Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume IV, Part 19

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 896

USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume IV > Part 19

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their children, and Storer College, Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, was the result of his benefaction, and its doors were opened Octo- ber 2, 1867. He also contributed $1,000 towards a library for the school. He was mar- ried soon after leaving his native town of Wells to Meribah, daughter of Joseph and Abigail Hobbs, born in Wells, Maine, January 17, 1797, and died in Sanford, Maine, March 10, 1860, and by her marriage with John Storer became the mother of six children, born in Sanford, Maine, as follows: Horace Porter, George Lord, Olive M., married, May I, 1850, Moses M. Butler, John Lewis, George Lord, Frederick. His second and third died young.

(VII) Horace Porter, eldest son of John (3) and Meribah (Hobbs) Storer, was born December 6, 1822, in Sanford, Maine. He removed to Portland at an early age, where he learned the drygoods business and he car- ried it on successfully, part of the time alone, then in partnership with his brother, George Lord, as H. P. & G. L. Storer. He married Mary Thomas Barker, and had five children : Fred Lewis, Alice Porter, and three who died in infancy. He died in Portland, Maine, De- cember 6, 1897, aged exactly seventy-five years.

(VII) George Lord, fourth son of John and Meribah (Hobbs) Storer, was born in Sanford, Maine, May 8, 1831, became a clerk at eighteen and a partner at twenty-one with his brother, Horace Porter, in the drygoods business in Portland as H. P. & G. L. Storer, then as Storer & Cutler, his brother H. P. having retired, and, on the admission of his brother Frederick, in 1863, as Storer, Cutler & Company, until Mr. Cutler withdrew, when the firm became G. L. Storer & Company. In 1865 he, with his brother Frederick, with- drew, and he located in Madison, Wisconsin, where he died August 12, 1905. He married Mary F. Johnson, and had five children : Mary Porter, George Cutler, Isabel Corey, John and Annie Hepworth. His widow died in 1908.

(VII) Frederick, fifth son of John and Meribah (Hobbs) Storer, was born in San- ford, Maine, August 6, 1833. He was edu- cated in the district school, and in 1848 became a partner in the drygoods house of Storer & Cutler in Portland. In 1852, he formed a partnership with J. R. Corey in the same line of business, as J. R. Corey & Company, and in 1863 sold out his interest and became a partner in the firm of Storer & Cutler, the new firm being Storer, Cutler & Company, and he withdrew from the firm in 1865 at the

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same time his brother, George Lord, with- drew. He helped to form the wholesale dry- goods firm of Locke, Meserve & Company, of Portland, in 1867, and this firm remained in business up to 1875. In 1866 he built the Pondicherry Woolen Mills at Bridgton, Cum- berland county, Maine, which he operated 1866-72, employing from seventy-five to one hundred operatives and the output in woolen goods amounted to a value of $300,000 an- nually. He was a member of the firm of Storer Brothers, wholesale dealers in drygoods, in Portland, 1872-83, and in 1883 he retired from the drygoods trade and engaged in the real estate business, in which he was still actively engaged in 1908. He attends the Unitarian church, votes independently of party ties, and is a member of no club or social organiza- tions. He was married in Portland, Maine, September 10, 1858, to Anne, daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Swett and Joanna (Gibbs) Littlefield. Nathaniel Swett Littlefield ( 1804- 82) was a son of Ebenezer and grandson of Elisha Littlefield, of Wells, Maine. He prac- ticed law in Bridgton, Maine, was a state sen- ator 1837-39, and president of the senate in 1838; a representative in the twenty-seventh and thirty-first United States congresses, 184I- 43, and 1849-51 ; a representative in the Maine legislature, 1854 ; a delegate to the Union Con- vention in Philadelphia, 1866.

HILL The ancestor of the Hill family of this article was a very early immi- grant to America and was almost as early a settler in New England as John Hill, of Plymouth and Boston, 1630. This Hill family is probably the earliest of the name in Maine.

