The Hill Family Letters
Collection Summary
Title: The Hill Family Letters
Dates (Inclusive): 1825-1852
Creator(s): Hill, Ebenezer (1791-1875); Hill, Reverend Joseph Bancroft (1796-1864)
Language: English
Abstract: The collection contains handwritten letters regarding the publication and distribution of Hill’s Tennessee Almanac (later called Hill’s Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas Almanac, and State Register), and life in the antebellum period in the United States.  The letters also include writings about cholera in Nashville in 1849, local and regional politics, religion, slavery, and a Fayetteville tornado in 1851.
Collection Number: M-329
Size: 0.5 linear feet
Location: Special Collections 
St. Louis Mercantile Library at UM – St. Louis 
Thomas Jefferson Library Building 
One University Boulevard 
St. Louis, Missouri 63121
Biographical Note:  Ebenezer Hill (1791-1875) was a printer in Amherst and Nashua, New Hampshire, as well as Troy, New York, from 1807-1819.  In 1819, Ebenezer moved to Huntsville, Alabama, and subsequently to Fayetteville, Tennessee.  He printed the town’s first newspaper, The Village Messenger, with the first edition being printed on March 11, 1823.  Ebenezer was also the printer of Hill’s Almanac, which brother Joseph edited.  In 1862 Union soldiers destroyed Ebenezer’s printing materials, effectively ending his publication career.
Joseph Bancroft Hill (1796-1864), twin of John Boynton Hill, was a lawyer and pastor of the Congregational Church, in Mason, New Hampshire.  Joseph also edited the Hill’s Almanac, and during the Civil War was an agent of the United States Christian Commission.  
Scope and Content Note:  The collection contains 37 letters, 4 partial letters, and one partial transcript of a letter.  Ebenezer Hill is the author of most of the letters.  Most of the letters are addressed to an iteration of Reverend Joseph B. Hill (Rev. Jos. B. Hill, Rev. Joseph B. Hill, and Joseph B. Hill).  Other authors are Lydia S. Foord, Edward S. Hill, Jas. S. Whitman, Shields Whiteman and Co., Reverend Joseph B. Hill, Isaac Southworth, P.M. Cowan, B.W. Mirriam, A.G. Gibson, and Emily A. Hill.  The letters are arranged chronologically. 
Restrictions: 

Access Restrictions:  Some of the material in Special Collection M- may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, subject to condition.
Copyright Information: The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Citation:  When citing material from this collection, the preferred citation is: From the Special Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri − St. Louis.

Subject Headings:

Almanacs
Almanac publishing
United States – History – 1815-1861

Contents List:
	Date	To	From	Description	Folder #
	4/7/1825	Joseph B. Hill	Lydia S. Foord	1
	6/13/1825	Joseph B. Hill	Edward S. Hill	2
	7/6/1825	Joseph B. Hill	Lydia S. Foord	3
	10/19/1825	Joseph B. Hill	Lydia S. Foord	4
	2/13/1826	Joseph B. Hill	Lydia S. Foord	5
	9/3/1830	Joseph B. Hill	Edward S. Hill	6
	7/18/1834	E and J.B. Hill	Jas. S. Whitman	7
	11/28/1834	E and J.B. Hill	Shields Whiteman 	8
	and Co.
	4/28/1838	John B. Hill	Joseph B. Hill	9
	12/1/1838	John B. Hill	Jos. B. Hill	10
	6/11/1839	Rev. Jos. B. Hill	E. Hill	11
	7/16/1839	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Isaac Southworth	12
	7/16/1839	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	13
	9/4/1839	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	14
	10/7/1839	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	P.M. Cowan	15
	1/26/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	16
	2/13/1840	Rev J.B. Hill	B.W. Mirriam	17
	3/1/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	18
	3/9/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	19
	9/24/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Isaac Southworth	20
	9/25/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	21
	11/9/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	22
	11/25/1840	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	P.M. Cowan	23
	3/14/1841	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	24
	2/20/1842	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	25
	8/4/1842	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	26
	4/21/1843	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Isaac Southworth	27
	12/27/1844	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	28
	2/9/1845	Joseph B. Hill	A.G. Gibson	29
	5/9/1848	Uncle and Aunt	Emily A. Hill	30
	7/22/1850	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	31
	8/15/1850	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	32
	2/28/1851	J.B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	33

	Date	To	From	Description	Folder #
	11/8/1851	J.B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	34
	2/18/1852	J.B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	35
	3/27/1852	J.B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	36
	10/27/1852	J.B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	37
	Ebenezer Hill	Incomplete Letter From 38
	Ebenezer Hill, dated 
	May 13
	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Isaac Southworth	Postmarked Sept 1, 	39
	docketed 1847
	Rev. Joseph B. Hill	Isaac Southworth	Postmarked August 9 	40
	(1849)
	Partial Letter, dated 	41
	December 12
	8/25/1840	Joseph B. Hill	Ebenezer Hill	Partial Transcription 	42
	of Letter