The Hill Family
of Chowan County
North Carolina
List of Illustrations.....................................................
Forward: A Purpose and a Passion for History.............................
Edward
Bennett of London.............................................
Edward
Hill..........................................................
William
Hill.........................................................
James
Jones of Charles City and Prince George Counties, Virginia.....
Hill
Links Between England and the Colonies..........................
Henry
Hill...........................................................
Samuel
Hill of York County, Virginia.................................
William
Hill of Chowan County, North Carolina........................
Nicholas
Hill of Isle of Wight County, Virginia......................
Chapter 2: The Puritans Become Quakers..................................
Bacon’s
Rebellion – 1676.............................................
Chapter 3: The Quaker Communities In Albemarle..........................
Samuel
Pricklove: Agitator...........................................
Henry
White..........................................................
Chapter 4: The Piedmont Years...........................................
Chapter 5: The Battle Of The Regulators – 1770..........................
Chapter 6: Moving Westward To Kentucky And Ohio.........................
The
Mendenhall Family................................................
Senator
Benjamin Harvey Hill of Georgia..............................
The
Coffin Family....................................................
Chapter 7: Indiana......................................................
The
Henley Family....................................................
Carthage.............................................................
The
Underground Railroad.............................................
Henry
Branson Hill...................................................
Chapter 8: Post Civil War Years.........................................
Dr.
Nathan Branson Hill..............................................
Chapter 9: Minneapolis, Minnesota.......................................
Allen
Hill...........................................................
Dr.
Richard Junius Hill..............................................
Samuel
Hill..........................................................
Horace
Mann Hill.....................................................
Chapter 10: Conclusion..................................................
FOOTNOTES................................................................
APPENDIX.................................................................
Lineage
Chart of Wyke Family, Somerset, England......................
Lineage
Chart of Daniel Hill Family, Antigua.........................
List
of British Sovereigns...........................................
Quaker
Meeting House Locations.......................................
Horace
M. Hill Fan Chart.............................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................
Primary
References...................................................
Secondary
References.................................................
Section A: First Generation.............................................
Section B: Second Generation............................................
Section C: Third Generation.............................................
Section D: Fourth Generation............................................
Section E: Fifth Generation.............................................
Section F: Sixth Generation.............................................
Section G: Seventh Generation...........................................
Section H: Eighth Generation............................................
Section I: Ninth Generation.............................................
Section J: Tenth Generation.............................................
Section K: Eleventh Generation..........................................
Index to
Part II.........................................................
2. Map of James River Plantations..........................................
3. Map of James River area.................................................
4. Map of James City area..................................................
5. Map of James River and southern areas...................................
6. Map of English Counties.................................................
7. Map of Buckinghamshire County, England..................................
8. Deed of sale by Samuel Hill.............................................
9. Legal document regarding Samuel Hill estate.............................
10. List of expenses charged to estate of Samuel Hill......................
11. Map of Virginia at time of Bacon's Rebellion- 1676.....................
12. Map of Albemarle region................................................
13. Map of Albemarle ......................................................
14. Quaker lady expounding in Meeting......................................
15. Map of Perquimans County, NC...........................................
16. Map of Quaker Meeting Sites in Perquimans County.......................
17. Map of NC Counties in 1700, 1775, 1800.................................
18. Map of Piedmont Counties...............................................
19. Map of Quaker Meetings in Piedmont.....................................
20. Map of Randolph County - Hill's Store Post Office location.............
21. Translated copy of deed of William Hill's land patent -1775............
22. Copy of deed...........................................................
23. Copy of deed...........................................................
24. Copy of deed...........................................................
25. Copy of deed...........................................................
26. Copy of deed...........................................................
27. Will of William Hill of Randolph County, NC............................
28. Picture of Samuel Hill of Randolph County, NC..........................
29. Picture of Samuel Hill of Randolph County, NC..........................
30. Picture of Mary Branson Hill...........................................
31. Bible page of Samuel Hill's Bible......................................
32. Bible page of Samuel Hill's Bible......................................
33. Bible page of Samuel Hill's Bible......................................
34. Bible page of Samuel Hill's Bible......................................
35. Post office license - Hill's store post office.........................
36. Letter from Allen Hill at New Garden in 1830...........................
37. Map of western expansion in the U.S....................................
38. Senator Benjamin Harvey Hill...........................................
39. Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends – 1844...............................
