John H. Hill
John Henry Hill | |
---|---|
2nd President of West Virginia State University[a] | |
In office 1894–1898 | |
Preceded by | James Edwin Campbell |
Succeeded by | James McHenry Jones |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Town, Virginia, United States[b] | 4 April 1852
Died | 13 October 1936 Institute, West Virginia, United States | (aged 84)
Spouse | Etta Lovett Hill |
Profession | lawyer, educator, school administrator, and soldier |
John Henry Hill (4 July 1852 – 13 October 1936) was an American lawyer, educator, school administrator, and soldier. Hill was the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute (present-day West Virginia State University) from 1894 until 1898, and is considered by West Virginia State as its second president.[a]
Early life and education
John Henry Hill was born on 4 July 1852 in Charles Town, Virginia (present-day West Virginia).[3][b] Hill was born into slavery, under the ownership of the William Alexander family.[3] William Alexander was later named as Hill's natural father.[3] At the age of ten, Hill ran away from home, was captured by Union soldiers, and taken in by Captain Samuel Whitmore.[3] Whitmore sent Hill to school in New York.[3] Hill relocated to Maine, where he studied Latin, attended Litchfield Academy, and taught school to pay for his expenses.[3] From 1877 to 1879, Hill worked at the law office of Talliman and Larrabee while he studied law.[3] In 1881, Hill was the first African American to be admitted to the bar of the Jefferson County Circuit Court.[4] He was admitted to the bar in Virginia in 1882.[3]
Early career in education
Hill commenced his career in education as a schoolteacher in Shepherdstown.[5] African-American historian Carter G. Woodson wrote that Hill was the "most prominent teacher that Shepherdstown had" and that he was remembered in the community for the efficiency of his work.[5] By September 1889, Hill served as the principal of Shepherdstown's African-American public school, with 63 students.[6] He was reappointed to this position by the school's board of trustees in 1891.[7] Hill sought to add grade levels to Shepherdstown's African-American school, and he worked to standardize instruction there.[5] He served as the school's principal until 1893,[8][9] when he was succeeded in his position as principal in Shepherdstown by Alexander Freeman.[5]
While in Shepherdstown, Hill was a proponent of the temperance movement, and in May 1890, he delivered an address to a temperance meeting at Shepherdstown's African Methodist Episcopal Church.[10]
West Virginia Colored Institute
In 1893, Hill was appointed assistant principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute in Farm, West Virginia (present-day Institute).[8][9] Hill's appointment to the institute was championed by A. S. Dandridge, Jefferson County's representative to the West Virginia Legislature.[8][9] The institute had been founded in 1891 under the Morrill Act of 1890, to provide West Virginia's African Americans with education in agricultural and mechanical studies.[11][12] Following the resignation of the institute's principal James Edwin Campbell in 1894, Hill was appointed by the president of the Board of Regents to fill Campbell's unexpired term.[1][13][14] In June 1894, at the regular meeting of the board, Hill was elected and duly installed as the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute.[1][13][14][a] Hill presided over the institute's first commencement.[1] By May 1898, the faculty under Hill consisted of C. E. Jones teaching natural science and history, Byrd Prillerman teaching English and mental science, James M. Canty teaching mechanics and mechanical drawing, Hill's wife Etta Hill teaching music, drawing, and Latin, and Flayvilla D. Brown teaching sewing.[15] In addition to his duties as principal, Hill also taught mathematics.[15]
Hill resigned his position as principal in 1898 to fight in the Spanish–American War,[1][13][16] and he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the United States Volunteers in July 1898.[13][14][16][17] In addition to Hill, six of the institute's students enlisted, four of whom were made non-commissioned officers.[16] Hill was honorably discharged that same year in 1898.[13] Following his resignation, the Board of Regents placed James M. Canty of the Mechanical Department in charge of the school until the board's election of James McHenry Jones in September 1898.[14][17] Hill returned to the institute when he was appointed as Commandant of Cadets and professor of mathematics in June 1899.[1][13] As commandant, Hill led the institute's cadets in West Virginia military parades.[18][19]
In February 1900, Hill announced his candidacy for a Kanawha County seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates.[20] Hill was the only African-American candidate for a legislative seat in West Virginia's primary elections.[21] He narrowly lost to Shelton Johnson in the Republican primary in May 1900.[21]
Hill resigned from his positions at the West Virginia Colored Institute in 1903, and he spent the following year traveling across the Western United States and Mexico.[13] He then resided in Maine and Oklahoma before returning to West Virginia.[13] Hill visited institute (then known as West Virginia Collegiate Institute) in November 1922, and delivered a presentation on "Mexico and Its People," based upon his personal knowledge from his travels in Mexico.[22] By 1923, Hill was connected with the Workmen's Department of Compensation in nearby Charleston.[13] While Hill no longer worked directly for the institute, he continued his affiliation with the school as an occasional lecturer at student assemblies and informal advisor to students.[13]
West Virginia Teachers' Association
Hill was a member of the West Virginia Teachers' Association. He participated in the association's third annual meeting in Parkersburg in 1893,[23] and at the association's fourth annual meeting in Montgomery in 1894, Hill was appointed to a committee to urge the West Virginia Legislature to make an appropriation to the West Virginia Colored Institute's teaching fund.[24]
Personal life
In January 1889, Hill married Etta Lovett in Harpers Ferry.[25]
Death
Hill died on 13 October 1936 in Institute.[26] He was interred at Institute Cemetery.[27]
Legacy
West Virginia State University's Hill Hall is named for Hill.[1][28] Hill Hall was a dormitory for upper class women, and was built between 1936 and 1937 and renovated in 1979.[28] Hill Hall formerly housed West Virginia State's Counseling and Tutoring Center, Upward Bound, and Special Services.[28] Hill Hall currently houses the university's Business Administration, Economics, English, History, Modern Foreign Language, Political Science, and Sociology Departments.[28]
References
Explanatory notes
- ^ a b c West Virginia State University was founded as the West Virginia Colored Institute in 1891, and was later known as West Virginia Collegiate Institute (1915), West Virginia State College (1929), and finally West Virginia State University (2004). Hill was titled as a principal during his tenure; however, West Virginia State University considers him the university's second president.[1]
- ^ a b At the time of Hill's birth in 1852, Charles Town and Jefferson County were a part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and they later became a part of West Virginia in 1863.[2]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g "Office of the President: Past Presidents". West Virginia State University. 2020. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "About Jefferson County". County of Jefferson, West Virginia. 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Moorland–Spingarn Research Center Staff 2015, p. 3.
