When a Presumed 1st Marriage is Actually a 2nd Marriage--Henry F Hill

 I knew thru my earlier research of Tennie Ferguson HIll that she had been married prior to her marriage to Henry F Hill.  What I didn't know was that Henry had been previously married as well.  Today I finally found his 1880 Census entry.  While Henry Hill is a fairly common name, the Mother's birth place and his occupation give me a high degree of confidence that this is the Henry Hill who later married Tennie.

1880 U.S. Federal Census, Jasper County, Missouri, population schedule, Sarcoxie, enumeration district (ED) 62, p. 404B, dwelling 197, family 202; Henry Hill; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 February 2024); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 694.

And his wife Isabella is 12 years his senior(according to the census entry) has also been married before and has several adult children.  I was able to find their marriage record from Muskingum County, OH.  The marriage record giving his name as Henry F Hill offered further evidence for the argument that this is indeed the same Henry who later married Tennie.

"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZCW-DJL : accessed 3 February 2024), Entry for Henry F. Hill and Isabelle Johnson, 26 Apr 1874.

Using her given name from the census & her childrens' surname, I went looking for Isabella's first marriage, I looked for an Isabella that married a Johnson male and was able to find her 1st husband Payton Johnson who was considerably older than Isabella.  Prior to her marriage. her name was Isabella Blake  I found Isabella and her 1st husband in the 1870 Census. So now that I have an idea of how those marriages map out, I'd like to find either a divorce or a an obituary or death record for Isabella Blake Johnson Hill some time between 1880 and 1884.  Jasper Co MO is about 150 miles north of Fort Smith Arkansas.  

I have been researching the children from Isabella's first marriage and where they ended up and believe that Isabella and Henry's marriage ended in divorce or at least separation since I found her buried in KS in the same cemetery as her daughter and under her previous surname.  So I've been compiling a list of what locations to check.  In Missouri that would be Jasper, Newton, Berry, and Lawrence Counties.  If Henry filed after he got to Arkansas then the counties to checkn are Madison, Newton, Franklin, Sebastian, and Logan Counties 

In the Henry F Hill investigation file, some of the documents in the case are dated 1883 and the information on those give the impression that Henry Hill has been in the Huntsville Madison Co. Arkansas area for a year or more.  That would narrow down the time of the end of Henry's first marriage to about a 2-3 year period--say between June 1st 1880 -1882. 

Things to consider:

• Either party could have filed for divorce.
• It's possible there was just a separation which would make Henry's marriage to Tennie problematic.
• It's also possible that the divorce could have been later up to about early1886.
• If Isabella did get her previous name back after the split rather than the children just burying her with that name or her going back to it once she and Henry were no longer together then it might follow that she likely initiated the divorce.

The search goes on....

George Solifelt's Pension File: observations from the first 100 pages.

The Union Pension file of George Solifelt that I had on order arrived this week. It is a 359 page PDF.  That is an incredibly large file and as I do for most larger files I will be making an outline/finding aid.  For this size file it is a MUST.  I am reading thru the file first to get an idea of the structure.  

One of the questions I've had in mind since I started researching Tennie, Henry and George was answered.  I'd wondered if Henry and George knew each other because I really had no evidence of overlap as each was a part of Tennie's life at different times given the documents I had.  That is up until page 82 of George's pension file, where Henry is the Notary Public on witnesses statements of George's identity.  In later pages, George also mentions giving a sworn statement which Henry wrote down as he spoke.(dated 14th Jan 1896)  The image below is from the last part of the papers with H F Hill.

George's statement contains a list of places of residence.

1. Little Rock AR
2. Ft Smith AR
3. Lewiston, PA
4. Ft. Smith AR (at present)

Earlier in the files(abt pg 32 of the PDF) He is making a statement which is notarized in Denison, Grayson Co TX dated 5th August 1886. His application for a pension started when he was living in the state of Texas though he didn't mention it in the above list.

Source:  

George Solifelt(Pvt., Co. E, 20th PA Cav., Civil War), pension application no. 580,089,

certificate no. 950,395, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil

War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National

Archives, Washington, D.C. [He used the aliases George Sullivan & Theodore Sullivan both of which are noted the Pension Index Cards. He also served in  Co. C 2nd PA Inf., Co. H 126th PA Inf., and Co. C 1st PA Prov. Cav.]  

