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Excerpt from History of Bradford County Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches by H.C. Bradsby, Chicago: S. B. Nelson & Co. Publishers, 1891 p. 875 |
Subj: Dolly Fox Hill and Eliza Higgins (Women's Page?)
Date: 11/9/99 7:37:33 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: MarJ on PC
To: JoyceTice
Excerpt from History of Bradford County Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches by H.C. Bradsby, Chicago: S. B. Nelson & Co. Publishers, 1891 p. 875
"MRS. DOLLY HILL, Windham township, P.O. North Orwell.
"This venerable Mother in Israel" has come to us from a former generation, a
typical heroine of the "kingdom of the dead yesterdays," and the story of her
strange, eventful life may well be reckoned in this age as a part of sacred
history. Her father was Thomas Fox, who died in 1827, and her mother survived
until 1854. John Hill was the father of Chester Hill; he came from Massachusetts
to Owego, and settled on the place called the "Deep Well district;" he was a
mechanic and put up the first frame house in Owego; he had preceded his family
to the wild western wilderness, and when he sent for them to join him, the brave
mother hired a man to transport herself and eight children to Otsego lake, where
she purchased canoes, lashed them together, loaded them, mostly with children,
and bravely floated down to Owego. The family remained at this place until 1812,
when they came to Orwell. Altogether there were eleven children in this
family. The descendants of John Hill number 160, and at a recent family reunion
were the twin sons, Chauncey and Chester, aged eighty-six, who were a part of
the "luggage" in that canoe voyage mentioned above, which was made in 1794. Of
these twins, Chester Hill married Dolly Fox, who was born in Glastonbury,
September 11, 1796, the daughter of Thomas and Chloe Fox, and came to Bradford
county, in 1798 with her father's family, and went to the public schools in
Orwell; in her father's family were six children, of whom she was the fifth. She
was married in 1814 to Chester Hill, then just returned from the War of 1812.
They settled in Orwell (where the husband died February 23, 1879, aged
eighty-seven, and to them were born children as follows: Eliza, wife of James
Higgins, with whom the mother resided at time of her decease; Cornelia, wife of
David Nichols,; George S., who married Mary Ann Pressure, and has four children
(he was a soldier in the Civil War, and died in the service); Chloe, wife of J.
O. Frost, of Towanda; Lavina, wife of Edwin Allis; Chauncey, of Orwell, who
married Sarah Tyrell, and after her death married Sarah Buttles; Almira, wife of
Ebenezer Snell, of Pike township; Susan A., wife of Harlow Buttles, of Orwell;
Orrin, who married Adele McQuary; and Emeline, wife of Nehemiah Neal, of
Nichols, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. James Higgins had born to them nine children as
follows: Albert C., born August 1, 1837; Franklin, born February 21, 1839;
Mervin, born July 11, 1841 (he enlisted in the fiftieth Regiment, Company G, was
wounded and taken prisoner, and died in Salisbury prison after being in prison
five months; he had served three years, and had been in twenty-nine hard fought
battles); Adeline E., born April 18,1844; Emeline S., born November 4, 1846,
wife of Eli Morris; Charles O., born September 6, 1849, died April 2, 1855;
Rhoda G., born June 11, 1854, wife of Aaron VanEtten; Olla A., born June 4,
1856, wife of George Towner; Hortense, born July 10, 1859."
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Newspaper clipping in private collection: undated, prob. about 1904)
"Windham Center, May 23 -- Saturday a very pleasant family gathering was
held at the home of Mrs. Eliza Higgins, there being present her seven children,
with their families, consisting of twenty-four grandchildren, thirteen great
grandchildren, besides other near relatives. Aunt Eliza Higgins is in her 89th
year and is totally blind. aside from this affliction she is in good health and
possesses a wonderful memory for one so far advanced in life. She assisted in
the preparation of a sumptuous dinner and the cake, which she made, was
pronounced the banner cake for the occasion. A few years since on a similar
occassion at her home there were present five generations upon the 94th birthday
of her mother, aunt Dolly Hill. It was the wish of all present that auntie
Higgins may live to have assembled at her home five generations.
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Notes by Marcia Simons Jankowsi:
Dolly Fox was the daughter of the Revolutionary soldier Joseph Fox who is
buried in Bradford County. Hortense Higgins married James E. Simons, the son of
James F. Simons and Catherine Kilmer; Catherine Kilmer was the daughter of
Joshua Kilmer and Margaret Dings. these were all Bradford county families.
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