Abel Shepard Hill

Obituary of Abel Shepherd HILL

13 April, 1882, The Brazil Register (Vol. 1; #51)

Our community was surprised Sunday afternoon by the sudden and somewhat unexpected death of Abel S.HILL, which took place at his residence. Mr. HILL had been confined to his room since the first of November, but he had rallied at times, and his condition, which has frequently such as to excite alarm, had materially improved during the last two or three weeks and those most intimately acquainted were sanguine of his recovery. His sons, Hon. R. S. HILL, State Treasurer, and Mr. Nat U. HILL of Bloomington, who had been constant in attendance by his bedside for some weeks, returned to their homes Saturday, little thinking they were so soon to be followed by the sad dispatch announcing his death.

Mr. HILL’s obsequies were conducted at the family residence yesterday at 2:00 p.m. by the Masonic fraternity of which he was an honored member. Rev. J. E. BRANT of the M. E. Church, Martinsville, Indiana, had charge of the religious exercises. They were attended by a large concourse of friends and relatives who followed his remains to their final resting place, the HILL addition to the Brazil Cemetery.

Abel Shepherd HILL, son of Samuel and Ester Shepherd HILL, was born in Brookfield, Madison County, New York, November 8, 1808. Emigrating at an early day from Vermont, they settled in Madison County when it was a wilderness. By strict economy and excessive toil they hewed out for themselves a home and reared to maturity a family of 11 children, but one of whom, Elijah HILL of Clymer, New York, is now living, at the advance age of 84 years.

April 21, 1833, he was married to Miss Almira W. USHER, eldest daughter of Dr. Nathaniel USHER and sister to Hon. John P. USHER, Secretary of the Interior under Abraham LINCOLN. He engaged in farming and growing of sheep till 1841, when in company with the USHER family, he removed to Indiana locating at Terre Haute, then to what was then well known as Van Buren, now as the STOUGH Homestead, just west of Brazil, making it a popular Inn for several years. He afterwards located just west of the water works, giving his attention strictly to improving his farm. He purchased the Allen HALL property which adjoined the KIRTLEY property on the east and extended to Walnut Street. Here he engaged in milling and merchandising, becoming proprietor of the Brazil Hotel in 1865. In 1872 he built his elegant residence on North Meridian Street, where he lived in retirement till death. He was a public-spirited citizen, giving time and money to laudable public enterprises. He was a projector of the Trotting Park Association and a member of the City Council at which time he was a strong advocate of the present system of water works, an enterprise then unpopular with many….”

(To read the rest of this extensive obituary visit the Genealogy Library & look in the Family Files under “Hill”.)

Clay County Indiana