Vol. VIII] IN MEMORIAM: THEODORE HENRY HITTELL 5 



many pioneers to this "new West." Therefore, in 1831, Dr. 

 Jacob Hitteh started for Illinois with his wife and three chil- 

 dren ; but because of the health of his youngest child, Theodore, 

 he changed the destination, and settled in the famous Miami 

 Valley, at Trenton, Ohio. From the beginning he was suc- 

 cessful and his increasing practice induced him to remove to 

 the more important town of Hamilton, about ten miles dis- 

 tant, and a few miles north of Cincinnati. This became the 

 permanent family home, and so remained for thirty-four 

 years. Here Dr. Jacob Hittell's professional skill, activity in 

 business investments and energy in public matters made him a 

 very prominent and influential citizen. Realizing his own 

 tremendous difficulties in obtaining an education, he took a 

 special interest in the public school and the Female Academy 

 at Hamilton, and assisted and encouraged his children in ob- 

 taining a good education. 



Thus, though born in Pennsylvania, Theodore Hittell's 

 conscious life began in Hamilton, Ohio, he being only a year 

 old at the time of the family removal. At the earliest possible 

 age he was sent to school, because it was an understood rule 

 in the family that each child was to be given the best educa- 

 tion attainable in the country, and should be obliged, unless 

 prevented by sickness, to keep on steadily at work in acquiring 

 it. The boy w^as "father of the man," and his studies were 

 characterized by great industry and thoroughness. All his 

 life, he made it a rule to carry out to a finish what he had 

 once begun, and to do everything in the very best manner it 

 was possible for him to do it. Concentration on the work in 

 hand and carrying it to completeness were among the most 

 marked secrets of his success in life. He early became a 

 "prize pupil" in algebra, geometry and trigonometry. He was 

 handy with tools and very ingenious; he also worked in his 

 father's drug store, where he learned considerable about the 

 technical parts of the business. At about fifteen years of age 

 he was sent to a Catholic school, then to a select school to 

 study Latin and Greek. Meantime he had read many books, 

 and all of them he "chewed and digested." His boyhood was 

 pleasant and happy, and very busy. Though absorbed in his 

 work, none turned to amusement and recreation with more 

 zest than he. 



