Frederick M. Hain was born on February 19, 1836, in Clark County, Ohio. By 1860, he was working as a blacksmith in Union, Iowa, and he owned $90 of personal property.
He enlisted in the Union army on May 21, 1864, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company C of the 46th Iowa Infantry on June 10. He mustered out on September 23, 1864.
He returned to Iowa after leaving the army, and he married Mary J. Spilker. They had at least six children: Bertha, born around 1869; Carl, born around 1871; Arthur, born around 1873; Grace, born around 1875; Frederick, born around 1877; and Clifford, born around 1879. They lived in Perry, Iowa, and he died on December 19, 1892.