U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dill Family --------------------------------------------------------------------- A History of Preston County West Virginia Biographical Department, Supplied by J. R. Cole Kingwood, W. Va., The Journal Publishing Company, 1914 by H. S. Whetsell Pages 803-806, THE DILL FAMILY. From a list of names recorded in the county of York, Pennsylvania, it is evident that the Dills were in this country prior to the Revolution, but the only reliable information we have of the Reedsville family is that Michael Dill, an educated German scholar, came to America from the fatherland and located in Buffalo, New York. He owned and operated a distillery there during the War of 1812, and kept his books in both English and German, as occasion required. By his wife, Catherine, he had three daughters, Polly, Susanna and Rosanna; and two sons, Henry and David, all of whom were born in Buffalo, then so small a place that Mr. Dill sold one lot of five acres, now in the heart of the city, for five ($5.00) dollars. David, the youngest son, was born in 1805, and when he was a lad of eight or ten years of age, the Indians — incited by the British troops — committed various depredations against the inhabitants of the young settlement. Finally the Dill family were attacked, the inmates fleeing from the house, while their home was being burned to the ground. In the flight, Mrs. Catherine Dill lost an eye, when seeking safety in the bramble bushes, and one of the daughters came near being captured in trying to save a loaf of bread. In order to secure provision against want, the girl seized the bread but had to throw it over the fence, where sinking into the deep snow, it was lost. For a time the family camped at Black Rock, but later took up their march for Western Pennsylvania, went part of the way by raft, and located at Killbuck, about fifteen miles from where Pittsburgh now is. Here they set up housekeeping on a seventy-acre farm, where Michael Dill passed away July 9, 1858, about ninety-eight years of age. Catherine, his wife, died June 4, 1856, in the eightieth year of her age. David Hill was reared a farmer and followed the cooper trade. He married Elizabeth Means, who died December 31, 1882, at the age of eighty-two years and two months. By her he had seven children, namely: (1) Henry, born April 11, 1830; (2) Margaret, born June 11, 1831; (3) Thomas, born April 26, 1835; (4) John, born July 4, 1837; (5) Samuel A., born November 1, 1839; (6) Elizabeth, born November 23, 1841; (7) David, born January 25, 1847. During the year of the great frost, in 1859, a visit to Virginia was made, and the year following, David and Henry Dill, with their children, moved to this state. David located on a farm now owned by Mr. Hoffman, near Reedsville, and Henry settled in Wood county, on the Kanawha, in the southern part of the state. Afterwards he went to Dayton, Ohio, but finally took up a permanent residence in Texas, where his two sons had gone before him. David Hill and his sons, after their arrival at their new place of abode, scored logs, and soon built themselves a cabin, part of which still stands. Here the father lived until his death, farming and coopering for a living until May 11, 1893, when he too passed to the great beyond. Of his children, Henry and David were blacksmiths. John, Henry and Samuel became veteran soldiers in the late Civil War, Samuel serving the longest, having enlisted in the 3rd W. Va. Infantry in 1861, and afterwards in the 6th W. Va. Cavalry, where he remained until mustered out in 1865. John enlisted August 15, 1862, in the 14th W. Va., and served until mustered out at the close of the war, in 1865. Both John and Samuel had their hearing affected by the bursting of shells overhead, the shock proving almost fatal, especially in the case of Samuel. It was at the battle of Lynchburg that John Dill's hearing was impaired. Margaret and Elizabeth were their only sisters. Margaret married George W. Hartzell; both are now dead. Elizabeth first married James Ashburn, then married William Kemer. After his return from the army, John Dill began housekeeping in a part of the old home, adding to the building in 1867, and thereafter as necessities required. Before going into the service he married Mary Menear, daughter of Lemuel B., March 17, 1862, and the births from this union were as follows: George G., born August 3, 1863; Virginia, May 4, 1865; Izah B., March 15, 1870; Harvey E., January 28, 1872; Susan F., December 20, 1873; Lona Hannah, November 11, 1875; Lemuel Forest, November 28, 1878. The mother was born August 31, 1842, and departed this life June 4, 1904. Samuel A. Dill lived on a portion of the home farm until 1908, when he moved to his present residence in Reedsville, where he now lives a quiet and retired life. On March 5, 1868, he married Margaret, daughter of John and Mahala Menear, of Preston county, and from that marriage came twelve children, as follows: (1) Oliver Alzo, born February 7, 1869. He married Hattie Reid. (2) Lura Ella, born July 4, 1870. (3) Agnes Belle, born February 13, 1872, wife of John Gross, a carpenter in Reedsville. They have three children: George, Gertrude, and Virginia. They were married April 13, 1889. (4) Bertie May, born September 12, 1873, married William Wilson and reside in Morgantown. They had one child, Mary, born on St. Patrick's Day, 1912. She died September 27, 1912. (5) James Fleming, born May 3, 1875. He married Mae Harr, a native of Marion county. They have one daughter, Eleanor, now five years of age. Mr. Dill is a farmer, but lives in Reedsville. (6) Grace Blanche, born November 4, 1877. October 9, 1902, she married John T. Cleaver, a carpenter of Reedsville. They have three children: Gerald, Ruth, and Catherine. (7) David G., born May 8, 1879. He is a carpenter. He married Isa Dixon, October 17, 1906. (8) John William, born March 15, 1880. His wife was Miss Bertie Robinson. They have two children, Robert and Lloyd. (9) Samuel R., born November 1, 1887, is a farmer. He married Agatha Dixon, December 27, 1908. They have two children, Kenneth and Paul. (10) Eva Margaret, born May 4, 1890. (11) Curtis Leonard, born December 15, 1891, is a bookkeeper for the Cascade Coal Company. He married Jessie Lucille Pell. They have two children, Frank and Margaret. (12) Percy George, born October 24, 1893; is in the army at Fort Totten, New York. The Dill brothers have taken but little interest in professional politics. Samuel Dill was justice of the peace at one time, and served one term as a member of the County Court. Both John and Samuel begin to show their hardships in the war, but their lives are placid ones, and having been well spent, nothing but sweet remembrances are left behind them. --------------------------------------------------------------------- From Death Certificate, Preston County, WV #'58-000980 FULL-NAME: William John Dill BIRTH-DATE: March 15, 1881 BIRTH-PLACE: Reedsville, W.Va. DEATH-DATE: January 8, 1958 DEATH-PLACE: Preston Memorial Hosp., Kingwood, Preston County, WV USUAL-RESIDENCE: Reedsville, W.Va. MARITAL-STATUS: Married OCCUPATION: Retired Custodian, School Building FATHER: Samuel A. Dill MOTHER: Margaret Menear CAUSE-OF-DEATH: Acute pulmonary edema INFORMANT: Mrs. Bertie E. Dill (of Reedsville, W.Va. BURIAL: Reedsville Cemetery, in Terra Alta, WV --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Preston County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/preston/bios.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------