James Hill

If you are researching James Hill of Elk Ridge Landing, born around 1770, died before 1859, here are some things that might help. James Hill was a black man, indicated as mulatto or otherwise non-white in the census records from 1800 to 1850. His wife was named Ann, also identifed as mulatto. She is named in the 1850 and 1860 census, and “A. Hill” also appears on the 1860 Martinet Map.

It remains to be seen if this is the ONLY James Hill during this timeframe. Research continues, but here are some records for people (or person) named James Hill in Anne Arundel County (of which Elk Ridge Landing was part), and then Elk Ridge Landing when things got more detailed in the census records. Census reccords are not always the most accurate source but at least these are consistent, except that the 1850 census says that James only has $25 in property, whereas in 1860 his wife has $2800. We recognize that the census records do not take houses in exact order. It depends on who is home when. However, “neighbors” do provide some clues as to whether we have the right person.

  1. 1800: AACO – Under “All other free persons except Indians, not taxed”: 4
  2. 1810: AACO – Under “All other free persons except Indians, not taxed”: 6
  3. 1820: AACO 4th District – Free Persons of Color: 1 Male 45&up; 1 Free Female 14-26; 1 Free Female 26-45. Richard Hopkins is on the same page, as is George Pocock, William Spurrier, Some Bidens
  4. 1830: AACO 4th District – Free Persons of Color: 1 Male over 55; 1 Female over 55; 1 Female 36-55; 1 Female 10-23; 1 Male under 10. Nicholas Dorsey, Allen Talbott, William Warfield are on the same page
  5. 1840: AACO 4th District – Free Persons of Color: 1 Male 55-99, 1 Female 55-99, 1 Male 10-23 (1 person working on the river/canal/lake). Arthur Earp and George Madden are on the same page. (George Madden is another person of color. A James Hill sold land to George Madden as shown in an 1839 deed (link below). George Madden also owned about ten acres which he obtained from another black man, James Mars. In 1843, James Hill also sold an acre or so to Alexander Mars, probably related to James Mars, in a deed not yet downloaded to the link below (deed ID is 4/152).)
  6. 1850: AACO Elk Ridge Landing – James Hill was 80 years old, identified as Mulatto; Ann Hill was 60 years old also identified as Mulatto; Daniel Holland was a 21 year old Free black man; Alex Brown was a 10 year old free black child. Harriet Rowles (identified as insane) is on the same page, as is Joshua MacCauley’s family
  7. 1860: District 1 HoCo – Ann Hill was a 65 year old woman identified as Mulatto with 2000 in real estate, 800 in personal property. Daniel Holland (a free black man) was on same page just under Ann Hill, listed as a carpenter, also Edward Earp, and Penningtons were on the same page.

James Hill, and later, James and Ann Hill, are involved in many land records. We have no evidence that they always relate to the same James and Ann Hill, as these are common names. Here is a link to most of said deeds. The deed ID is in the file name, and the deed itself was downloaded.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kwnPsyFrbrmy0_yE6wL1JzzubxSXHc5n?usp=drive_link

There are a few deeds that we feel confident relate to this James Hill.

  1. The 1806 and 1807 deeds talk about buying or leasing ground for a place of worship for Methodists of color.
  2. The 1831 deed which sells one of the meeting house lots mentions that James Hill was a free man of color. This confirms our James Hill as the man mentioned in #1 above.
  3. The 1842 deed involves James and Ann Hill both selling the other meeting house lot to the Ellicotts. Ann, for some reason, is not mentioned in any deeds until 1839. Perhaps they were not married until then, or perhaps it was the way of the times. But this is further confirmation that James and Ann Hill are the couple we are trying to trace.
  4. The 1860 deed says that James Hill had died intestate with no other heirs, leaving Ann in full possession of the propertiy. Indeed, he is not in the 1860 census with Ann. Ann sells the house indicated by the Martinet Map as “A. Hill.” This is consistent with the James and Ann Hill we are tracing.
  5. If one were to map the 11 acres of Hanover sold to James Hill by Dr. Richard Hopkins in 1815 (I do not have that skill), one would probably find that #4 is on that property. This is an avenue to take for further confirmation. James and Ann Hill sold several of the Hanover properties on what is now Main Street, Elkridge, including the 1847, 1849 and 1855 deeds. The 1847 deed specifically mentions that the land being leased was part of Hanover that James Hill bought from Dr. Richard Hopkins in an 1816 deed. The deed I downloaded was dated 1815, but recorded in 1816 so either they are the same or there is another deed I am missing. If one accepts #4 above as proof that the deed involves our James and Ann Hill, one must also accept these 3 deeds (and more) that I have not yet downloaded. And in fact, this means you also accept that the 1815 deed involved our James Hill. (That is, if those 11 acres contain these properties.)

Unanswered Questions

  1. A James Hill acquired land by escheat to obtain a Patent called Hill’s Discovery in 1824. A James Hill obtained 24 acres of Belt’s Point for $24 in 1825 from the estate of Zachariah MacCubbin. Both are mentioned in some of the deeds. See the 1839 deed, second 1842 deed, and the 1857 deed for the ground of the old Grace Church rectory as sold by Ann Hill.
  2. Some literatures claim that Captain James Hill (a retired sea captain) owned the Elk Ridge Landing wharf by 1798. This has not been corroborated, and seems highly unlikely to be our James Hill, if indeed it is a James Hill to start with and not some confusion. Because the wharf appears to be part of Belt’s Point which might make it part of the 1825 MacCubbin deed property, James Hill may have owned the wharf, but way after it had outlived its usefulness.
  3. Note that there is a 1798 Tax Assessment (also in the Deed link) that says that James Hill OCCUPIES the wharf which is out of repair. He is clearly not listed as the owner. The owner appears to be James French and heirs. The property has a frame warehouse and wharf, adjoining Patrick MacGill’s property. This is corroborated by the plat drawn by Dempster in 1933 based on old land records. The wharf was adjacent to French’s lot. See https://elkridgeheritage.org/elkridge-knowledge-base/research/oldest-area-named-for-its-roaming-elk/
  4. Could our James Hill have been a retired sea captain? Yes it is possible.

Research continues.