40. Bricks from Robert Hill farm at Green Tree Inn, Richmond, IN...........
41. Henley homestead of Joseph and Penninah Henley.........................
42. Henry B. Hill letter...................................................
43. Henry B. Hill letter...................................................
44. Henry B. Hill letter...................................................
45. Henry B. Hill letter...................................................
46. Pre-Civil War map of the Midwest States................................
47. Underground Railroad routes in Indiana.................................
48. Underground Railroad routes in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan.................
49. Picture of Levi Coffin House - Grand Central Station...................
50. Picture of Henry Branson Hill of Carthage, IN..........................
51. Picture of Lucretia Henley Hill........................................
52. Marriage certificate of Henry B. and Lucretia Hill.....................
53. Photos of Hill cemetery stones, Carthage Friends Cemetery..............
54. Picture of Dr. Nathan Branson Hill.....................................
55. Picture of Samuel Hill's grown children................................
56. Letter of Allen Hill from Friend's School, Richmond, IN –
1852.........
57. Letter of Allen Hill from Antioch College, OH – 1856...................
58. Letter of Allen Hill from Antioch College, OH – 1856...................
59. Letter of Allen Hill from Antioch College, OH – 1858...................
60. Letter of Allen Hill from Antioch College, OH – 1859...................
61. Letter of Allen Hill from Winchester, VA – 18- ........................
62. Letter of Allen Hill from Memphis, TN – 1862 ..........................
63. Letter of Allen Hill from Carthage, IN – 1862 .........................
64. Letter of Allen Hill from Vicksburg, MS – 1863 ........................
65. Letter of Allen Hill from Memphis, TN – 1863 ..........................
66. Map of Vicksburg, MS area..............................................
67. Letter of Ann Hill, from Carthage, IN – 1863...........................
68. Letter of Allen Hill from Memphis, TN – 1863...........................
69. Picture of Allen Hill..................................................
70. Pictures of Ann R. and Allen Hill......................................
71. Marriage certificate of Ann and Allen Hill.............................
72. Picture of Allen Hill home on 8th St. in Minneapolis...................
73. Newspaper notice of death of Allen Hill................................
74. Picture of Dr. Richard J. Hill.........................................
75. Picture of Samuel Hill.................................................
76. Picture of Samuel Hill.................................................
77. Picture of “Castle” – Maryhill.........................................
78. Picture of Stonehenge .................................................
79. Picture of Stonehenge sign ............................................
80. Location of Maryhill in Washington.....................................
81. Sign at crossroads of Hill’s Quaker settlement.........................
82. Picture of Horace Mann Hill of Minneapolis.............................
83. Picture of Mary B. Whitmore Hill.......................................
84. Picture of Horace M. Hill family.......................................
85. Picture of Horace M. Hill home at Maplewoods, Wayzata..................
86. 50th Anniversary Hill family photograph.................................
87. Major ports of Somerset County, England................................
88. Chart of Wyke Family of Somerset, England..............................
89. Chart of Daniel Hill family of Antigua.................................
90. List of British Sovereigns.............................................
90. Horace M. Hill Fan Chart...............................................
I
felt it was time to bring together all the scattered factual material about the
family of William and Mary Hill -- a family that has lived through or on the
edge of all the crises in American history since the country's first fragile
founding in the colony of Virginia.
The
Hill family is an ordinary and extraordinary family. The individuals generally were not famous historically, but
each one played a part in his own time, in his own way, and left a mark and an
inheritance for the generations of Hills to come. This is a family with a sense of responsibility--to God, to
family, to community, to country, and to the dignity of the humanity.
Through
three centuries the Hill family has supplied leaders for our country in diverse
fields such as medicine, education, politics, agriculture, mercantile trade,
transportation, and religion. This
family has survived the ordeals of perilous ocean voyages and persecution for
freedom of religious thought. It
has established homesteads in the wilderness swamps of North Carolina and
Virginia, and in the virgin forests of the frontiers beyond the western
mountains of North Carolina to plant lasting roots for generations to
come. At least one Hill man
accompanied Daniel Boone on an exploratory trip to Tennessee and Kentucky.
All
this was done with a deep commitment to The Creator with a faith tested by
starvation, death, and human misery.
The Puritan work ethic was at work in this family of high moral
standards where hard work passed as a way of life from one generation to the
next.
Among
the pioneer families with whom the Hills were living education was a high
priority. Rustic log cabin schools
were build to provide places for schooling for the children and often for the
natives and blacks in the vicinity.
Even in the hardest times in the frontier days, education was provided
for the children. I was blessed to
be born into one of these families where the welfare of the children was
foremost and where discipline and good habits were a way of life.
In
doing this research I have gained a deep appreciation of what it took to build
this country, where the legacy of caring for others originated, and what
sacrifices the people made. I have
seen how many of the country’s institutions came to be established to serve the
needs of society as a whole.