- ^ "Local Intelligence" (PDF). Spirit of Jefferson. Charles Town, West Virginia. 6 September 1881. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ a b c d Woodson 1922, p. 36.
- ^ "Briefs" (PDF). The Shepherdstown Register. Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 20 September 1889. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ "Our Schools" (PDF). The Shepherdstown Register. Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 28 August 1891. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ a b c "Old Family Journal" (PDF). The Virginia Free Press. Charles Town, West Virginia. 1 November 1893. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ a b c "A Deserved Appointment" (PDF). The Shepherdstown Register. Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 26 October 1893. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ "Temperance Meetings" (PDF). The Shepherdstown Register. Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 7 March 1890. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 22 June 2020 suggested (help) - ^ "Our History Runs Deep". West Virginia State University. 2020. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ Jones 1904, p. 285.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j West Virginia Collegiate Institute 1923, p. 25 of the PDF.
- ^ a b c d West Virginia Collegiate Institute 1924, p. 34 of the PDF.
- ^ a b "Faculty" (PDF). The Institute News. Farm, West Virginia. 3 May 1898. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Drain-Jordan Library, West Virginia State University.
- ^ a b c "West Virginia State University ROTC Battalion: History". Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b Canty 1905, p. 315.
- ^ "For the Parade" (PDF). The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, West Virginia. 21 February 1900. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ "Colored Institute Cadets" (PDF). The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, West Virginia. 22 February 1900. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ "State Press Gleanings" (PDF). The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, West Virginia. 15 February 1900. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ a b "Hottest on Record" (PDF). The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, West Virginia. 21 May 1900. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ West Virginia Collegiate Institute 1922, p. 17.
- ^ Woodson 1922, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Woodson 1922, p. 61.
- ^ "Marriage Record Detail: Etta Lovett and John H. Hill". West Virginia Archives and History, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. 2019. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Death Record Detail: John H. Hill". West Virginia Archives and History, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. 2019. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "John Henry Hill". Find a Grave. 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Hill Hall - Campus Buildings and Artifacts, WVSU Archives & Special Collections". West Virginia State University. 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
Bibliography
- Canty, James M. (1905). "The Story of a Supervisor of Mechanical Industries". Tuskegee and Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements. New York: D. Appleton & Company: 299–316. OCLC 776626949. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Internet Archive.
- Jones, James McHenry (1904). "The West Virginia Colored Institute". History of Education in West Virginia. Charleston, West Virginia: The Tribune Printing Company: 285–290. LCCN 05015334. OCLC 578625700. Retrieved 24 May 2020 – via Internet Archive.
- Moorland–Spingarn Research Center Staff (1 October 2015). Hill, John H. Washington, D.C.: Howard University. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- West Virginia Collegiate Institute (December 1922). "Campus News and Notes" (PDF). The Institute Monthly. XV (2): 14–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- West Virginia Collegiate Institute (1923). El Ojo (PDF). Institute, West Virginia: Alpha Zeta Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, West Virginia Collegiate Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020 – via Drain-Jordan Library, West Virginia State University.
- West Virginia Collegiate Institute (1924). El Ojo (PDF). Institute, West Virginia: Alpha Zeta Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, West Virginia Collegiate Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Drain-Jordan Library, West Virginia State University.
- Woodson, Carter G. (January 1922). "Early Negro Education in West Virginia" (PDF). The Journal of Negro History. 7 (1). Washington, D.C.: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History: 23–63. doi:10.2307/2713579. JSTOR 2713579. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020 – via Internet Archive.
External links
- 1852 births
- 1936 deaths
- 19th-century American educators
- Academics from West Virginia
- African-American academics
- African-American lawyers
- African-American military personnel
- African-American schoolteachers
- African-American university presidents
- American freedmen
- American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
- American school principals
- Educators from West Virginia
- People from Charles Town, West Virginia
- People from Institute, West Virginia
- People from Shepherdstown, West Virginia
- Presidents of West Virginia State University
- Schoolteachers from West Virginia
- United States Army officers
- Virginia lawyers
- West Virginia lawyers
- West Virginia Republicans
- West Virginia State University faculty