It was on the day the Ringling Bro's show was here

I posted this on my social media account but thought I should probably mention it in a blog post.  When I find mention of an event in court records I like to check the newspapers to see if there are additional details of the event.

From Samuel H Francis' statement (top of pg 72) of the Henry F Hill Investigation File  He is asked for the date that something occurred and he references the Ringling Bro's Show being in town(Ft. Smith, AR).  

I checked at Newspapers.com  and found that The Ringling Bros Show was there in late Sept 1902 setting up and specifically opening Oct 1st.

Outline: Henry F Hill File

The following is copy of my working outline of the papers in the Henry F Hill Pension Agent File.  As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I do this as a Finding Aid of sorts for paper packets which are 10+ pages.  You should consider doing this with your larger document files.  The benefits are twofold:  you'll be able to find specific portions in a more timely manner, and gain insight into the events which led to the creation of the documents.  I store my outlines on Google Drive,  but you could store yours in whatever form is most convenient for you.  I don't always publish the outline, but will when I feel it may be of use to others researching people mentioned within the files.

Outline of Henry F Hill Pension Agent Investigation

1. Outline of Henry F Hill Case File Attorneys  2373 Hill, Henry F  Attorney Residence Ft. Smith Ark. Disbarred 18 Aug 18 1898  Restored:  (blank)  Charges:  Making false jurats to vouchers in his capacity as a notary public.

2. Pension Office Form dated 27 Mar 1883 requesting information from Henry F Hill

3. US Pension Office Oath Form of H F Hill Huntsville Ark 2 Apr 1883 Filed 6 Apr 1883

4. Wrapper of Oath of Hill Henry F  Huntsville Madison Ark Stamped by Pension office 6 Apr 1883

5. Wrapper Dept. of Interior referred to Mr. Hinricks  Attorney Dist. Law Division

6. Dept. of Interior Pension Office 27 Aug 1883 To BF Ruble Jasper Arkansas Stamped by pension office 12 Oct 1883 Answering about Ruble's refusal to affix cert. to one of the documents Hill submitted.

7. Page 2 of above Doc from W W Dudley Commissioner

8. Letter from B F Ruble  Letterhead of Newton Co Ark Circuit & Co. Court Clerk Jasper Ark 7 Oct 1883 to W W Dudley Washington DC

9. Wrapper of Correspondence about H F Hill between office and B F Ruble Clerk of Jasper Ark

10. Letter to Wm W Dudley Dated 3 Mar 1885 from W T Brooks(Storekeeper & Gauger) abt Hill’s practices. Stamped by Pension office 9 Mar 9 1885

11. Page 2  of above letter

12. Wrapper of Letter of W T Brooks of Logan Ark. 

13. Letter from Pension Office to Henry F Hill requesting clarification of address from John C Black Commissioner. Dated 31 Oct 1885 (10 Nov 1885 Stamp from Pension Office)

14. Henry’s Answer and wrapper  31 Oct - 6 Nov 1885 (stamped 10 Nov 1885)

15. Letter from Franklin Co Ark (Ozark) T C Moore D.C. to Jno. C Black regarding a claim that they had refused to process submitted by Henry.

16. Page 2 of Letter Moore to Black

17. Page 3 of Letter Moore to Black

18. Page 4 of Letter Moore to Black

19. Page 5 of Letter Moore to Black

20. Stamped Dec 20 1888 Handwritten Arrived Jan 21 1889

21. 4–062 Blank Non-Mineral Affidavit Form which has text “marked” that is in reference to what an officer should do as far as advising someone about the Revised Statutes and oath

22. Wrapper w/ note Letter of Dept. Clerk Cir Court Franklin Co Ark referring to his office refusal to work for an attorney in pension claims calls attention to the enclosed blank of Interior Dept. 

23. Letter from the Bureau of Pensions  dated 20 May 1898 to Henry F Hill advising him they have evidence on file in their office that he is not following proper procedure.

24. Page 2 of Letter Bureau of Pensions to Hill

25. Page 3 of Letter Bureau of Pensions to Hill

26. Back of Page 3 Wrapper 20 May 1898 Duplicate Letter to Attorney giving 30 days to show why he should not be disbarred for improper execution of pension vouchers in several cases.

