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Winchester Hill
WINCHESTER HILL, a farmer of Parks township, Armstrong county, was born at
Leechburg, PA., June 20, 1833, son of Jacob and Hannah (Ulam) Hill. His
paternal grandfather was John Hill.Jacob Hill, son of John Hill, and father of Winchester Hill, was born Aug.
15, 1802. At one time he was numbered among the early merchants of Leechburg,
where he was also engaged in contracting to a considerable extent, building
the old locks at that place, as well as other important construction work. He
came to old Allegheny township, this county, now Parks township, in 1837,
buying 300 acres of land two and a half miles east of Leechburg, on which he
built the present house, and two years later the barn. Mr. Hill cleared the
greater part of this property, and developed it into a valuable farm. During
his residence in the township he became one of the most prominent men of his
locality, serving as school director, supervisor and justice of the peace
before he was sent to the State Assembly, upon two occasions, as the
successful candidate on the Democratic ticket. During these pioneer days he
rode from his farm to Greensburg on horseback, carrying his baggage with him.
From Greensburg he took a stagecoach to Harrisburg, to enter upon his duties
as member of the Legislature. A man of commanding presence, Mr. Hill weighed
180 pounds and was very strong physically as well as mentally. The Lutheran
Church of Leechburg had in him a faithful member and liberal supporter. The
death of this excellent man occurred July 25, 1876, when he was seventy-four
years, one month, ten days old. His wife was born Nov. 4, 1804, and died Aug.
10, 1891, in her eighty-seventh year. These excellent people are buried in a
private burial ground on the farm. Their children were: Lucinda C., born Nov.
19, 1824, married James Bratton Parks, and died Jan. 27, 1878, aged
fifty-three years, two months, eight days; Elizabeth J.; born Sept. 20, 1826,
married Simon Truby; John W., born May 7,1828, married Jane Bratton Parks, and
died at Greenville, Mercer Co., Pa., leaving a family; Alvina, born Dec. 20,
1829 , married Capt. Henry Truby, a brother of Simon Truby and died in
Leechburg; Daniel U., born Nov. 25, 1831, married Kasiah Cochran and (second)
Margaret Long, and died at Greensburg, being buried in the home cemetery on
the farm; Winchester is mentioned below; Finley, born March 20, 1836, married
Sarah Crosby, and died at the old homestead; Eliza A., born Feb. 2, 1838,
married William Crosby, and they live in Parks township; Caroline M., born
June 5, 1842 , married David Kuhns, and lives at Pittsburgh.Daniel Ulam, the maternal grandfather of Winchester Hill, was the father of
the following children: Elizabeth, born Oct. 17, 1792; Catherine, Sept. 28,
1794; Jacob, April 25, 1797; Martha, June 16, 1800; Hannah, Nov. 4, 1804 (Mr.
Hill’s mother); Daniel June 4, 1807; Peter, Dec. 31, 1809; John, Dec. 31,
1812; Joseph, in 1815.Winchester Hill was reared upon the old Hill farm, now his home, and
attended the public schools of his district. He gained a practical working
knowledge of farming with his father, and after the death of the latter took
the homestead, owing a tract of 197 acres of fine land, well improved, on
which he carries on general farming. There are two gas wells on the farm, and
gas in used for all practicable purposes in the home.On Dec. 29, 1859, Mr. Hill was married to Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of
James F. and Jane Maria (Parks) Fitzgerald. They have five children: William
F., married to Flora E. Kipple, is assistant cashier of the Citizens’ National
Bank at Vandergrift, but lives at the Hill homestead, which he aids in
cultivating (he has two children, Mabel E. and William Winchester); Mary A. is
the widow of Robert Parks, and resides at Leechburg; Hannah Caroline married
Harris B. Shaffer, who died in California, and she subsequently married
(second) L. A. Pierce (they reside at Long Beach, Cal.); Ella J. married Dr.
Janson Carson, lives in Indiana county, Pa., and has two children, Thomas and
Elizabeth H.; Agnes M., married William F. Hill, a resident of Huntingdon,
Pa., and they have two children, Wallace M. and Donald.Mr. and Mrs. Hill have traveled from coast to coast. In 1904 they made a
trip to Long Beach, Cal., on a visit to their daughter. Mr. Hill is a
Democrat, and for many years served as an overseer of the poor, proving a
conscientious and efficient official. the First Lutheran Church of Leechburg
holds his membership.Source: Pages 573-574, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed January 1999 by Connie Mateer for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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