William Green Hill

William G. Hill was born April, 1826 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama to John Hill II and Margaret Stover Hill. William was the youngest of seven children growing up on his father's and uncle's large land holdings.  On September 18, 1844 William married Susan McKinney daughter of Matthew McKinney and Martha Drennon McKinney in Talladega County, Alabama.  Susan's parents had four sons, Kinchen, William Emory, Henry and James Moses.  Matthew died about 1835 and Martha re-married James McDaniel and had two additional children, Francis and George.  William and Susan had three children while living in Alabama, Margaret, Matthew Mc, and Martha.

William's father, brother's and uncle's owned 2,999.8 acres in Talladega County, Alabama and on April 28, 1852 William's father deeded to him 80 acres of land in said county.  William sold his acreage in 1853 and leaving his siblings behind with his parents. He, Susan, Kinchen, Rachel, James, Henry and Martha with all of the children loaded their wagon's with their possessions, rounded up their livestock, and bringing the Hill and McKinney negroe slaves, made the trip to Texas settling in the area now known as Kaufman County.  William settled on 320 acres of public domain land and in 1854 started the paperwork necessary to claim the land.  In 1856 his boundary lines from survey number 265, abstract number 228 came into dispute.  The land was resurveyed in 1856 and his land grant was awarded in 1859.  Sometime later the community of Prairieville was established.  The McKinney's and William are found as early as February, 1854 in the Minutes of the Commissioner's Court of Kaufman County as participating in the building of roads, William as Captain of Patrol Company for Precinct 6 and Susan's younger brother Henry as a guard for a prisoner.  William and Susan's family continued to grow with the addition of three children, Francis A., John and William Kinchen.  In 1858 William was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace for Prairieville, Texas and served in that capacity until 1860.

On March 20, 1862 William enlisted in the 20th Texas Calvary as a 1st Lieutenant in Bass's Company and served there until July 7, 1862, he was discharged by reason of the Conscript Law.  On December 15, 1862 William returned to service as a 1st Lieutenant enlisting in the 37th Terrell's Texas Calvary.  William was described as being age 38, 5' 10", black hair, black eyes, dark complexion, occupation farmer.  On December 20, 1863 he was promoted to Captain of Company A when Israel Spikes gained permission to resign due to poor health.  William commanded Company A until the end of the Civil War when the company disbanded May, 1865 at Wild Cat Crossing on the Trinity River not far from Prairieville.  Battles encountered by Terrell's Calvary and Company A are documented in John Spencer's book Terrell's Texas Calvary, as Mansfield, Fayetteville, Yellow Bayou, Galveston I & II, Sabine Pass and the Red River Campaign. During the war William's father passed away in Ashley County, Arkansas, as is documented in a letter he wrote to his commander while serving at Galveston, Texas.  In the letter William asked for a leave of absence, noting he had never been absent from duty during his service.  He stated his father had left him a considerable estate and said property was near the lines occupied by the Federals.  He ask to go and remove all items to a safer place.  His request for a thirty day leave was denied by Colonel Rainey.

On November 25, 1871 Susan's mother, Martha Drennon McKinney McDaniel passed away and shortly after her death Susan passed away.  On October 7, 1875 William married for a second time to Mary Johnson and they had two children, Texana and Mary.

Kinchen McKinney served in Company A of the 37th Terrell's Texas Calvary, James Moses McKinney served in Captain J. R. Johnson's Company 20th Bass's Texas Calvary regiment as did Henry McKinney. William Emory McKinney served in Captain Jeremiah Warren's Company 20th Texas Calvary.   Henry did not return from the war with the rest of the brother's.  His place of death is not currently known.

On February 11, 1879 William Hills' brother-in-law Kinchen McKinney registered a brand that would later become a symbol across Texas, the five point Texas star within a circle.  Kinchen had purchased land near Chief later to be known as Egypt today known as Rand.  In the 1938 slave narrative of Fannie Yarbrough she refers to Kinchen as "Ole Marster."

On the 1895 statistics of the Baptist Churches in the East Fork Association William Hill is found as the clerk of the White Hall Church of Prairieville.  The years from 1865 until 1900 his life was spent farming his land and raising his children.  A pleasant time in his life compared to the previous years of geographical transition and war.  By this time most of the McKinney family he traveled to Texas with were gone and only their children were left living in the area.  By 1900 William was 74 years old and in poor health.  His daughter Texana had married Ephriam Ashley Alexander of Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas and they moved to William's to help her mother care for him.  William passed away in April, 1901 at his home on his land in Kaufman County. He had no will but  two letters of Administration of Estate were applied for by his son-in-law and his widow  Thus ending the life of a beloved son, son-in-law, father, brother and southern patriot.  Much is not known about Mary, where she came from, where she went or how her life ended.

William's daughter Texana spoke of her father to her children as always giving of himself to his neighbors and community.  She told stories of growing up in Kaufman County and how her father spoke of her "Uncle Kinchen McKinney" as being like a brother to him.  The hardships they endured and many good times spent together.  She said he never spoke of the war but often elude to the hardships it created for the citizens of the south.

Martha Drennon McKinney McDaniel, Francis McDaniel Irby, Kinchen McKinney, Rachel McKinney, William Emory McKinney, James Moses McKinney, Henry McKinney and Susan McKinney Hill all preceded William G. Hill in death.  It is believed that Susan McKinney Hill and Captain William Green Hill are interred in stone marked graves in the Kinchen McKinney plot at the Lone Oak Cemetery, Kaufman County along with other family members.