Joseph C. Hill

As printed in 1908

JOSEPH C. HILL, formerly county commissioner of Summit County, and a leading citizen of Akron, carries On a large contracting business here, and has been a resident of the city since 1882. He is a prominent member of Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic, having served as a soldier in the Union army during the entire period of the Civil War. He was born in Pennsylvania, March 9, 1844. When a youth of but seventeen years, in June, 1861, he voluntarily assigned the dangers and hardships that fell to the lot of those who took active part as soldiers in the great Civil War, which he faced with courage and endurance that would have been creditable in one much older and more seasoned.

As a member of Company E, Seventy-.seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel F. H. Stambaugh, and under command of General Negley, he left Pittsburg on October 26, 1861, going directly to Kentucky. He served under some of the greatest commanders of the war — Generals Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans and Buell — and participated in some of the most memorable engagements, including those of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Perryville, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta., Jonesboro, Sherman's March to the Sea, through the Carolina. and in the last struggle at Bentonville. He was honorably discharged and was mustered out of the service at Louisville, Kentucky, in September, 1865. During all this period of almost constant exposure to danger, Mr. Hill was wounded but once, and then slightly. He was captured once, at Chickamauga, but fortunately made his escape on the same day.

After the close of his very creditable military serve, Mr. Hill returned to-Pennsylvania, and in 1867 went West., There he soon found profitable employment in building, and his work was so approved that he became concerned in the building of all the bridges for the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad, from Chetopn, Kansas, to Fort Gibson. He subsequently built the Plaza hotel at Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Palace hotel at Las Vegas, New Mexico; the Adelia Silver Mill, for the Adelia Mining Company, at Silver Cliff, Colorado. After completing the last mentioned contract, in January, 1882, he returned east to "Ohio and located permanently at Akron. Here Mr. Hill has had a good share of the general building and contracting work of the city, and has erected some of the finest residences here, including those of M. 11. Crumrine, Charles Berry, on Portage Path; H. H. Bender, on Batch Street, and that of Dr. Rose, on Rhodes Avenue. He is a stockholder in the Dos-De-Atril Mining Company, of Chico, New Mexico.

In 1870 Mr. Hill was married at Clinton, Summit County, Ohio, to Belle Whittlesey, of that place. He and his wife have four sons and two daughters, namely: Clarence M., who is a conductor on the A. B. & C. Railroad; Charles R., who is connected with the firm of Yeager Company, as window dresser; William W., residing at home with his parents; Kathryn, who married Charles Ellet, residing at Akron; and Mabel, who is a graduate nurse, connected with the Akron City Hospital; and Frank, who is a stenographer in the offices of the Goodrich Rubber Com-

Formerly Mr. Hill was quite active in politics, and served very efficient'tly as a commissioner of Summit County, but latterly has given the larger part of his attention to business affairs.

As printed in Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens (1908). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.