James W. Hill

James W. Hill (1791 – 1864) was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician. He served in the first session of the Michigan House of Representatives.

James W. Hill
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Washtenaw County district
In office
November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837
Personal details
Born1791
Rhode Island
Died1864
Clinton, Michigan
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

James Hill was born in Rhode Island in 1791. By 1820, he was living in Grafton, New York, and by 1830 in Orangeville, New York.[1]

Hill was the first settler in what is now Freedom Township in Washtenaw County, Michigan, when he moved there in June 1831 and built the first house and barn and planted the first wheat field in the area.[2]

In 1835, Hill was elected as a Democrat to the first session of the Michigan House of Representatives following the adoption of the state's constitution.[3]

He taught school for several years and was a director of Miller's Bank of Washtenaw. He transferred operation of the farm to his son Hanson in 1844 and moved to Manchester, Michigan, where he practiced law. He sold his farm in 1855 and moved to Prescott, Wisconsin, but returned to Lenawee County, Michigan by 1864. He died there, in Clinton, in 1864.[1]

Family

Hill had a wife named Esther, and the couple at least three sons and four daughters; among the sons were two named Hanson and Lodmua.[1]

Notes
  1. Berg 2007.
  2. C. C. Chapman 1881, pp. 1291–1292.
  3. Bingham 1888, p. 343.

References
  • Berg, Ray (September 2007), "A Pioneers' Trail to Freedom Township and Manchester (Part 2 of 2)", M, Manchester's Magazine, vol. 4, no. 1, archived from the original on 2016-06-29, retrieved 2018-11-19
  • Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-11-12
  • History of Washtenaw County, Michigan and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Chicago: C. C. Chapman, 1881, retrieved 2018-11-19
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