American lawyer; born at Charleston, S. C., March 4, 1806, of English parents: died at New Orleans 1875; educated in Charleston and in New Orleans, to which latter city he went in 1828, together with Judah P. BENJAMIN, to whom he was related. Hyams studied law at New Orleans, and was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1830. For some time he was cashier of the Canal Bank at Donaldsonville, La. Later he returned to New Orleans, where he practised law and formed a partnership with B. F. Jonas. He was an original secessionist, and in 1859 was elected lieutenant-governor of Louisiana as a Democrat, serving until 1864. Most of his fortune was swept away by the Civil war, in which he took a very prominent part.