Monday, September 30, 2013

Military Monday. Capt John Hillhouse, part 2

Continuing on my quest to explore new resources about Revolutionary War veterans, this week I've use several other resources suggested by Dr. Debbie Duay on her website as well as checking for books mentioning Capt. John.  Her section on Revolutionary Service resources contains a number of links organized by states.  Her South Carolina links led me to issues of the South Carolina History and Genealogy Magazine and a number of South Carolina History books.  Even though I did not find Capt. John mentioned in any of them, her list is one I will return to in the future when researching other ancestors and relatives.


The Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution was no longer available as an ebook through Google books, but I found it through Hathi Trust Digital Library and added the title to my list of genealogy resources.  Once again I was not able to locate Capt. John in this register.  Under the South Carolina listing, however, is a note stating that few South Carolina records were found, suggesting that most were lost during the skirmishes.(1)  

HathiTrust also had several other books with information about Capt. John, including copies of the Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina.  In the 1826 volume, I found information concerning a war pension for John Hillhouse.  In December of 1826 both the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate approved John Hillhouse being adding to the [war] pension list. (2)

Acts and Join Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, 1826.

Hillhouse Kinship by Billy K. Hillhouse is a self-published web book that also proved helpful in learning more about Capt. John.  In the chapter about Hillhouse family members who served in the Revolutionary War, mention is made of how John Hillhouse, during the Battle of Sumter's Defeat, "lost a rifle, saddle bags, coat, and other items". (3)  Another tidbit that helped history to come alive.

Previously I had found Capt. John listed in the 1800 census for Pendleton, Anderson County, South Carolina.  Another book accessed through HaitiTrust provided some additional information about his personal life.  Traditions and History of Anderson County by Louise Ayer Vandiver contained the histories of several old churches.  The section about an early church in Pendleton listed John Hillhouse among the original elders, and his brother, the Rev. Joseph Hillhouse, had been one of the church’s ministers. (4)

Another insight into Capt. John's life was finding his grave listed in findagravecom.  According to findagrave, Capt. John Hillhouse is buried at the Orr Mill Cemetery in Anderson, South Carolina. (5)  The memorial page lists his birth date as 15 May 1744 with an unknown death date.  There is not a photo of his grave marker.  

The Historical Marker database provided some interesting information about the Orr Mill Cemetery.  The cemetery is the final resting place for some Orr Mill employees and family members dating to the 1800s.  Numerous graves are here, marked and unmarked, including infants. (6)  This lead to another question about Capt. John.  The findagrave memorial page mentioned that he was a weaver.  Was his weaving area the start of the Orr Mill?  Also, how did he come to be buried at this particular cemetery?  What about burial at the church cemetery (assuming it had a cemetery) where he had been an elder and his brother the minister?

Orr Mill Cemetery, photo by Brian Scott
Once again, new answers lead to new questions, even for Capt. John Hillhouse.  It has proved to be an interesting week of research, especially taking the time to explore new online resources.

(1) Heitman, Francis Bernard.  Historical register of officers of the continental army during the war of the revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1783.  Washington Press of Nichols, Killam & Maffitt, 1893.

(2) Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, 1826.  Columbia,SC:  Digital images.  Haiti Trust Digital Librarywww.haititrust.org : 2013.

(3) Hillhouse, Billy K. Hillhouse Kinship.  http://www.cinetropic.com/hillhouse/kinship : 2013.

(4) Vandiver, Louise Ayer.  Traditions and History of Anderson County AtlantaGA: Ruralist Press, 1928.  Digital images.  Haiti Trust Digital Library. www.haititrust.org : 2013.

(5) Find a Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 27 Jul 2013), memorial page for Capt John Hillhouse(1744 - ?), Find a Grave memorial no.84332659, citing Orr Mill Cemetery, Anderson County, South Carolina.

(6) "Orr Mill Cemetery". The Historical Marker Database, database and images.  http://www.hmdb.org : 2013.

2 comments:

  1. Once again, a very interesting and informative post, Mary. Information and links that will be helpful in my own search for my husband's Shubert South Carolina lineage. Thank you!

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    1. I'm glad you found it useful. I frequently check out resources others have found to be helpful..

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