Hiram Torrey was born in New Lebanon, New York. Although there is no record of where he studied, he taught painting and drawing at the Washington Female Seminary from about 1847 to 1850. In 1849 Torrey married and late in 1850 they relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he taught and maintained a studio. He also lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, from 1853 until 1862 and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia in 1855 and 1856.
