Ephraim T. Hires

Introduction

EPHRAIM T. HIRES was born on July 11, 1865 to Daniel and Sarah Hires in Upper Alloways Creek, New Jersey. His father was a farmer. The family came to Camden in the 1870s. The 1874 City Directory shows a Daniel Hires, butter dealer at 445 South 5th Street. This may or may not be Ephraim T. Hires’ family.

Daniel Hires and family were established in Camden by 1877. That year’s directory shows a business, D. Hires & Company, butchers at 222 Market Street. Daniel Hires’ home was given as 166 North 3rd Street. City Directories and Census records have Daniel Hires and family at 106 North 2nd Street from 1878 to 1883 City Directory, same address. By 1884 the family had moved to 61 North 2nd Street. Daniel Hires was still working as a butcher, Sarah Hires kept a boarding house at that address. Ephraim Hires begins appearing in City Directories, working as a plumber, a trade he followed until at least 1891.

Still living with his parents, Ephraim Hires was listed at 215 North Front Street. He was working as a plumber for former Camden County sheriff William Calhoun in 1888. The 1890 City Directory lists Ephraim Hires at 210 Friends Avenue, working as a plumber for William Calhoun. He also began a relationship with Calhoun’s daughter, Ida.

William Calhoun was very prominent in local politics. He had served on City Council, was with Camden’s water works for seven years in the 1870, was Camden County Sheriff from 1878 to 1881, and was on the Board of Education in the 1880s. He also for a short time was the co-owner with Jacob C. Daubman of the Camden County Courier, a weekly newspaper which they sold in September of 1881 to Francis Ford Patterson. This newspaper began publishing as a daily in June of 1882 and continues today as the Courier-Post. By July of 1891 William Calhoun had helped Ephraim Hires secure a job as a letter carrier.

Ephraim Hires worked as a letter carrier in Camden as early as 1891. The 1892 City Directory has him living at 304 Market Street. His address from 1895 through 1897 was the West Jersey Hotel at Delaware avenue and Market Street.

On April 29, 1898 Ephraim Hires married Ida Calhoun. The couple lived at 105 Penn Street in 1898 and 1899. Ephraim and Ida Hires were living at 122 State Street when the 1900 Census was taken. Also living with them were Ida’s parents, William and Rebecca Calhoun. A dispute over a work assignment seems to have cost Ephraim Hires his job with the postal service in January of 1903. City Directories from 1903 through 1906 show him living at 134 Cooper Street and working as a janitor. His father-in-law, William Calhoun, passed away in 1905. He is not listed in the 1907 Camden City Directory.

Ephraim T. Hires was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on November 27, 1907. Directories from 1908 through 1911 and the 1910 Census shows Ephraim and Ida Hires at 124 State Street. Mother-in-law Rebecca Calhoun was also living with them at that address. Directories from 1913 through 1918 indicate a move to 908 North 3rd Street. By the end of 1919 Ephraim and Ida Hires and Rebecca Calhoun had moved to 702 North 2nd Street.

Ida Hires died on March 5, 1924 and was buried at Harleigh Cemetery. Rebecca Calhoun also passed away that year.

The 1926 Camden City Directory shows that Ephraim Hires was still working for the Camden Fire Department. He passed away that year and was buried at Harleigh Cemetery. The circumstances of his demise are not known, however it was not considered a line of duty death at the time.