Historical Documents

Edward Hill Naturalization

We know very little about Edward Hill. What we do know has come from census documents or limited legal documents. We are told that he is buried near his wife, Margaret, but there is no record of this or even a marker that might have recorded his life. Mary Rita also mentioned that to me years ago, or as she said, "in those days, people were buried on the back forty." She said that her grandmother, Margaret, would walk around the cemetery perimeter praying, but she didn't remember her entering the cemetery itself. So perhaps there is some truth to her comment.

Below is Edward Hill's naturalization papers, and surprisingly, it does provide us some clues that we had not known before. We did know that they lived in Concord, New Hampshire where he worked on the railroad. The 1850 census showed he lived in a railroad shanty town north of Concord. By 1855, his growing family was living in Allamakee County, Iowa, and farming. We have known who Margaret (Bridget) McDonnell Hill's origins in Tipperary. The records for Edward Hill are sparse, other than where they farmed, and later evicted, before coming to America.

Click to Enlarge In 1852, our great great grandfather, Edward Hill, was granted citizenship. The citizenship process took place in Concord, New Hampshire. His place of residence

Click to Enlarge The second page of the citizenship document tells us a few things: On October 13, 1852, he swore alliegence to the United States. In addition, this document tells us he had been in the country since 1847, and that he did not possess any titles of nobility. We don't know, however, if the family came to the new world through Canada or Boston. That will take some additional research.

Click to Enlarge

The document contains two other names: Austin Pike and Stephen Kenrick. Both were attorneys, who were also heavily involved in New Hampshire politics. This photo shows Austin Pike sitting in his favorite chair.   The document on your left tells us something else about the Edward Hill family. They lived near Concord since August 1846. When looking at immigration records, there were four Edward Hills immigrating to the United States. Three potential candidates came through New York City and one candidate came through Boston. Another possibility is Edwin Hill. Interestingly, there are no Edward Hills that immigrated in 1845 or 1847. We are probably now closer to identifying which immigration record belongs to our family.

 

James Ryan Will & Last Testament

Similarly to Edward Hill, we don't have a lot of information about our other great great grandfather, James Ryan. We knew a little more about Anne (Nancy) because the surname Campbell in Tipperary is rare, while Ryan is so common that making family connections is very difficult. Earlier we had acquired the last will & testament of Nancy Ann Ryan, which was fairly detailed, especially in how things were to be allocated to her children. In this document (which captures his last wishes), only James Ryan's wife and youngest son are seen as heirs.