Born in Connecticut, Hubbard moved to Wheeling as a child and later graduated college as valedictorian. He worked in his family’s lumber business and helped build Wheeling’s iron and steel industries.

He served in the Virginia legislature and strongly opposed Virginia’s decision to leave the U.S. In 1861, he joined the Wheeling conventions that led to West Virginia’s statehood. He later served in the first state Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives. He died in Wheeling and is buried in the city's Greenwood Cemetery.