Thursday, March 17, 2016


March 17, 2016 – Great Grandpa William J. Hill’s Prayer Book


This photo is of the inside cover of William J. Hill’s Church of England Prayer Book. Since the title page of this book is missing, I suspect that it was printed in the 1850s or early 1860s. It shows that William left Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, Ireland on April 27, 1866 and arrived in New York on May 17, 1866. From there he traveled to San Francisco arriving on June 16, 1866 where he worked for two years at the Risdon Iron Works. On November 12, 1868, William arrived in Anaheim where he purchased 80 acres of land for $10 an acre. See his bio and obit for more information. The provenance of this prayer book is William J. Hill, at his death Blanche Spielman Hill (wife), at her death Edith Ella Hill Harmon (daughter), given to Edith Lucena McLeod Lotz (daughter), and at her death Martin William Otto Collett, Jr. (nephew and Great Grandson of William J. Hill).

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