(I) Peter Hill, the settler, sailed from Ply- mouth, England, in the ship "Huntress" with John Winter, and landed March 22, 1632-33, at Richmond island, and settled with his son Roger in Biddeford, near the mouth of Scad- lockes, now Little River, a few years previous to 1648. He is described as a "planter and sailor," was admitted freeman July 5, 1653, in Saco, and was a member of the assembly of Liconia, or Lygonia, in 1648, and died Au- gust 29, 1667. New Hampshire having sought admission into Massachusetts, was soon fol- lowed by the settlers of York county, who had become weary of the government of Thomas Gorges, and among them was Peter Hill, who was' notified by the government to take the oath of allegiance in 1652.

(II) Roger, only son of Peter Hill, was born in 1635, as shown by a deposition, and

died in Wells, in 1696. He was admitted a freeman July 5, 1653, and was constable in 1661. He married, in November, 1658, Mary, daughter of John Crosse Sr., of Wells. She died June 24, 1696. Their children were : Sarah, Hannah, John, Samuel, Joseph, Mercy, Benjamin and Ebenezer.

(III) Joseph, fifth child and third son of Roger and Mary (Crosse) Hill, born in Saco in 1671, resided in Wells, where he died July 12, 1743, in his seventy-third year. The "His- tory of Wells and Kennebunk" says of him : "He was a prominent man among the inhabi- tants, though he does not appear to have been much in public office. He served as justice of the peace for many years. He was a gen- tleman of the old school, and his intercourse was marked with that courteous and gentle- manly demeanor which the best civilization of the day inculcated. He had a good property, and indulged in a style of life above that of the people of that period, and was anxious that the dignity of the family should be maintained through all coming time. He therefore made such an entail of his estate that from gen- eration to generation it should "bear up" the name of Hill. He was commissioned as a magistrate; was representative in 1727; col- lector of the excise in 1734. Various munici- pal offices were committed to him, and in the disposition of the pews in the meeting-house the best appears to have been conceded to him, as a matter of propriety. He had three slaves, Sharper, Plato and the "negro boy Tom." In his will he gave the first and the last to his wife, Plato to his son Nathaniel, and to the church and the minister each ten pounds. His wife, the mother of his children, was Hannah Littlefield, who died October 10, 1738. Hav- ing no sympathy with celibacy, and his own experience concurring with the declaration of Infinite Wisdom that "it is not good for man to be alone," he two months afterward, De- cember 12, 1738, married Sarah, daughter of Daniel Sayer. He served as a lieutenant under his brother, Captain John, at Saco fort. The children of Joseph and Hannah (Littlefield) Hill were: Joseph, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Han- nah and Peniniah.

(IV) Nathaniel, third son of Joseph and Hannah (Littlefield) Hill, was born in Wells, November 13, 1701, and he and his brother received by request the large estate of their father, among the property being several negroes. The records of Wells shows that in a certain year Nathaniel Hill raised one hun- dred and fifty bushels of corn and kept nine cows and six oxen. He married, December

W.SeTa Fille M. D.

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II, 1729, Priscilla Littlefield. Their children were: Joseph (died young), Joseph, Hannah, Benjamin (died young), Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Jonathan, whose sketch next follows.

(V) Jonathan, youngest son of Nathaniel and Priscilla (Littlefield) Hill, born in Wells, June 22, 1746, died March II, 1817, aged seventy-one years. He was a man of high character, well off and much respected. In 1808 Nathaniel Wells, Jonathan Hill, and Jo- seph Gilman were appointed a committee "to make a survey of the outlines of the propri- etors' lands which remain undivided and re- turn a plan of the same." Jonathan Hill mar- ried, October 9, 1766, a few months before he was twenty-one, Huldah, daughter of Sam- uel Littlefield. Their children were: Priscilla, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Abraham, who was lost at sea ; Jepthet, Jacob, Samuel and Hulda.

