urn:taro:utexas.cah.02223 A Guide to the James Monroe Hill Papers, 1833-1930 Original EAD encoding by Lauren Algee according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. January 2011 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Hill, James Monroe, 1818-1904 Hill, James Monroe, Papers 1833-1930 Materials are written in English. 1930 1 vol. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin A typed transcript of letters, reminiscences, biographies, and a literary effort composing the James Monroe Hill Papers, 1833-1930, document the military service and biographies of Hill and his family. Biographical Note

Born in Putnam County, Georgia, James Monroe Hill (1818 - 1904) moved to Texas with his family in the spring of 1835, eventually settling in Washington County. In 1836, Hill and his brother John Christopher Columbus Hill volunteered to fight the invasion of Santa Anna’s army. James participated in the battle of San Jacinto, and his brother was a member of the Mier Expedition. After the Revolution, Hill became active in the Texas Veterans Association and served as a commissioner in the state’s 1897 purchase of the San Jacinto battleground.

In 1843, Hill married Jane Hallowell Kerr (1824-1871). Born in Giles County, Tennessee, Kerr and her parents, Hugh and Lucy, came to Texas by steamboat, settling in Washington County before fleeing Santa Anna’s army in 1836 as part of the Runaway Scrape. James and Jane Hill settled in Fayette County, where they lived for 41 years, until moving to Austin. At least one of the couples’ four sons, J. L. Hill, served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Scope and Contents

A typed transcript of letters, reminiscences, biographies, and a literary effort composing the James Monroe Hill Papers, 1833-1930, document the military service and biographies of Hill and his family. Reminiscences and letters pertain to Hill and Moses Austin Bryan’s participation in the battle of San Jacinto and Hill’s role in the purchase of the battleground by the state of Texas for use as a state park. Furthermore, a letter (1863) from J. L. Hill to his father describes the son’s service in the Confederate Army in Mississippi, while another (1833) by Alexander Thomson, a member of Stephen F. Austin’s Colony and grandfather of Jane Hill, describes life, politics, and land in the settlement. Biographical information concerns the lives of Hill, his wife Jane, his brother John Christopher Columbus Hill, and Jane’s mother Lucy Kerr. Additionally, the collection includes a poem by Maclovia Hill about the Texas Revolution.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Bryan, Moses Austin, 1817-1895 Hill, J. L. Hill, James Monroe, 1818-1904 -- Archives Hill, Jane Hallowell, 1824-1871 Hill, John Christopher Columbus, 1828-1904 Hill, Maclovia Kerr, Lucy, 1783-1871 Thomson, Alexander, Jr., 1785-1863 Subjects (Organizations) Confederate States of America. Army. -- Personal narratives Texas. Army. -- Personal narratives Subjects San Jacinto, Battle of, Tex., 1836 -- Personal narratives Places Austin’s colony (Tex.) -- Personal narratives Fayette County (Tex.) -- Biography San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site (Tex.) -- History Texas -- History -- Revolution, 1835-1836 -- Personal narratives Texas -- History -- Revolution, 1835-1836 -- Poetry Washington County (Tex.) -- Biography Preferred Citation

James Monroe Hill Papers, 1833-1930, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

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 Inventory: 2R37 Papers, 1833-1930