Hill/Lee Family in Itawamba County

Contributed: December 2006

Submitted by Patsy Adcock Kennedy

          Hill/Lee Family in Itawamba County  

 

Research on these related families began with Abel Hill who, actually, never lived in Itawamba County.  After Abel's death in 1829, his second wife married a man named Jacob Lee who before 1835 moved the family, which included a son and daughter by Abel Hill, to Itawamba County.  Abel's daughter, Martha Jane, lived out her life there.  His son, John Alexander, grew to adulthood; married; and had most of his children in Itawamba County before moving to Louisiana about 1860.

 

ABEL HILL

 

Abel Hill was probably born in VA on June 26, 1788.  It's possible he was the son of Isaac Hill who moved to North Carolina from Virginia.  About 1810, Abel married his first wife, Mary Polly Butcher, in Warren Co, TN.  Polly was born in Madison Co, KY in 1792 and died in Wayne Co, TN in 1822.  She was the daughter of Richard Butcher (1766-1841) and Martha Patsy Hawkins (1772-1845).  Their other children were Patsy, Elizabeth, and Susan.  The Butchers seemed to be closely connected to the English family as their daughter, Elizabeth, married Abraham English, and their daughter, Susan, married James English.

 

James English was born in Rutherford Co, NC in 1788.  He was a

Methodist minister and pastor of a Methodist Church in Wayne Co, TN.

He moved his family to Texas in 1827 and died in Fanin Co, TX in 1857.

           

In 1812, Abel was listed on the Warren County, TN tax list, and there is also a record of an Abel Hill in the War of 1812.  From Nov, 1814 to May 1815, he was in Capt. Joseph B. Bacon's company under Col. Samuel Bayless' 4th Regiment, East TN Militia.  Since Col. Bayless and Capt. Bacon were in the Washington Co, TN Militia, Abel Hill may have moved from Warren County to Washington County after 1812.

 

About 1817, Abel and Polly moved to Wayne Co, TN with some of the English family who helped build the first church in Wayne County on the Green River near Abel Hill's land.  It was described as a log building with a graveyard, and James English was the pastor.  NOTE:  There was a James English, Sr. and Jr., as well as a Thomas and Joseph English who were among those in 1819 who signed a petition to combine Wayne and Hardin counties in Tennessee.

 

Children of Abel and Polly Butcher Hill:

 

1)  Elizabeth "Betsey" Hill (McCormick) (1810-1849)

2)  James Hill (1812-1883)

3)  Mary Hill (Jones) (1814)

4)  Margaret "Peggy" Hill (Kersey) (1816-1860)

5)  Unknown Hill (about 1817)

 

After Polly's death, Abel Hill married Leah.  Her maiden name could have been Kyle or Davis because in 1820 Abel Hill was living next door to an Alexander Davis, and he and Leah named their son Alexander.  (It was common to name children after brothers and fathers.)  Abel was also near the Kyle family during that same time period and had several land dealings with them.  Leah was born 1 May, 1800; possibly in Franklin Co, NC; and died 12 Nov 1865 in Sugartown, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.  She and Abel married on 22 Nov, 1823 in Wayne County, TN, and they had a son and daughter born there.  Abel Hill died 10 May 1829 in Wayne County, and Leah married Jacob Lee there within a year of his death.

 

                        CHILDREN OF ABEL AND LEAH HILL

 

1.  Martha Jane Hill was born August 6, 1824 in Wayne Co, TN.  She married Nicholas Horn on March 25, 1841 in Itawamba Co, MS.  They had 10 children and were married for more than 60 years before their deaths after 1902.  Both are buried in Hopewell Methodist Cemetery in Itawamba County.

 

CHILDREN OF MARTHA JANE HILL & NICHOLAS HORN

 

1)                James T. was born about 1843 in Itawamba Co, MS and died in July of 1864 at the Battle of Atlanta in Atlanta, GA.

 

2)                Mary Emmaline was born 12 Feb, 1846 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 22 Jul, 1944 in El Campo (Wharton Co), TX.

 

3)                Martha J. was born 7 Mar, 1848 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 2 Apr, 1923 in Itawamba Co, MS.

 

4)                Alex Houston was born 13 Sep, 1850 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 25 Jan, 1928 in Whitney, Hill Co, TX.

 

5)                Andrew Jackson was born 8 Dec, 1855 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 26 Mar, 1952 in Itawamba Co, MS.

 

6)                Nicholas Perry was born 11 Jan, 1858 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 3 Aug, 1930 in Itawamba Co, MS.

 

7)                Stephen L. was born 27 Jan, 1862 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 3 Feb, 1907 in Itawamba Co, MS.

 

8)                Lemuel Gaines was born 2 Oct, 1864 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 26 Mar, 1930 in Itawamba Co, MS.

 

9)                Ellis Wilson was born 24 Aug 1867 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 11 May, 1937 in Hillsboro, Hill Co, TX.

 

NOTE:  A full record of the descendants of Martha Jane Hill and Nicholas Horn is given in the Horn Family genealogy printed in the Itawamba Settlers Spring 2006 issue.  (It will also be posted on this website at some point.)