(VI) Nathaniel (2), second child and eldest son of Nathaniel and Huldah (Littlefield) Hill, born in Wells, March 19, 1769, died in Greene, December 28, 1847, aged seventy-eight. In 1808 he removed his family from Wells to Greene, where he settled on a farm which he tilled with care and diligence, and in the season when agricultural labor was not press- ing he busied himself with shoemaking, and was a useful and respected citizen of the town. He was prosperous and thrifty and increased his original farm of one hundred and twenty- five acres by purchase to one hundred and sixty. In politics he was a Whig ; he filled the offices of constable and tax collector. His wife Mary, whom he married February 7, 1793. died November 1, 1838. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Dorcas (Black) Littlefield. Of this union were born six chil- dren, all natives of Wells: Priscilla, Jane, Dorcas, Huldah, Jonas and Tristram, the sub- ject of the following paragraph.

(VII) Tristram, youngest of the children of Nathaniel (2) and Mary (Littlefield) Hill, born in Wells, June 26, 1806, died in Greene, December 2, 1877. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, and at the age of twenty began teaching in the towns of Greene, Webster and Harpswell for fifteen years. He succeeded to the ownership of the Hill homestead, which is still the property of a member of the Hill family. He served the public schools faithfully for a number of years, being a member of the school committee, se- lectman, and justice of the peace, and repre- sented the town in the legislature. His in- terest in agriculture was strong and intelli- gent, and he was one of the founders of the Androscoggin Agricultural Society, of which

he was also an officer. He wedded, May 28, 1837, Christina Brewster Sprague, born Au- gust 29, 1817, died October 7, 1887, daughter of William and Martha (Brewster) Sprague, of Greene and Leeds respectively. Their children were: Winfield Scott, Byron Gordon, Cedora Jane, Clara Acte, Mary Christina, and Frederic Tristram. Winfield Scott is men- tioned below. Byron Gordon, born October 26, 1840, married, June 20, 1865, Octavia Hannah Lowell, by whom he has six children. Cedora Jane, February 8, 1845, married, No- vember 16, 1872, Arthur Given Moulton, and has one child, Edith Sprague, married Charles A. Knight, September 14, 1901. Clara Acte, October 9, 1848, became the wife of Wilbur F. Mower, December 27, 1868, and died child- less, February 25, 1878. Mary Christina, Au- gust 20, 1853, was married to John W. Moul- ton, September 2, 1873, and has one child, Clara Ella. Frederic Tristram, July 15, 1861, married, November 15, 1882, Stella Adelaide Washburn, of Greene. They have two chil- dren : Ada Louise and Royden Mellen.

(VIII) Winfield Scott, M. D., eldest child of Tristram and Christina B. (Sprague) Hill, was born in Greene, January 19, 1839. He ac- quired a common school education in his na- tive place, was fitted for college at Lewiston Falls Academy, and the Maine State Semi- nary in Lewiston, and in 1863 entered Tufts College. In the following year, thinking that he could be of service to his country and at the same time obtain a valuable professional knowledge for himself, he left college and for several months was employed in the army hospital at Augusta. Subsequently for a con- siderable period he was surgeon's steward in the United States navy and was stationed along the Atlantic coast. Prior to this time he had begun the study of medicine under the super- vision of Dr. Milan Graves, of Sabattus. The close of the war terminated his connection with the government service, and he matriculated at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which he graduated March 1, 1867, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. April 17, 1867, he opened an office in Augusta, where for more than forty years he has prac- ticed with success, and has a wide reputation as a surgeon and a physician. Early in 1874, Prof. Esmarch, the distinguished German sur- geon, made known to the surgical profession his wonderful discovery of bloodless amputa- tions. Acting on his description of his method, Dr. Hill, assisted by the late Dr. George W. Martin, performed, December 8, 1874, for the first time in this section of the state, a blood-

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less amputation of the leg, on the person of William B. Small, of Augusta. The operation was perfectly successful, and the patient made a rapid recovery. Tufts College, when erect- ing a memorial to the civil war soldiers, placed Dr. Hill's name upon it. He is a member of the National Association of U. S. Examining Surgeons. He is a United States pension ex- aminer and medical examiner for the New York Life, the Equitable Life and the Etna Life Insurance Companies. He is a member of the Maine Homoeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of Homoeopathy. August 9, 1888, he became a member of the oldest existing fraternal organization of this country, and is now a member of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 35, Free and Accepted Masons ; Cushnoc Royal Arch Chapter, No. 43, Alpha Council, No. 3, and Trinity Commandery No. 7, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Abnaki Club.