I
have three purposes in doing this research and writing this book. First, this project is undertaken as a
tribute to my grandfather, Horace Mann Hill, and his daughter, Ruth Hill
Leslie, both of whom were interested in find their roots. Mrs. Horace M. Hill, wife and mother of
these two, had already established her very solid New England ancestry. It only seemed right to fill out the
other side of the family's story.
My
second purpose in pursuing this research was to provide a way for future
generations of Hills to gain insight into their heritage and to pass it along
to their own families. History is
given little emphasis in the secondary schools curriculum today. Students fail to perceive the events of
history through the eyes of the people who actually lived it. As a result, they do not recognize how
and why the past has shaped our lives today and are not able to benefit from
past experience.
My
third goal in writing this book was to give future Hills a place to start in
finding their own ancestors. I
regret that I can only be concerned here with the direct descendants of Aaron
and Margaret Hill, not with the families of Aaron's brothers, cousins, or any
of the many other Hills who were related and involved with the settling of the
Virginia and North Carolina colonies.
I hope other descendants will pursue the many clues that seem to link
the earliest generations with other branches of the Hill family in this country
and in the British Isles. I have
included some of these genealogical items in hopes that their ready
availability will entice someone to take up the hunt for the missing links to
connect this branch of the Hills to the Bennett, Bourne, Sanders, Henley, and
other English lines. I am afraid
that much of what I have included on these earliest Hills will seem confusing
to the reader, and yet they are the strands that tie the lines to the mother
country and will provide a starting point for future research. Hopefully other members of the Hill family
will carry on the listing of more recent descendants in the family.
Of
course, this book is not a complete accounting of history because records are
sparse and contradictions routinely surface in genealogical work. I welcome your suggestions, additions,
and corrections so that this story can be expanded even further. My work builds on the research of Edwin
R. Hill of Indianapolis, Indiana, a man not even included in this family
listing, but whose interest in the overall Hill family has provided a core of
material used by many Hill researchers. His lifetime hobby of collecting data on 7,000 Hill men has
been preserved in the Mormon Library of the Church of Latter Day Saints at Salt
Lake City, Utah, in its microfilm library where generous access to the public
makes it readily available for study.
Records of the human lives preserved in this institution provide the
public with firsthand facts on personal history of men throughout the world.
This
project has been my hobby--and my diversion-- from a fascinating (but sometimes
frustrating) life as the wife of an electric utility executive. It has offered new avenues of interest
with people in different walks of life and a whole new way to view our country.
This
study would not be complete without an expression of thanks to those who
assisted, educated, and steered my efforts over the sixteen years in which this
work was undertaken.
Dr.
James B. Bell, past Director of the New England Historic Genealogical Society
and leader of the first group study tour of members of that organization to the
Mormon Library in Salt Lake City, provided enthusiastic support , guidance, and
teaching of skills for genealogical work.
The
late Opal Thornburg, author of “The Earlham Story”, and former curator of the
Earlham College Archives in Richmond, Indiana, was a source of inspiration and
information.
The
late Garland P. Stout shared his maps and family fact sheets as well as the
names of people who sought his help in research on specific families which led
to contacts with other searchers and their information.
James
E. Bellarts of Portland, Oregon, with whom I first came in contact through
Garland Stout, compiled prodigious amounts of factual material on Hill men in
search of his own ancestry. Over
the years we shared much Hill information, and at the culmination of his own
search he passed along his collection of records to my safekeeping. Some of his work is incorporated in the
genealogical section of this book.
Gwen
Boyer Bjorkman of Seattle, Washington, author of “Hannah (Baskel) Phelps Phelps
Hill, A Quaker Woman and her Offspring," provided a copy of her winning
essay in the 1987 NGS Family-History Writing Contest so that she could correct
an error of assumption on my part as to the identity of Mrs. James Hill of
Perquimans County, North Carolina.
The latter is a key figure in connecting family relationships in the
very early years of the Hill family in the United States.
The
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and National Geographic Society, and Robert Lacey
for permission to reprint maps.
"Cousin"
Marion Henley Goodwell of Richmond, Indiana, generously shared her wide
knowledge of the Henley-Hill family relationships and records she collected
regarding the two families as well as her own complete Henley history essay.
Much
valuable assistance has come from the staffs of various libraries and
historical societies across the country.
Modern office equipment, copiers, microfilms, and computers have all
contributed to making the collection of this material possible.
Above
all, I am most grateful to my generous and supportive husband, Don McCarthy,
and my daughter, Jill McCarthy.
Don financed my peregrinations, indulged my whims, and met my many
needs, and sometimes performed miracles where I feared to tread. Jill made this volume possibly by
transferring all the genealogical material to a computer disc in the proper and
accurate form, a task that took much time, patience, and skills which I did not
have.
To each and all of the
above I offer my profound thanks.