William Hood Hill ~ Index
First counselor to Bishop James C. Hamilton, of Mill Creek Ward, Salt Lake County, Utah, is the son of Alexander Hill, Jr. and Agnes Hood and was born 22 February 1840, in Toronto, Canada. In 1841 he emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, with his parents, and later they moved to Quincy, Illinois, where they lived till April, 1849, when they left for the west. The Hill family crossed the plains with ox-teams and after arriving in the valley 3 October 1849, they located at Mill Creek, Salt Lake County. Here William was raised under circumstances that make him familiar with the privations and hardships of pioneer life.
In September, 1857, he was called to do service in the "Buchanan War," in preventing the Johnston Army from entering Great Salt Lake Valley. While still doing duty as a "Minute Man" in 1858, he married Mary Caroline Sorensen. He moved to Mendon, Cache County in 1860, where he took an active part in defending the settlers against the Indians, and passed through many exciting encounters with the "Red Men." In 1862 he returned to Mill Creek, where he located on a farm, on which he has resided ever since.
In 1866 he was again called to do military duty, in the "Blackhawk War," in Sanpete County. 14 February 1870, he took to wife Elizabeth Ann Hamilton, and in 1888 he was arrested on the charge of Unlawful Cohabitation, tried and found guilty and sentenced to seventy-five days imprisonment and to pay a fine of $150.00. Ever since his baptism by Bishop Joel H. Johnson and his confirmation as a member of the church by Alexander Hill, Jr. in April, 1850, Elder Hill has always filled positions in the church. In 1889 he left home for a mission to Great Britain, where he labored faithfully until he received an honorable release. He had served as a president in the 61st Quorum of Seventy, and as superintendent of the Mill Creek Sunday school for some time, when he, on 28 January 1900 was ordained a High Priest by Apostle Francis M. Lyman and set apart to act as first counselor to Bishop Jamess. C. Hamilton, of Mill Creek ward. He is still occupying that responsible position1
William H. Hill
William Hood Hill, son of Alexander Hill, Jr. and Agnes Hood, was born a twin, February 21, 1840, at Toronto, Canada. He lived in this neighborhood until September 1842, when his father's family departed for the United States. They arrived at Nauvoo, Illinois, on September 30th, 1842.
He was eight years of age when the religious persecutions against the Latter-day Saints at Nauvoo became so unbearable, so vicious and cruel, that his father was obliged to remove his family away from there. In the spring of 1846, after making a trip to Garden Grove, Iowa, his father returned to Nauvoo and moved the family to Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, where they remained for three years.
On May 14th, 1849, the family started westward for the Rocky Mountains. In the summer of 1849, a wagon train was made up at Council Bluffs, Iowa, under the command of Captain Allen Taylor. The Hill family was among this number. The novelty of adventure enthused this nine year old lad. With youthful bravado, he stayed with his two yoke of oxen and drove them with a heavy load every foot of the way across the dreary, trackless plains to the western Mecca of the Latter-day Saints, in the vastness of the Rocky Mountains.
He endured the hardships, sufferings, and perils of the road with the fortitude and courage which would have done honor to a man. After about four months travel, they arrived in Great Salt lake City, October 15th, 1849 and went to Mill Creek to live. The facilities for education there were primitive. The children went to school in winter and worked in the gardens and on the farms the remainder of the year.
A young lady by the name of Mary Caroline Sorensen, daughter of Nicolai and Malena Sorensen, who came from Denmark in 1857 came to work in their home. William taught her to speak English, while she taught him arithmetic. On January 1st, 1860, this couple was married. In the spring they left for Mendon, Utah, in Cache Valley, to help colonize in what was called the "Granary of Utah." December 12th, 1860, Alexander Joseph Hill, their first child was born. He was the first of two children born at Mendon. William and Mary returned to Mill Creek in the fall of 1862 and there settled at what is now known as 4198 South 5th East, down a lane one block west they built their home on a hill.
The following children were born to them:
Alexander Joseph Hill, born 12 December 1860, Mendon, Utah; Emeline Melina Hill, Born 17 August 1862, Mendon, Utah; William Nickolai Hill, Born 23 June 1864, Mill Creek; Moroni Nephi Hill, Born 26 February 1866, Mill Creek; Abraham Mormon Hill, Born 22 March 1868, Mill Creek; Edgar Eugene Hill, Born 17 February 1870, Mill Creek; John Hyrum Hill, Born 10 February 1872, Mill Creek; Mary Caroline Hill, Born 21 March 1874, Mill Creek; Isaac; Franklin; Hill, Born 30 October 1877, Mill Creek; Jacob Fredrick Hill, Born 28 May 1880, Mill Creek and Guy Henry Hill, Born 31 May 1882, Mill Creek.
On February 14th, 1870, William Hood Hill married Elizabeth Ann Hamilton, the daughter of James Lang Hamilton and Mary Campbell. He brought her home to live with Mary. They sharing their husband in the divine principle of plural marriage, as was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. When Elizabeth had five children, William was called on a mission to Great Britain. There was no thought of not accepting the call on the part of either of his wives. The home was quite crowded now, so Elizabeth moved to a home in Granger, while William was on his mission. When he returned, he built her a home at 4197 South 5th East, one block east of Mary's home. There she raised her family.
The following children were born to Elizabeth:
James Robert Hill, Born 19 February 1871, Mill Creek; Elizabeth Ann Hill, Born 7 May 1873, Mill Creek; David Reuben Hill, Born 14 February 1875, Mill Creek; Lewis Samuel Hill, Born 10 February 1877, Mill Creek; Mary Ellen Hill, Born 7 July 1879, Mill Creek; Leonora Jane Hill, Born 31 January 1882, Mill Creek and Agnes Hazel Hill, Born 16 November 1866, Mill Creek.
It has been said by many that the principle of plural marriage as practiced in this household was as near perfect as in any Latter-day Saint home, on this earthly sphere. William was a just man, one family was treated equally as well as the other. They never called one another half brother, but were all brothers and sisters together. The standards were the same in both homes. They learned to harmonize their lives beautifully to a religious conviction. William lived and taught the gospel all the days of his life, never questioning, never faltering, and never failing. His children were not all as strong as he, but his life was a wonderful example to all who followed him.
In later years, William Hood Hill became a prosperous farmer and a successful rancher. He and his sons owned an extensive sheep ranch in Wyoming, stocked with about 25,000 sheep, between 600 and 700 head of horses, and from four to five thousand head of cattle. He himself was the owner of an extensive farm and homestead with valuable improvements. He was a staunch Republican. For twenty years he was a school trustee in the Mill Creek District. In April of 1850 he was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mill Creek Ward, and until his death remained true to the faith.
He was the first counselor to Bishop James C. Hamilton of the Mill Creek Ward, and labored as a missionary for the Latter-day Saint Church for two years in England. For ten years, he was the president of the 61st Quorum of Seventy. In the winter and spring of 1858 he marched with the other Utah volunteers to Echo Canyon, Green River, and Ham's Fork to intercept the approaching army of the United States, under the command of Colonel Johnston, to exterminate the Mormons.
In 1862, he served as a minute man to protect the white inhabitants against the Indian depredations. In 1868 he fought against the Black Hawk Indians, who were among the most troublesome Indians in Utah at that time. Mr. Hill has taken a very active part in developing the territory and state of Utah, from a barren wilderness into its present and wonderful state of fertility.
William Hood Hill died November 13th, 1907 and was buried in the Mill Creek Cemetery, now called the Elysian Burial Gardens. A monument has been erected in his honor to last through the ages for his posterity to see.