Dr. Winfield Scott Hill married, August 30, 1868, in Gardiner, Catherine Ward, born in Gardiner, October 9, 1843, daughter of Elia- kim and Caroline (Nelson) Norton. She died August 2, 1877. He married (second) at Augusta, October 16, 1889, Lydia Estelle, daughter of Benjamin and Lydia (Treat) Park, of Searsport.

HILL The name of Hill is self-explana- tory. It numbers among its scions former Governor John F. Hill, of Augusta, Maine. The name is strong in the south and in New York. It is a hardy, vigor- ous race, attaining longevity, and it is a race in which large families were the rule. They have heeded the Biblical injunction and mul- tiplied rapidly, replenishing the earth with noble sons and lovely women. To such people our Republic owe an inestimable debt of grati- tude. Men who go down to the sea in ships and till the soil in the piping times of peace are the sources from whence our armies and navies have been recruited when the sounds of war blow in the ears.

(I) Valentine Hill, a mercer from London, was in Boston in 1638, and a freeman in 1640. He removed to Oyster River, now Dur- ham, New Hampshire, where he had a large grant of land in 1652, and was representative in 1652-55-57. He died previous to 1662. His grant of land on the north side of Oyster River extended from the falls near Durham village across the line of the Boston and Maine railroad. He gave, in 1658, one pound and ten shillings to support preaching. Children :

Joseph, John, Samuel, Mary, Elizabeth and Nathaniel.

(II) Captain Nathaniel, youngest son and child of Valentine Hill by his second wife, was born in Oyster River. He inherited his father's property. He married Sarah, daugh- ter of Anthony Nutter ; children : Samuel and Valentine.

(III) Samuel, eldest son and child of Cap- tain Nathaniel and Sarah (Nutter) Hill, was born at Oyster River, New Hampshire. He had a son Benjamin.

(IV) Benjamin, son of Samuel Hill, was born in Oyster River, and lived for a time in Epping, New Hampshire. Then he removed to Northwood, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, and was one of the pioneers of that town. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Dudley, of Brentwood. Children : Sarah, Nicholas Dudley, Jonathan, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Samuel, Deborah, Trueworthy, Noah and Abigail.

(V) Jonathan, third child and second son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Dudley) Hill, was born in Epping, New Hampshire, May 27, 1763. He married Abigail Tilton, of Stra- tham, settling in Northwood on a farm near the Strafford line. He died May 8, 1854, his wife surviving him till December 8, 1857. Children : Sarah, Abraham, John, Jonathan, Daniel Tilton, Comfort, Nicholas Dudley, Da- vid, Hezekiah and Hazen.

(VI) Hezekiah, ninth child and seventh son of Jonathan and Abigail (Tilton) Hill, was born in Northwood, New Hampshire, on his father's farm, August 10, 1805. His early life was spent in labor upon the farm, later he learned the trade of tanner and currier. Soon after removing to Milo, Maine, he was engaged for many years in making and selling shoes. He was a Republican, and a communi- cant in the Methodist church. He married Emily M., daughter of General Benjamin Hill, of New Hampshire. Children : Jonathan, Ab- bie M., Charles W., Emily M., Benjamin J. and Hollis B.

(VII) Hon. Benjamin J., fifth child and third son of Hezekiah and Emily M. (Hill) Hill, was born February 13, 1840. He was educated in the common schools of Stetson, and at the age of seventeen learned the trade of tanner, at which he worked until the war broke out. He enlisted September 17, 1861, as a private in Company C, Ninth Maine Regiment. His promotions while in the serv- ice were very rapid, and as orderly sergeant he had command of the company. While lying

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in the trenches, partly filled with water, at the battle of Strawberry Plains, or, as it is sometimes called, the battle of Deep Bot- tom, he was promoted to be lieutenant. At the battle of Cedar Creek he was made captain. He was wounded in the hip, the bullet he still carries, at the battle of Chapin's Farm. He was again wounded in the knee at the battle of Cold Harbor by a piece of shell. After the expiration of his term of enlistment he re-enlisted, remaining with his company till they were mustered out July 13, 1865. Coming to Lewiston, Maine, he engaged in the dry goods business. This he carried on for about twenty years, at which time he took his brother into the firm. He retired from active business a few years ago, and now spends the summer months at his farm, enjoying a well-earned rest. He has many interests in real estate, and is at pres- ent erecting a block for the Shoe and Leather Bank. He is also vice-president of the George Q. Hill Machine Company, of Boston. For five years he was major of the First Maine Volunteer Militia, and was quartermaster with the rank of major on General Joshua Cham- berlin's staff. He resides in the city of Au- burn, Maine, and was representative in the lower house four years, state senator four years, and sheriff of Androscoggin county for six years. He is a member of Blue Lodge and Chapter, A. F. and A. M., of Loyal Legion, the G. A. R., of which he has been commander. He married, November 1, 1872, Flora A., daughter of Ruel and Polly (Lothrop) Foss, by whom he has one child, Mabel F.

HILL This name was formerly spelled Hilles, and that form is still used by a large number of the descend- ants bearing the name. It has been traced to a somewhat remote period in England, hav- ing been found nearly two hundred years be- fore the Puritan emigration. It has been borne by numerous prominent citizens of the Amer- ican colonies and of the United States, and is still among the most widely distributed names known in the history of the country.

(I) Abraham Hill, the first American an- cestor of this branch of the family, was born in 1615, and was an inhabitant of Charles- town, Massachusetts, in 1636. He kept a mill for John Coitmore, and was the owner of five lots of land in Charlestown and the neigh- borhood. He was admitted to the church in 1639, and his wife, Sarah (Long) Hill, daugh- ter of Robert Long, born in England in 1617, was admitted to the church in 1644. Abraham

and Sarah Long were married in 1639, and had eight children : I. Ruth, baptized in 1640, married William Augur. 2. Isaac, 1641. 3. Abraham, 1643. 4. Zachary, about 1645. 5. Sarah, 1647. 6. Sarah, born and died in 1649. 7. Mary, 1652. 8. Jacob, see forward. Abra- ham Hill died February 13, 1669-70, and the inventory of his estate amounted to six hun- dred and thirty-three pounds.

(II) Jacob, youngest of the eight children of Abraham and Sarah (Long) Hill, was born in that part of Charlestown, now Mal- den, Massachusetts, in March, 1656-57, and died December 12, 1690. His widow Sarah was appointed administratrix of his estate, April 7, 1691. Jacob Hill married Sarah Stone, daughter of Elder John Stone, and they had five children: 1. Jacob. 2. Tabitha, mar- ried William Warland, February 3, 1701-02. 3. John, September 25, 1684. 4. Nathaniel. 5. Abraham (2), whose sketch follows.

