Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: William Hickman Hill Diaries (Z/0217).
Creator/Collector: William Hickman Hill.
Date(s): 1861-1863; 1886.
Size: 0.30 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH Staff, n.d.; Laura Heller, 2026.
Provenance: Gift of Donor Name, on Month Day, Year.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research. Original diaries are fragile; Microfilm copy must be used. (MF Roll # 36003).

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: William Hickman Hill Diaries (Z/0217), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

William Hickman Hill Diaries

William Hickman Hill was born in September 1833, the son of Dr. Daniel Brown and Margaret Jane Stout Hill, in either Williamson or Davidson County, Tennessee. A few years later the Hill family moved to Springfield, Illinois, where Daniel operated a drug store and was elected for a one year term as mayor in 1842. However, before his term in office was over, he suffered financial difficulties, resigned, and moved to Columbus, Mississippi, where he went into business with his brother. In 1846, the Hills moved to the black prairies of then Chickasaw County. There Hill established the Palo Alto Post Office and the first store in the vicinity. The store and post office provided a nucleus for the town which grew up about it (Palo Alto was incorporated in 1852). Hill studied law and by the mid-1850s was practicing this profession in Aberdeen. However, by 1860, he had moved back to Palo Alto. Following his Civil War service as quartermaster clerk, 13th Mississippi Regiment, Evans' Brigade, he again returned home to practice law. Soon after, he married his first cousin on his mother's side, Catherine Stout.

Besides practicing law, Hill was also Palo Alto postmaster (1888–1898), maintained a meteorological station for the U. S. Department of Agriculture (1887–1903), and regularly wrote a community news column for the West Point newspaper. He died in the family home in Palo Alto in 1906 and was buried in the Palo Alto Cemetery.

 

Scope and Content Note:

Two diaries authored by William Hickman Hill, along with a note and newspaper clipping. 

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Diaries. 1861-1863.
Two diaries authored by William Hickman Hill.

Box 1, folder 1 (Diary, May 23, 1861 - April 26, 1862)
Box 1, folder 2 (Diary, April 27, 1862 - December 31, 1863)

 

Series 2: Note. n.d.
A note authored by William Hickman Hill.

Box 1, folder 3

 

Series 3: Newsclipping. August 10, 1886.
Newspaper clipping consisting of a printed letter by J.L. Power, dated August 10, 1886.  The letter primarily concerns a future Confederate Reunion and Civil War statistics.

Box 1, folder 4

 

Box List:

Box 1
Folder 1: Diary, May 23, 1861 - April 26, 1862. 
Folder 2: Diary, April 27, 1862 - December 31, 1863. 
Folder 3: Note by William Hickman Hill, n.d. 
Folder 4: News clipping, printed letter by J.L. Power, dated August 10, 1886.