Hubert Root Ives was born on September 15, 1833, in Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut.
He was a manufacturer. He received his early education at the Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, followed by complete commercial training. In 1856, he travelled extensively in Europe looking for a suitable place to start a business. In 1859, he settled in Montreal, Quebec, and established together with an American Roger N. Allen, the Ives & Allen Manufacturers, the first foundry and manufacturing business in Montreal. It cast many sad (flat) irons and in 1868, they added the production of stoves. They supplied the wrought iron gates and railings surrounding the Parliament building in Ottawa. They also produced the locomotive and car castings for the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1870, a massive fire destroyed the bulk of their manufacturing facilities. They rebuilt and expanded their business, becoming one of Montreal’s top employers. In 1874, the partnership between Ives & Allen was dissolved and Ives continued on alone labeled H. R. Ives & Co Manufacturers Montreal. He was also a president of the Canada Wire Company and a member of the Board of Trade of Montreal. He was an honorary secretary of the Egypt Exploration Fund for the Dominion of Canada.
In 1858, he married Alice Chester (1837-1884) and in 1887, he married Jane Muir Daniell. He died on September 22, 1911, and is buried in Outremont, Montreal, Quebec.