A Guide to the John R. Hill Papers, 1826-1878
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator: | Hill, John R. | |
| Title: | Hill, John R. Papers | |
| Dates: | 1826-1878 | |
| Abstract: | John R. Hill was a successful Texas planter, known for encouraging Polish immigration to Texas. Correspondence, broadsides, receipts, financial records, bonds, currency, legal documents, contracts, memoranda, and certificates comprise the papers. | |
| Accession No.: | 1934; 1938 | |
| Extent: | 1 ft., 4 in. | |
| Language: | Materials are written in English. | |
| Repository: | Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin | |
Biographical Sketch
John R. Hill (d.1878) was a successful Texas planter, known for encouraging Polish immigration to Texas, mainly to alleviate the labor problems he faced during the mid 19th century. Hill and eleven others organized the Waverley Emigration Society, to bring Polish farmworkers to East Texas. He persuaded five families to move from overseas to his plantation with the promise of work and compensation. Hill served as a trustee of the Marion Male and Female Academy and as president of the Waverly Institute, established in 1856 in Waverly, Texas.
Sources: Calvert, Robert A. "The Freedmen and Agricultural Prosperity."The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Apr., 1973), pp. 461-472.
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Waverly, Texas," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/WW/hnw24.html (accessed July 20, 2010).
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, broadsides, receipts, financial records, bonds, currency, legal documents, contracts, memoranda, and certificates comprise the John R. Hill Papers, 1826-1878. The papers relate to the business and legal affairs of Hill, including the operation of Hill’s plantation, the purchase of goods and slaves, land sales and purchases, litigation over land titles, and matters of estate settlement. Additionally, the papers contain a contract for the Waverly Emigration Society, 1867.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Index Terms | ||
| Subjects (Persons) | ||
| Hill, John R.--Archives. | ||
| Bailey, Rufus William, 1793-1863. | ||
| Briggs, James. | ||
| Cole, David R. | ||
| Echols, Edward H. | ||
| Griffith, John. | ||
| Harris, William A. | ||
| Hill, Adam. | ||
| Hill, C. T. | ||
| Hill, James A. | ||
| Hill, Robert. | ||
| Moore, John W. | ||
| Mosley, Charles. | ||
| Ray, John. | ||
| Scott, James E. | ||
| Traylor, John. | ||
| Subjects (Organizations) | ||
| Waverly Emigration Society. | ||
| Subjects | ||
| Plantations--Texas. | ||
| Slaves--Texas. | ||
| Land titles--Registration and transfer--Texas. | ||
| Administration of estates--Texas. | ||
| Places | ||
| Mobile (Ala.). | ||
| Marion (La.). | ||
| New Orleans (La.). | ||
| Abbeville (S.C.). | ||
| Portersville (Tenn.). | ||
| Port Lavaca (Tex.). | ||
| Walker County (Tex.). | ||
| Waverly (Tex.). | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
John R. Hill Papers, 1826-1878, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
Subsequent revisions were made by Sara Clark, April 1992.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers