Hill Surname

We do not know much about this family. The earliest of this line was born in Delaware in the late 18th Century. He may have been born in an area comprised of mostly Swedish descendants. The Hill surname though is supposed to be of English origin, either a literal translation of the English word "hill" or a corruption of the German world "hild" meaning battle.

John Hill was born on (about) November 29, 1773 in Delaware ¹. He died on May 4, 1853 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana ¹. He is buried in the Cox Cemetery, Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana.

John's birth date as listed above is a calculation from his exact age at death as given on his tombstone. Given the possibility of error in that situation, he may have been the John Hill born on November 19, 1775 in Wilmington, Delaware to John Hill and Anna Hunt. Other than this, there are no clues to his family or origins. Census records record his birth in Delaware. As a youth, John came to Kentucky. He was married to Dorothy Allen on December 26, 1796 in a part of Bourbon County that is now Nicholas County, Kentucky. John and Dorothy had at least 11 children: Margaret, Mary, William (see next generation), James, Sarah, Thomas, Alford, and 4 whose names are not known.

In 1829 or 1830, John's oldest son William moved to Indiana and John apparently decided to do the same. Sometime during the 1830's, John moved with his family out west and they settled on a farm in Jefferson Township, Boone County, Indiana. They lived at this location for the rest of their lives.

They had the following children:

1	Margaret Hill was born on April 26, 1797 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 2. She died on June 12, 1847 in Boone Co., Indiana 2. She married John Caldwell on December 15, 1815 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 5.
2	Mary Hill was born on February 16, 1799 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. She died on June 24, 1847 in Boone Co., Indiana. She married John Kersey on May 21, 1822 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 5.
3	William Hill
4	unknown female Hill was born circa 1803 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky.
5	unknown male Hill was born circa 1805 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. He died sometime between 1810-1820 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky.
6	unknown female Hill was born circa 1807 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. She died sometime between 1810-1820 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky.
7	Ann Sloan Hill was born in 1808 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. She died in 1884 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. She is buried in the Cox Cemetery, Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana. She married Thomas M. Burris in August 1830 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. He was born circa 1808 and died on April 12, 1884 in Boone Co., Indiana. He is buried in the Cox Cemetery, Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana.) They had the following children: Margaret Catherine Burris (c. 1832-???) John Hill Burris (c. 1833-???) Robert T. Burris (c. 1835-???) Wesley Burris (c. 1838-???) Mary Burris (c. 1841-???) Dorothy A. Burris (c. 1843-???) Albert Burris (c. 1847-???) Sarah A. Burris (c. 1852-???)
8	James Hill was born circa 1810 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 3. He died sometime between 1870-1880 in Washington Twp., Boone Co., Indiana. He married Sarah Amanda Hague on February 1, 1838 in Boone Co., Indiana 4.
9	Sarah Hill was born on October 13, 1813 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 2. She died sometime between 1870-1880 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co. Indiana. She married William Roark on October 6, 1837 in Boone Co., Indiana 4.
10	Thomas Hill was born circa 1817 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 3. He married Margaret V. Hall on December 19, 1839 in Boone Co., Indiana 4.
11	Alford A. Hill was born on December 2, 1819 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky. He died on January 2, 1897 in Bennett, Lancaster Co., Nebraska. He married Eliza Ann Kern on September 30, 1841 in Boone Co., Indiana 4.

William Hill was born on April 4, 1801 in Nicholas County, Kentucky ^1,6. He died on June 17, 1889 in Jefferson Co., Indiana ^1,6. He is buried in the Cox Cemetery, Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana.

Father: John Hill
Mother: Dorothy Allen

He was named after his maternal grandfather, William Allen. William was raised in Nicholas County, Kentucky, where he married Rachel Lavina Cowan on August 4, 1825, at the age of 24. They only lived in Kentucky for a few years. In early 1830, William and his family moved out west and settled on a farm in Jefferson Township, Boone County, Indiana.

William and his family lived on a farm in Jefferson Township, near the small village of Hazelrigg. They were farmers and were also probably members of the Presbyterian church. William was quite successful and owned a considerable amount of land in Boone County. In 1860, he had real estate valued at $9,400.00 (a slightly impressive sum for those times).

They had the following children:

1	Alford Glen Hill was born on January 12, 1827 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 6. He died on December 3, 1900 in Bates Co., Missouri 6. He married Nancy Jane Bratton on September 9, 1852 in Montgomery Co., Indiana 6.
2	Dorothy J. Hill was born on April 17, 1828 in Nicholas Co., Kentucky 6. She married William H. Sharp on February 14, 1856 in Boone Co., Indiana 9.
3	John C. Hill was born on January 11, 1831 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana 1. He died on May 22, 1907 in Boone Co., Indiana 1. He married first Nancy J. Caldwell on June 29, 1858 in Boone Co., Indiana 9. He married second Mary J. Cowan sometime between 1870-1874.
4	Nancy Ann Hill was born on October 25, 1832 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana. She died on November 18, 1833 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co. Indiana.
5	Isaac H. Hill was born on August 28, 1834 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana. He died in September 1836 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana.
6	Harriet A. Hill was born on March 28, 1838 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana 6. She married Oliver S. Potts on November 1, 1854 in Boone Co., Indiana 9.
7	Sytha E. Hill was born on December 9, 1839 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana 6. She died before 1887 in Boone Co., Indiana. She married William H. Caldwell on August 18, 1859 in Boone Co., Indiana 9.
8	William Wallace Hill was born on March 31, 1842 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana 6. He married Sarah E. Richardson on April 16, 1866 in Boone Co., Indiana 9.
9	Rachel Lavina Hill

3rd Generation: Rachel Lavina Hill was born on July 25, 1844 on her parent's farm in Jefferson Township, Boone Co., Indiana 6,7. She died on June 25, 1919 in Crawfordsville, Montgomery Co., Indiana 7,8. She is buried in the Cox Cemetery, Jefferson Twp., Boone Co., Indiana. Father: William Hill Mother: Rachel Lavina Cowan Rachel was the youngest of nine children and frequently went by her middle name Lavina. She was probably raised as a Presbyterian, as she was a member of that church in adulthood. Rachel was married to James L. Taylor on July 28, 1862 at her parent's home. Immediately afterwards, Rachel and James settled on a part of the large Taylor estate near the small "town" of Hazelrigg in Jefferson Township, Boone County, Indiana. Rachel had 2 daughters: Elizabeth and Carrie. James and Rachel spent most of their lives on their Hazelrigg farm. They were members of the Presbyterian Church of Thorntown and they were also Democrats in politics. After her husband James died in 1912, Rachel could no longer care for herself. In that year, she went to go live with her younger daughter Carrie in the city of Crawfordsville, in Montgomery County, Indiana. Rachel died there from paralysis on June 25, 1919, at the age of 74. Rachel married James Lowden Taylor on July 31, 1862 in Jefferson Twp., Boone Co. Indiana 9.

For information on their children, see his page.

1. Tombstone inscriptions, Cox Cemetery, Boone Co., Indiana
2. Online gedcom family files
3. Assorted US Federal Census records
4. Indiana Marriages to 1850, Ancestry.com
5. Kentucky Marriages to 1850, Ancestry.com
6. Information from Barbara Cowan at bcowan@kih.net
7. Obituary of Rachel L. Taylor, Lebanon Reporter, June 26, 1919
8. Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, Ancestry.com
9. Indiana Marriages, 1845-1920, Ancestry.com