Biographical History Hamilton P. Fox (1919-2013), known to many simply as "Ham," he was born Dec. 31, 1919, in Baltimore and was the son of the late Dr. Hamilton P. Fox and Louise Savage Fox.
Ham was a graduate of Randolph Macon Military Academy. He went on to Salisbury Teachers College (now Salisbury University) and later transferred to Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1941. He then completed one year of law school at Washington and Lee and transferred to the University of Maryland Law School while working at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant in Baltimore.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ham enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as an ensign in 1942. He served on a landing ship that ferried troops and equipment to shore during amphibious operations. He served in all major theatres of World War II, including the landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day. He was promoted to first lieutenant, receiving five Battle Stars, and mustered out in 1945.
Ham resumed to his law school studies, graduating from the University of Maryland in 1947, and began the practice of law in Salisbury. During his legal career, he was elected State's Attorney for Wicomico County for two terms, serving from 1948-1956. He was a member of law firm Hearne, Fox & Bailey and in 1982 Ham and John Houlihan founded Fox & Houlihan, where he actively practiced until his retirement in 1994. During his legal career, Ham was a member of the American Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association and Wicomico County Bar Association. Following the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education which ruled that racial segregation of public schools is unconstitutional, Ham and other civic leaders formed the Bi-Racial Commission to desegregate Wicomico County's schools and public facilities, and Ham served as its chairman for many years. As a result of the Commission's efforts, Wicomico County voluntarily desegregated and largely avoided the turmoil that other Maryland counties, such as Dorchester County, experienced.
In 1956, Ham ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives. He remained active in politics throughout the years, including serving as a delegate to the 1967 Maryland Constitutional Convention and to the 1972 Democratic convention.
Active in the community throughout his life, he was a member and director of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, president of the County Community Fund (now the United Way), president of the Jaycees, president of the Kiwanis Club, chairman of the Board of Go-Getters Inc., a charter member of the Rockawalkin-Ruritan Club, secretary and then president of the Wicomico Historical Society, secretary of the Maryland Association for Wildlife Conservation Inc., a member of the Pemberton Historical Park Board, a charter member of Pemberton Hall Foundation, a member of the board at the former Eastern Shore State Hospital in Cambridge, and a member of the Community Players, a Salisbury theater group.
Ham enjoyed sailing immensely, particularly Wednesday afternoons on the Choptank River aboard "What's Next." Last but not least, he was an avid horseman who appreciated the special relationship between horse and rider; who with others founded the Wicomico Hunt Club of which he served as Master for many years, at one point being the longest serving Master in Maryland. Under his leadership, the Wicomico Hunt was nationally recognized by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America for continuing the great traditions of the sport of fox hunting on Delmarva. Locally, the Hunt had seasonal organized hunts and often appeared at public events with Ham out in front, dressed in his red frock coat and black velvet riding hat, whip in hand, always ready to ride to the hounds.
Ham is survived by his wife of 29 years, Kathleen "Kathy" Fox; his three sons, Hamilton P. Fox III and his wife, Barbara, Jefferson K. Fox and Davis W. Fox and his wife, Sue; five grandchildren, Duke, Caleb, Gretchen, Adam and Joshua; and three great-grandchildren, Brooks, James and Harper; the mother of his sons, Evelyn Jefferson Fox; and his cousin, Frances Mezick.