 

2. John Alexander Hill was born 16 Apr, 1827 in Wayne Co, TN; died 26 Aug, 1869 in Vernon Parish, LA; and is buried at Sugartown Cemetery in Louisiana. He married Martha Ann Box in Itawamba Co, MS on 16 Nov 1848.  She was born to William Bolton Box before 1835 in Georgia and died in 1912 in Pitkin, Vernon Parish, LA.  After John Alexander Hill died, Martha Ann Box Hill married Lesley McCullough (1832-1913) on 3 Mar 1878 in Rapides Parish, LA.   They are both buried in Hill Mathis Cemetery in Louisiana.

 

Military Service:  John Alexander Hill served the Confederacy with Company I, Engr. Troops.  He was on a prisoners of war roll and was paroled in Alexandria, LA between 1-10 Jul, 1865.  At the time, his residence was Calcasieu Parish, LA.

 

Land:  According to Louisiana Land Records, John Alexander Hill owned 176.51 acres in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. 

 

CHILDREN OF JOHN ALEXANDER HILL AND MARTHA ANN BOX

 

1)                 William Thomas "Doc" Hill was born 16 Apr, 1850 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 20 Nov, 1915 in Vernon Parish, LA.  On 21 Oct 1869, he married Nancy Jane Nolen (1850-1928).

 

2)                 Tobytha Jane Hill was born 25 Oct, 1851 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 22 Jan 1933 in Vernon Parish, LA.

 

3)                Amos Asa Hill was born 1854.  He married (  ) Foster.

 

4)                 Nicholas "Nick" Monroe Hill was born 21 Feb, 1855 in Itawamba Co, MS and died 18 Jun, 1927 in Vernon Parish, LA.  He married Mary Etta McCullough (19 Oct 1861-22 Mar 1932), the daughter of his stepfather, Leslie McCullough, and his first wife, Elizabeth Rebecca Vines.  Nick and Mary Etta are both buried in Hill-Mathis Cemetery in Vernon Parish, LA.

 

5)                Faircina "Fine" Elizabeth Hill was born 23 Oct, 1857 and died 4 Apr 1934.  She married Joseph Huey Beeson (14 Feb 1853-30 Jun 1942).  They are both buried at Hill-Mathis Cemetery in Vernon Parish, LA.

 

6)                John Alexander (Bud) Hill, Jr., was born 21 May 1859 and died 15 Jun 1919.  On 13 Jan 1880, he married Ophelia Jordan (1855-1942); they are buried at Hill-Mathis Cemetery.

 

7)                George Washington Hill was born after 1859.  He married Elizabeth Dykes.

 

 

                                   LEAH HILL and JACOB LEE

 

After Abel Hill died in 1829 in Wayne Co, TN, his second wife, Leah, married Jacob Lee.  He moved the family to Itawamba County before 1835 and was licensed to preach there as a Methodist minister in 1846.  After Jacob Lee died in the mid-1850s, Leah moved with their children to Louisiana where she married again to Edwin Junius Foster on 30 Nov 1856.  He was born in Franklin Co, NC in 1809 to John Foster, Jr., and Rebecca Hill.  Edwin Foster died on 31 Jan 1869 in Sugartown, Calcasieu Parish, LA.  Before his marriage to Leah Hill Lee, he had been married to Anna Beene, daughter of Lemuel Beene of Itawamba Co, MS.  Edwin and Anna moved their family to Claiborne Parish, LA where she died.

 

Children of Jacob and Leah Hill Lee 

 

1)        William L. Lee (1830/TN) married Mary Stevens 4 Jul 1850 in Itawamba Co, MS.  He later married Sarah P. Grantham on 12 Apr 1869 in Columbia Co, AR.

 

2)        Leander Lee (1832/TN) married Margaret Ann Nelson 2 Dec 1857 in Columbia Co, AR.

 

3)        Amos Lee (1835/Itawamba Co, MS) married Mary Ann Foster 14 Jan 1856 in Claiborne Parish, LA.  She was born in March of 1834 in MS and was the daughter of Edwin Junius Foster and Anna Beene.  Mary Ann died 16 Mar 1917 in Trinity Co, TX where she was buried at the Boontown Cemetery.  Amos and Mary Ann had two sons; the last born in 1863.  The family was not found on any census in 1870.  Since they had no children after 1863, and she was listed as a widow on the census of 1880, it's possible Amos was killed in the Civil War.

 

4)        Caroline (1838/Itawamba Co, MS)

 

5)        Emmaline (1841/Itawamba Co, MS)

         

  

SUMMARY:  All the families in this report had ties to Itawamba County.  Research shows they were typical Southern pioneer stock who were God-fearing, hard-working, good citizens from the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.  All researched were Confederate veterans and/or Southern sympathizers.  Those who moved on to Louisiana and Texas in the 1850s were probably driven by approaching war; those who left later by the misery of reconstruction.

 

A lot of the hard work that produced this information is due to Frances Hill Crook of Allen, Texas.  She had a lot of first-hand information and also learned some of it from other researchers who descended from Abel Hill's family with his first wife, as well as Jacob Lee's descendants.

 

Submitted by,

 

Patsy Adcock Kennedy

(GG-Granddaughter of Jane Hill Horn)

For an account of Abel's grandson through his first wife, please see the account of Pomp Kersey, Tennessee Guerilla at the Tennessee Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans site.