(III) Abraham (2), youngest of the five children of Jacob and Sarah (Stone) Hill, was born at Malden, Massachusetts, about 1688, and died December 27, 1754. He was a mason by occupation, and lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the westerly corner of Brattle and Mason streets, near where Saint John's Memorial Church now stands. The original estate contained four acres and ex- tended to the common, including the site of the Shepard Congregational Church. Mr. Hill bought the place of the Rev. Thomas Blowers in the year 1713. On December 18, 1718, Abraham (2) Hill married Prudence Han- cock, daughter of Nathaniel Hancock, who survived her husband more than twenty years, dying January 16, 1775. Children: I. Rev. Abraham (3), whose sketch follows. 2. Prudence, August 13, 1721, married Joseph Clark. 3. Mary, November II, 1722, married William Codner. 4. Abigail, baptized August 23, 1724, married Rev. Stephen Badger. 5. Elizabeth, baptized September 4, 1726, died young. 6. Elizabeth, baptized November 26, 1727, married Benjamin Eustis. 7. Aaron, baptized May 3, 1730. 8. Martha, baptized November 28, 1731, married William Bell. 9. Sarah, baptized October 7, 1733, married Rev. Nathan Fiske, of Brookfield. Io. Tabi- tha, baptized January 4, 1735-36. II. Lucy, baptized December 16, 1739, died probably before 1754. Elizabeth Hill, fifth daughter, and her husband, Benjamin Eustis, were the parents of Governor William Eustis, who was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, June IO, 1753. Two of the other daughters of the fam- ily married ministers, and the only son, Abra-

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ham (3), became a minister. This shows that the parents must have been people of excellent standing, who afforded their children the best advantages for association and education.

(IV) Rev. Abraham (3), eldest child of Abraham (2) and Prudence (Hancock) Hill, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sep- tember 27, 1719, and died at Oxford, Massa- chusetts, June 8, 1788. He graduated from Harvard College in 1737, and taught at Wes- ton, Massachusetts, the next year. On Octo- ber 27, 1742, he was installed over a church at Road Town, now Shutesbury, which was formed that very day. So far as can be learned he was an acceptable preacher to this people for more than thirty years, but when the revolution broke out the minister unfor- tunately espoused the Royal cause. This caused a bitter quarrel in the church, and alienated the majority of the people. The ministers in those days were settled by the town, and Mr. Hill sued for his salary, which he won; but he was not allowed to preach for two years, and on February 27, 1778, was for- mally dismissed. Although he was sixty years of age at the time he became an active Tory, and public feeling ran so high that neither his gray hairs nor sacred office sufficed to protect him from popular indignation. It is said that at one time he was impounded dur- ing the day and given smoked herrings for food, but allowed to return home at night. After that he was forbidden by vote of the town to leave his house, and authority was given to any person who saw him out to shoot him. In January, 1780, he changed his place of abode to the northerly part of Oxford, Massachusetts. Here he purchased the Gen- eral Ebenezer Learned house for ten thou- sand pounds (in the depreciated Continental currency), afterwards selling the same to his son Aaron in 1787, who in turn sold it in 1790. After moving to Oxford Mr. Hill preached occasionally, in Mr. Bowman's ab- sence, but the town in 1782 refused to pay him for his services. He married Thankful Allen, daughter of Ebenezer Allen, of Water- town, Massachusetts. Three children were born to this couple: I. Naomi. 2. Dr. Aaron, mentioned below. 3. A child who died in in- fancy at Shrewsbury. Naomi, in December, 1773, became the second wife of Rev. Ebenezer Sparhawk, of Templeton, and was the mother of eight children. She received from her father's estate three lots of land in Shutes- bury, a chaise and a pair of steers. This shows that the Rev. Abraham Hill, despite the dif- ferences with his parishioners, must have fared

better than most of the Royalists, who suffered confiscation of their estates, and in many in- stances were compelled to leave the country.

(V) Dr. Aaron, only son of Rev. Abraham (3) and Thankful (Allen) Hill, was born about 1750, probably at Shutesbury, Massa- chusetts, and died in Bucktown, now Bucks- port, Maine, in 1809. Like his father, he was an only son and a graduate of Harvard Col- lege. About 1780 he married Abigail Bell, daughter of Deacon Bell, of Boston, and moved to Oxford with his father, where his wife Abigail Bell united with the church at Oxford, February 4, 1781. Here he lived with his father until about 1799, when he moved with his family to Bucktown, now Bucksport, Maine. He was the first medical practitioner in Bucksport, and is buried in the cemetery at North Bucksport. No stone marks his last resting place. After his death his widow married a sister's husband,

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume IV, Part 19

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe Publication date: 1909 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 896

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 896