This is a shortened version
of the Hill Family History beginning with Thomas Hill.
Thomas Hill was born in 1836 near or in the town of Brechin Scotland. The
town is dominated by a cathedral which has been there for at least 1000
years. Tom was the son of Thomas & Martha Hill nee Anderson and in the 1841
census he was living with his maternal grandmother Isobel Anderson in
Brechin. Tom had two siblings living at the same address viz Martha aged 6
and Peter aged 2. It is unknown what calamity had overtaken Tom's parents.
Tom married Mary RUSSELL in
the district of Brechin in the County of Forfar on 14 November 1856 at
Gallowhill Brechin. Tom worked as a Handloom Linen Weaver and Mary as a
bleach field worker in the textile industry.
In 1866 following an
advertisement by the South Australian Government offering free passage to
Australia for farm workers, Tom and Mary sailed aboard the British Lion from
Plymouth arriving in Adelaide in July 1866. It is believed that the family
was involved in farming activities with Mary's brother David and his wife
Elizabeth who sailed out from Scotland with them. Both families departed
Adelaide in 1869 and sailed to Port Albert in Victoria, traveling overland
to Toongabbie where Mary's two brothers lived.
Mary and Tom had four sons:
James, Peter, Tom & William.
James Russell HILL
(1852-1930) joined the family in Toongabbie in 1872. He married Helen WICKES
and they had 9 children.
Peter Anderson HILL (1857-1925) migrated with his parents. He had a dairy
farm in Glengarry, married Sarah CARTER and they had 10 children.
Thomas MacKenzie HILL (1869-1939) was born in Toongabbie and became a
Victorian Police Officer. He married Christina CARTER and they had 4
children.
William Anderson (1873-1938) was born in Toongabbie and married Margaret
GIBBS and they had one child named Isobel. He took over the family farm in
Toongabbie.
I am in the process of contacting as many descendents of Tom & Mary and
writing a book detailing our family history. My Grandfather was Thomas
MacKenzie HILL.
If anyone who reads this and would like further details or who can add to
this history then they should not hesitate to contact me at
tomjan@rabbit.com.au |