1. . . .The earliest known record
in South Carolina of William Hillhouse was a land grant
dated October 9, 1772 of 300 acres on Turkey Creek (then Nathan's),
a branch of Bullock's Creek, nine or ten miles south of what
is now York, SC. William was recited as being of "the parish
of St. Marks and Providence of South Carolina," and the
land as lying in the "province of South Carolina formerly
North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, on the East side of the Broad
River on a branch of Bullock Creek called Nathan's." The
same year, on March 24, 1772, his daughter, Margaret, married
"in South Carolina" Robert Dickey who was also of Scotch-Irish
stock. So it can be at least stated with certainty that the family
came during or before 1772.
Family records show that William
had five children: John, James, William, Eli and Margaret. The
exact order of their birth is not known, although it would appear
that John was the oldest, and probably William was the third
or fourth son.
2. James Hillhouse, son of
William of the Province (probably the second son), was born in
western Pennsylvania; moved with his father to the upper part
of South Carolina Province. Married Mary "Polly"
Dickey (born April 11, 1753), a daughter of John and Martha
(McNeely) Dickey.
James and Mary Hillhouse were the
parents of eight children: William, John (married Bethiah Sharp),
George (married Elizabeth Dobbins), James, Robert, David, Sally
and Polly.
Above excerpt from The
Hillhouse Family.
It is in the historically
rich counties of Chester and York, South Carolina that William
Hillhouse and his son's Captain John, Captain William and James
Hillhouse leave their mark. I spent a truly enlightening afternoon
with the McCelvey Center's
Mike Scoggins. He was kind enough to show me the location of
William Jr's Plantation where Lord Cornwallis camped in 1871.
It is believed that the buildings would have stood on the hilltop
just above the Catawba River on Route 322 south of York. The
historical marker for Lacey's Fort is just across the road. The
old plantation land is now a tree farm where the buildings have
long disappeared.
In the spring of 2009 the
MeCelvey Center found these Plate Maps with notations by an unknown
researcher in the 1980s. While the focus of this research was
on the plantation in the time of the Revolutionary War, the details
tell an amazing story of the Hillhouse's time in York County.
It also provides, for the first time, the date of William Srs
death - August 30, 1778. While he is believed to be buried down
Hwy 49 at Bullock
Creek Presbyterian Church, his grave is long lost and there
is no mention of his wife Sarah in South Carolina history.
The real treasure
find of this journey was down the Blanton Road, right onto the
Lockhart Road (49) and left onto the Wilson Chapel Road. About
a mile up this road on the right side is the historical marker
pictured below. John Dickey was the father of Mary "Polly"
Dickey who married William's son James. The cabin was restored
and has been used as the park office at Kings Mountain State
Park since it was moved from the clearing near the historical
sign in 1988. Mary was born on April 11, 1753 and would have
been married by the time this cabin was built, however old Plate
maps (see links above) show William Sr's original plantation
was directly across Wilson Chapel Road from John Dickey's Plantation.
JOHN DICKEY WILL
14 JANUARY 1784
This area is also home to
some of the most important battles of the Southern Campaigns
of the Revolutionary War - the battles of Cowpens,
Kings Mountain
and Williamson
Plantation. The three Hillhouse brothers were Revolutionary
War Soldiers and contemporaries of Andrew Jackson and Henry Lee
(Robert E. Lee's father). Lord Cornwallis was camped at William
Hillhouse Jr Plantation during Tarleton's defeat at the battle
of Cowpens, see Lacey's
Fort for details. The Hillhouse brothers were also volunteers
in the New
Acquisition Militia.
Roster of South Carolina Patriots
in the American Revolution. Volume I, A-J
By Bobby Gilmer Moss
see page 447
William Hillhouse states in
his Revolutionary War Pension
Statement he was born near Land's Ford in 1760. Landsford
Canal State Park is well worth a morning walk. In May of
each year the rare Rock Shoals Spider Lilies bloom among the
shallow rocks of the Broad River, a sight that was probably as
spectacular in 1760 as it is today.
