, of Holmes County, and by this latter marriage one child has been born, named Mary. Mr. Hague is one of the most progressive farmers of Ripley Township, and his house and outbuildings are among the handsomest and most commodious to be found in the county; his farm is well tilled and improved, and all may be said to be the result of his own good management and labor. Politically he is a stanch Republican, having formerly been a Whig. He has been for nearly forty years a member of the Disciples Church. In 1883, desiring to rest from the duties of his farm, and to see more of this great country, Mr. Hague visited California and other parts of the West, crossing the plains and mountains. He then made an ocean trip to Oregon, and thence by the Northern Pacific Railroad returned to his home, having visited some eighteen States and Territories, and traveled over 10,000 miles. Mr. Hague is a man of upright principles, and those who know him best are free to assert that he is never backward in any worthy cause; and his word is considered as good as his bond.
Aaron Hague, also one of the highly respected farmers of Ripley Township, was born in Prairie Township, Holmes County, Ohio, in 1830. He remained at home until thirty years of age, watching over and caring for his aged parents in their declining years. In 1860 he maried Miss Susanna A., daughter of Samuel and Maria Smith, of Holmes County, by which union one child was born, which died unnamed. Soon after his marriage he purchased and moved upon a part of the old homestead farm, which he has since improved, and whereon his home is yet. Although Heaven gave him no children of his own, it did not prevent him from aiding largely in the care and rearing of those of others, who were in want of a home; and more than one needy child can look back and thank the kindness of Aaron Hague that it has fared so well in life. During the early part of the War of the Rebellion, the care of his aged parents prevented his enlistment. Notwithstanding this, he was drafted, and being unable to go, was obliged to furnish a substitute at a cost of $400. Later, however, in 1864, when the 100-day guards were called into active service, he went with them to Virginia, and for three months was stationed to help guard the capital city. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, he returned to Holmes County. Politically Mr. Hague is no exception in the family sentiment, being a warm Republican. He and his beloved wife are members of the Disciples Church.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889