John H. Hill
John Henry Hill was an American lawyer, educator, school administrator, and military officer. Hill was the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute from 1894 until 1898, and is considered by West Virginia State as its second president.
Hill was born into slavery in 1852 in Charles Town, Virginia. He ran away toward the end of the American Civil War, and was taken to Maine by Major J. H. Whitmore of the 15th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Major Whitmore's father Samuel Whitmore provided Hill with an education, and he later attended Bowdoin College. In 1879, he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Sagadahoc County, Maine, thus becoming Maine's second African-American lawyer, before relocating to his native Jefferson County, West Virginia. In 1881, Hill was the first African American to be admitted to the bar of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, and he became the first African-American lawyer in West Virginia. Hill then served for six years in the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, during which time he participated in the campaign against Geronimo in the Apache Wars. Hill was also an assistant instructor at Storer College, and later served as a schoolteacher in Shepherdstown and as the principal of Shepherdstown's African-American public school, Shadyside School, from 1889 until 1893.
In 1893, Hill was appointed assistant principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute in Farm, West Virginia. 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. In June 1894, Hill was elected and duly installed as the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute. In addition to his duties as principal, Hill also taught mathematics at the school. Hill resigned his position as principal in 1898 to fight in the Spanish–American War, and he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the United States Volunteers in July 1898. Hill returned to the institute when he was appointed as Commandant of Cadets and professor of mathematics in June 1899. He 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.
In his later life, Hill published Princess Malah in 1933, which was a historical novel about a slave on the plantation of Samuel Washington, George Washington's brother. In 1935, West Virginia's State Board of Education named Hill president emeritus of West Virginia State College. He became a founding member of the West Virginia sustaining membership committee of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1936, and died in October of that year in Institute. Following his death, West Virginia State University's Hill Hall was named in his honor.
Early life, education, and law career
John Henry Hill was born on July 4, 1852 in Charles Town, Virginia. Hill was born into slavery, under the ownership of the William Alexander family. William Alexander was later named as Hill's natural father. Hill was also descended from slaves that served in George Washington's household. Toward the end of the American Civil War, Hill ran away from his home and was captured by Union soldiers. At the age of 13, Hill was taken to Maine by Major J. H. Whitmore of the 15th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was then taken in by Major Whitmore's father, Samuel Whitmore, who provided him with a fundamental education. While in Maine, Hill also studied Latin and attended Litchfield Academy in Litchfield. Hill later attended and studied at Bowdoin College; however, he did not finish his coursework.Hill taught school to pay for his expenses, and from 1877 to 1879, he worked at the law office of Tallman and Larrabee while he studied law. On April 11, 1879, Judge Charles J. Faulkner Jr. qualified Hill to practice law at the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Sagadahoc County, Maine, becoming Maine's second African-American lawyer after Macon Bolling Allen. Hill returned to his native Jefferson County, West Virginia to serve the African-American community there. In 1881, Hill became the first African American to be admitted to the bar of the Jefferson County Circuit Court. He became West Virginia's first African-American lawyer. While in Jefferson County, Hill also served as an assistant instructor on the board of teachers for Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in 1881.
Early military service
Hill practiced law in Jefferson County until 1882, when he enlisted in the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. He was formally enlisted at Cincinnati, Ohio on October 23, 1882. Hill served in the 10th Cavalry Regiment for six years, during which time he participated in the campaign against Geronimo in the Apache Wars. He was honorably discharged with the military rank of regimental quartermaster sergeant.Early career in education
Following his discharge from military service, Hill returned to Charles Town, and he became a schoolteacher in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 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. Hill served as the principal of Shepherdstown's African-American public school, which was known as Shadyside School. Shadyside School was Shepherdstown's second school for African Americans, replacing the town's Old School in 1883, and it was the town's first public school for African Americans. As principal, Hill commenced the 1889 school year with 63 students, and the 1890 school year with a record 65 students. He was reappointed to this position by the school's board of trustees in 1891. Hill sought to add grade levels to Shadyside School, and he worked to standardize instruction there. He served as the school's principal until 1893, when he was succeeded in his position as principal in Shepherdstown by Alexander Freeman. 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.West Virginia Colored Institute
In 1893, Hill was appointed as the English professor and assistant principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute in Farm, West Virginia. Hill's appointment to the institute was championed by A. S. Dandridge, Jefferson County's representative to the West Virginia Legislature. 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.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. 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. Hill presided over the institute's first commencement. 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. In addition to his duties as principal, Hill also taught mathematics. Throughout his tenure as principal at the institute, Hill and his wife resided in Fleming Hall.
As the institute's principal, Hill was a member of the West Virginia Teachers' Association. He participated in the association's third annual meeting in Parkersburg in 1893, 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. He attended the association's fifth meeting in Hinton in 1895 and the sixth meeting in Charleston in 1896, where he provided the welcoming remarks.
Hill resigned his position as principal in 1898 to fight in the Spanish–American War, and he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 8th United States Infantry Volunteer Immunes of the United States Volunteers on July 19, 1898. He was also appointed as the regimental commissary officer. In addition to Hill, six of the institute's students enlisted, four of whom were made non-commissioned officers. Hill was honorably discharged the next year on March 6, 1899. 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. Hill returned to the institute when he was appointed as Commandant of Cadets and professor of mathematics in June 1899. As commandant, Hill led the institute's cadets in West Virginia military parades.
In February 1900, Hill announced his candidacy for a Kanawha County seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Hill was the only African-American candidate for a legislative seat in West Virginia's primary elections. He narrowly lost to Shelton Johnson in the Republican primary in May 1900.
Later life and death
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. He then resided in Oklahoma before returning to West Virginia in 1913. During World War I, Hill served as a welfare worker in the coalfields of Southern West Virginia. Following the war, Hill worked as an assistant in the West Virginia Workmen's Department of Compensation in nearby Charleston, and he remained in this position until 1929. Hill's resignation from this position was caused by his declining health.Hill visited the institute in November 1922, and delivered a presentation on "Mexico and Its People," based upon his personal knowledge from his travels in Mexico. 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.
In 1933, Hill published Princess Malah, a historical novel about a slave on the plantation of Samuel Washington, George Washington's brother. Hill wrote Princess Malah "to depict the relationships existing between the master and slave in the period of our history just prior to the Revolutionary War." As a descendant of slaves in George Washington's household, Hill grew up listening to stories about the private lives of the Washington family. In Hill's novel, Princess Malah is the daughter of Lawrence Washington and the rightful heiress to Mount Vernon.
In 1935, West Virginia's State Board of Education honored Hill's service to West Virginia State College by naming him the college's president emeritus. In April 1936, Hill was a founding member of the West Virginia sustaining membership committee of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In May 1936, as president emeritus, Hill participated in West Virginia State's Founder's Day exercises on the 44th anniversary of the college's opening.
Hill died of sepsis on October 13, 1936 at his home in Institute. His funeral services were held at West Virginia State, and he was interred at Institute Cemetery.