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Frank Bernard Hill
Frank Bernard Hill was born on January 20, 1883, in Omaha, Illinois (about 6 miles south of Norris City, IL.)
He was the 4th of 8 children (4 boys, 4 girls) born between 1878 and 1899 to Henry Hezekiah and Mary Elizabeth (Jordan) Hill. The family lived on a farm in Indian Creek Township
(White County), about 1.5 miles NE of Norris City, IL.
Henry Hezekiah Hill (1853-1936) and Mary Elizabeth (Jordan) Hill (1858-1951).
Henry was born on March 6, 1853, in Indian Creek Township (White County), IL, to John F. Hill (1828-1885) and Rebecca L. (Vineyard) Hill (1831-1903). Both John and Rebecca had been born in White County, IL: John in the same Township as Henry. Both families had migrated to IL from pre-revolutionary Colonial America."John F. Hill, section 17, Indian Creek Township, was born in this township, June 28, 1827. His father, Austin Hill, was a native of Hanover County, Va., but was taken by his parents to Sumner County, Tenn., when five years old, and soon after to Kentucky, and to this county in 1819. John F. was reared on a farm, and educated
in the log cabin school house. He and the boys cleared about 100 acres in the woods. He was married Sept. 11, 1848 (NOTE: The White Co., IL marriages indicate the marriage took place 5 Sep 1849), to Rebecca, daughter of Thomas M. Vineyard. Of their ten children, but six are living Hezekiah, Albert, Mary C., Dola, John M. and Minnie B. One son, Thos. A., died at the age of eighteen years. Mr. Hill was Constable eight years,
Township Collector one year, and is now Commissioner of Highways. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Mr Hill commenced life with fifty cents and a horse." (See.)
Frank's mother, Mary Elizabeth (Jordan) Hill was born in June of 1858 in White County, IL, to William Jordan, Jr, (1839-)and Caroline (Summers) Jordan (1836-) both of whom were also born in Illinois.
Between the 1840's and the 1880's there was a rapid growth in the network of railroad lines in Illinois and throughout the Midwest in general. One of the new lines ran from Cairo, in the southern tip of Illinois, up through Carmi and White County into Wabash County and Mt Carmel. It was called the "Little Egypt" line and was part of the Cairo Division of the Big Four Railroad (the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St Louis Railway ).
In 1902, Vanderbilt expanded his New York Central Railroad into Illinois with the inauguration of the famous "Twentieth Century Limited" train (16 hours from New York City to Chicago and return).
The Big Four Railroad shops in Mt Carmel, Illinois, in about 1910. Frank almost certainly spent a lot of time at this facility. https://www.flickr.com/photos/82856031@N04/24528240120 and is reproduced here in accordance with the Flickr license agreement.)
On January 5, 1910, Frank(26) married Ida Ellen Kohlhass (31) in Mt. Carmel, Wabash County, IL.
Frank and Ida's son Gene circa 1916.
Gene and Mary Lucille Hill.
In the 1920 Federal Census the family is listed as living at 419 West 6th Street in Mt Carmel, lllinois, and Frank's occupation is listed as Railroad Engineer.
Sometime in the early 1920's, Ida's mother Margaret, father Gus, brother George, and her two nieces, Donna and Mary Helen Kohlhass all moved out to San Bernardino, California. Two of Ida's aunts,
Clara Ellen (Stolz) Foster, and Lora Emiline (Stolz) Vickrey were also living in California (Pomona) in the 1920's. Frank and Ida decided to join the exodus and they with Gene and Lucille moved out to San Bernardino. But Ida was joining her entire family while Frank was leaving behind his mother, father, seven brothers and sisters and many aunts and uncles.
This is the watch that Frank gave to Gene for his 18th birthday in 1930 and that Gene gave to me on my 18th birthday in 1954.roger_hill@q.com .)
Frank with his "regular train crew". According to Jack Davies, Frank's son-in-law, the people in the photo are (L to R): Frank, his fireman, 2 brakemen and his conductor.
In August of 1933 Frank's son Gene married Alice Marie Greek in Riverside, CA, and in August of 1938 his daughter Lucille married John Ogwen (Jack) Davies in San Bernardino, CA. Frank did not attend either wedding.
In February, 1936, his first grandson was born (me) and in May of 1936, his father, Henry Hezekiah died in Norris City, Illinois.
I found no public records of Frank's whereabouts in the 1930's. When he registered for the World War II draft in 1942 he was listed as living in Cairo, Illinois. So he was evidently still driving trains on the "Little Egypt" line for the New York Central in the 1940's.
New York Central locomotive Number 2016 in the yards at Mt Carmel, Illinois, in 1939. This is very likely one of the locomotives that Frank drove on the "Little Egypt" line of the Cairo division of the New York Central Railway. https://www.flickr.com/photos/82856031@N04/25004066822/ and is reproduced here in accordance with the Flickr license agreement.)
By the mid-1940's Frank's family in California had grown. He now had seven grandchildren living there and his brother had moved to Anaheim, CA. Frank's wife Ida was living with her daughter Lucille Davies' family. Frank's visits to San Bernardino became more frequent.
These photos were taken circa 1948 at the Davies' family 1 acre "farm" near the corner of Electric Avenue and 41st Street in San Bernardino, CA.
In the summer of 1951, Gene and Alice took a vacation by railroad to visit the Hill family in southern Illinois.
At that time Frank's mother, Mary had been bedridden for almost 10 years and under the loving care of her daughters, Cora and Radie.
Gene with Frank's sisters Minnie (L) and Radie. White County, IL, 1951.
Gene with Frank's sisters Radie (L) and Minnie. White County, IL, 1951.
On September 28, 1951, Frank's mother Mary Elizabeth (Jordan) Hill passed away at the age of 93.
Mary Elizabeth (Jordan) Hill (1858-1951).
Henry Hezekiah and Mary Elizabeth Hill are buried together with their daughter Radie in Union Cemetery in Norris City, Illinois.
In the late 1950's Frank retired from the New York Central and moved permanently to California. He lived with Ida in a guest house on Lucille and Jack Davies'
property on Slover Avenue in Fontana/Blomington.
Frank and his brother Thomas Alvin Hill (1884-1964) at Tom's house in Anaheim, CA. May, 1958.
Ida and Frank, May 1959.
Ida with Frank, Alice and Gene Hill, Newport Avenue, Fontana, 2 Apr 1961.
Sometime in the mid-fifties, Gene acquired an 8mm movie camera and began to document some of the family events.
I have reformatted some clips from his movies and made them available as HTML5 videos in the Video Vault on this website.
I have assembled clips from Gene's home movies showing scenes of Frank and Ida taken over the years 1955 to 1966. The video starts at Frank and Ida's home in Fontana, CA, that was
located on the property of their daughter, Lucille Davies, and family on Slover Avenue. To see the video click: Frank&Ida
Frank at the Baptism of his first great-grandson, Robert E Hill born on 7 Aug 1964, in Fontana, CA.
On 28 May, 1966 Frank's wife Ida Ellen (Kohlhass) Hill passed away at a nursing home in Ontario, CA.
Frank Bernard Hill (1883-1967).
