JOHN F. HILL.
One of the oldest citizens in Audubon county, Iowa, the late John F. Hill, had been a resident of the great Hawkeye state almost continuously for nearly sixty years, with the exception of four years, which he gave to the service of his country during the dark and bloody days of the American Civil War. Not only did Mr. Hill himself have an honorable and valiant military record, but he is descended from militant stock, his grandfather, Frederick Hill, who came to this country from Germany, having served in the American Revolution and having fought valiantly for several years in the cause of freedom. An uncle of John F. Hill, John Hill, was a brave soldier in the War of 1812.
Before Mr. Hill had attained his majority, he enlisted in the regular army, November 2, 1851, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was sent to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to serve in the Third United States Infantry. From Santa Fe, he was detailed to the barracks at Newport, Kentucky, for the winter, and in the spring of the next year was sent to St. Louis, Missouri, from which the Third Infantry moved to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. From Ft. Leavenworth he drove through to Santa Fe. In the meantime, his parents, or rather his grandparents, having found out that he had enlisted, began proceedings to get his discharge, as he was not of age at the time of his enlistment. When he arrived in Santa Fe, his discharge was awaiting him and he then found it necessary to drive all the way from Santa Fe to Missouri, and from Missouri home.
John F. Hill was born on December 27, 1831, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and died on June 12, 1915. His parents, Henry and Frances (Burns) Hill, were also natives of Bedford county. Henry Hill was the son of Frederick Hill, of Revolutionary fame, who was born in Germany and who came to America shortly before the American Revolution. John F. Hill was the only child born to his parents and his father, who was a blacksmith by trade, died when John F. was only three years old. John F. then went to live with his grandfather, Frederick Hill, and was reared and educated by him, attending the old-fashioned log cabin school.
After the death of his grandfather, John F. Hill took up farming and in 1857 came to Iowa, driving through from Pennsylvania to Cedar county. There he remained until 1860 when he moved to Johnson county. On November 2, 1861, Mr. Hill enlisted in Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which was a part of the Sixteenth Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee. Mr. Hill's first battle was that of Ft. Donaldson, Tennessee, which was an exciting event in his career. He next fought at Shiloh, then at Corinth, Mississippi, and finally at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. After taking Ft. Derusa, Louisiana, the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry was engaged in a battle at Yellow Bayou, Louisiana, and again at Tupelo, Mississippi. From this place the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry was sent to Missouri, where the regiment served until November 8, 1864, when it was mustered out. Mr. Hill was never wounded nor taken prisoner throughout the war
and was sick only about two weeks during the entire period of the war.
After being mustered out of the Union army, he returned to Johnson county, Iowa, where he lived for twelve years, and in April, 1872, came to Audubon county, Iowa, where he rented land in Greeley township for six years. Mr. Hill then purchased the farm in section 6, of Audubon county, where he lived until the fall of 1914. He then retired and moved to Exira, Iowa, where he lived until the time of his death.
On March 1, 1855, John F. Hill was married, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth May, who was born on March 31, 1834, in Bedford county, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Kellerman) May, both of whom were of German descent.
To Mr. and Mrs. John F. Hill were born five children, Hester, Jacob H., Jennie, Ella and Bert. Hester married Samuel McCord and has seven children: Charles, who first married Hattie Hicke and had one child, Russell, and after her death married Maggie Teffler and has three children, Cecil, Gerald and another; Grace, who married James Hendricksen and has three children, Bertha, Mabel and Everett; Clarence, who married Martha Teffler and has one child; Mabel, who married Walter Wood, and has one child, Clifford; Floyd, who married Lena Marsh and has three children; Verna, who married William Fawler and has three children; and Harley, who is unmarried. Jacob H. married Evelyn Young and has one child, Flossie, who married Oscar Nimblim and has three children, Glenn, Agnes and Carl. Jennie married William Zike and had three children, Verna, now deceased, who married Earl Prime and had two children, Wayne and Pearl; Oliver and Golden, who are both single. Ella married Newton Brown and has two children, Goldie, who married Glenn Cassidy and has two children, Lester and Ralph; and Edna, who is unmarried. Bert is unmarried and still lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hill had thirteen grandchildren and twenty-two great-grandchildren.
John F. Hill was a member of Morton Post No. 34, Grand Army of the Republic, and was one of the charter members of the post. He was commander of the post at one time. Mrs. Hill is a member of the Christian church. Although John F. Hill was an ardent Republican and a great admirer of the career and works of Abraham Lincoln, he was never especially active in politics and never held office.
John F. Hill was a worthy citizen of this great state. A patriot at heart, he had the satisfaction of knowing that no man living in Audubon county had given more of his life energy to the cause of his country than he. No man served more valiantly in the Civil War, and no man living in Audubon county excelled John F. Hill as a citizen and neighbor.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 855-857.
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