Henry Hill Papers
Scope and Content
The Hill Papers primarily consist of family correspondence to and from Henry Hill. Other correspondents include his wife, Lucy M.R. Hill, several of their ten children and various family relations. In addition, the collection contains materials pertaining to the business activities of the Hill and Russel families, particularly in regard to the acquisition of property. Several members of the Hill and Russel families were interested in genealogy. [Genealogical report is not available electronically because of software incompatability, please contact Archives & Special Collections if you would like a copy.]
Note: Samuel Russel, Henry Hill's father-in- law, spells his name with one "l". Others, and in later generations members of the family, spell it "Russell". Materials in the "Unknown" correspondence files consist of letter fragments, poems, two items in German and a letter in Spanish for which authorship could not be determined.
Dates
- Creation: 1805-1962
Access
The collection is open and available for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.
Biography
Henry Hill was born in Guilford, Connecticut, on 4 July 1778. In 1808 he was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as U.S. Consul to the port of San Salvador (Bahia), Brazil. He served until 1819, when he resigned because of failing health and moved to a large plantation, Columbiano, some distance from Bahia. He and his family lived there for fourteen years before returning to the United States in 1833. Hill resided in Buffalo, New York, until his death on 24 July 1841.
According to the "Brief Historical Sketch of the American Consulate in Bahia" [Correspondence: Hill, Henry], Henry Hill remained as Consul at Bahia until 11 July 1818, when he was named Consul at Rio de Janeiro, confirmed by the Senate on 30 November 1818. He continued to be active in business at Rio de Janeiro, as he had previously been at Bahia, until May 1821, at which time he left for the United States.
Extent
2.75 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Hill Papers primarily consist of family correspondence to and from Henry Hill. Other correspondents include his wife, Lucy M.R. Hill, several of their ten children and various family relations. In addition, the collection contains materials pertaining to the business activities of the Hill and Russel families, particularly in regard to the acquisition of property.
Organization
Series I: Publications (undated, 1835-1962) includes genealogical excerpts from several family members, a published collection of articles written by Leander Stratton, Obituaries and a plan for a bank, presumably drafted by Henry Hill.
Series II: Correspondence (undated, 1805-1962) contains correspondence to and from various members of the Hill and Russel extended families. The materials are arranged by correspondent.
Series III: Other Documents (undated, 1812-1868) includes published and manuscript government, Financial, and Legal documents relating to the interests of Henry Hill and Samuel Russel.
Series IV: Special Format Materials (undated) contains needlework created by members of the Hill family, photographs, pieces of jewelry and a scabbard and Henry Hill's sword.
Arrangement
The materials have been filed by subject. Newspaper clippings have been photocopied. Several family members have made transcriptions of letters over the years. If the original is not in the collection, the transcription has been retained and filed as if it were the original. All duplicates and newspaper clippings have been returned to the donor.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated to Archives & Special Collections in November 2000 by Hill Bullard.
- Title
- Henry Hill Papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Archives & Special Collections staff
- Date
- 2003 April
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library Repository
University of Connecticut Library
405 Babbidge Road Unit 1205
Storrs Connecticut 06269-1205 USA US
860-486-2524
archives@uconn.edu
