Hugh Ratchford Black (1856-1933), was the husband of Mary Louisa Snoddy Black. He was born in Cleveland County, North Carolina, the fourth child and second son of Jefferson and Eliza Borders Black. Following early schooling in “old field schools,” H. R. Black attended a military academy in nearby Kings Mountain. After a six-month stint as a schoolteacher, he decided to study medicine. He entered the University of Maryland in 1880 and graduated in 1883. In 1884, Dr. Black moved to rural Spartanburg County and set up a medical practice. In 1889, H. R. Black married Mary Louisa Snoddy and they set up housekeeping in Wellford before moving to Spartanburg in 1894.

Dr. Black was a pioneer in several medical specialties, including surgery and public health. Following his death in 1933, Dr. H. R. Black was described as “a leading figure in the medical field,” whose “leadership was recognized throughout the state and South as well as by the many prominent men in the medical world who were his friends.”