27. Dept. of Interior Washington 18 Aug 1898 from C N Bliss(Cornelius N Bliss)

28. Page 2 of above letter

29. Index to Special Examiner's Report Claim of John Craig No 743813 Summary, Claimant's Statement and Opinion & Recommendation.

30. Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding John Craig’s complainant on H F Hill 

31. Page 2 McAfee to Evans by McAfee

32. Page 3 McAfee to Evans by McAfee

33. Deposition A Case of John Craig No 743813 4 May 1898

34. Page 2 of Craig Depo by McAfee

35. Page 3 of Craig Depo by McAfee

36. Page 4 of Craig Depo by McAfee

37. Deposition B Case of John Craig No 743813 4 May 1898 John Geyer Deponent 

38. Page 2 of Geyer Depo 4 May 1898

39. Deposition C Case of John Craig No 743813 5 May 1898 Moritz Kagin

40. Page 3  of Kagin Depo 5 May 1898

41. Deposition D Case of John Craig No 743813 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill

42. Page 2 of Hill Depo 5 May 1898

43. Wrapper Stamped 10 May 1898(by Pension Seal

44. Index to Special Examiner's Report Claim of Moritz Kagin No 332869 Summary, Claimant's Statement and Opinion & Recommendation.

45. Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding Moritz Kagin’s complainant on H F Hill 

46. Page 2 McAfee to Evans by McAfee

47. Page 3 McAfee to Evans by McAfee

48. Page 4 McAfee to Evans by McAfee

49. Page 5 McAfee to Evans Draw attn to Following cases...

50. Deposition A Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 4 May 1898

51. Page 2 of Kagin Depo by McAfee

52. Deposition B Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 John Geyer Depo

53. Page 2 Geyer Depo by McAfee

54. Deposition C Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 John Craig Depo

55. Deposition D Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill Depo

56. Page 2 Hill Depo  by McAfee

57. Wrapper 10 May 1898 Refer case to Chief Law Div. by AB Cassellman

58. Index to Special Examiner’s Report Claim of Benjamin Jones No 837551

59. Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding Benjamin Jones’ complainant on H F Hill 6 May 1898

60. Page 2 McAfee to Evans

61. Deposition A Case of Benjamin Jones 837551 4 May 1898 Ben Jones Depo

62. Page 2 of Jones Depo by McAfee

63. Page 3 of Jones Depo by McAfee

64. Page 4 of Jones Depo includes Maggie & Hattie Hill signed as witnesses 4 May 1898

65. Deposition B Case of Benjamin Jones 837551 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill

66. Page 2 of Hill Depo by McAfee

67. Wrapper Refer Case to  Chief Law Div. by A B Cassellman

68. Index to Special Examiner's Report  Sam’l H Francis Guardian No 540336

69. Letter from Leighton Hope abt Sam’l Francis Guardian of children of John Francis

70. Page 2 of the above letter

71. Deposition A Case Sam’l H Francis Guardian 540336 8 Dec 1902

72. Page 2 of Francis Depo by Hope

73. Page 3 of Francis Depo by Hope

74. Deposition __ Case Sam’l H Francis Guardian 540336 8 Dec 1902 H F Hill

75. Page 2 of Hill Depo by Hope

76. Page 3 of Hill Depo by Hope

77. Mr. Potts S E D form No 540336 15 Jan 1902  Recommendation

78. Letter from Henry F Hill 25 Jan 1900

79. Page 2 of Henry’s letter asking for reinstatement

80. Letter to acknowledge letter from H F Hill

81. Dept. of Interior Letter to Henry Hill notifying of disbarring

82. Hill, Henry F Attorney, Residence Ozark to Ft Smith Ark Charges  As to execution of vouchers see report of Special Examiner McAfee  in Case of Geo. L Saxty, Guardian Minors of James W Searle Cert 409.022

83. Miscellaneous Division Attorneys H F Hill Attorney Huntsville Arkansas

84. Attorneys   Sleeve Hill, Henry F Attorney Ozark Ark

85. Letter to Sec. of the Interior detailing H F Hill’s charges and evidence etc. 11 Aug 1898

86. (cont.) advising Hill was cited to show why he should not be and failed to answer.  Recommending disbarment

87. Letter to Hill from 31 Aug 1898 Notifying him he has been recommended for disbarment from further practice as a pension claim attorney.

88. Dept. of Interior Bureau of Pensions letter to Chief of Special Division asking if James W Wilson No 655413 (Ava Douglas Co MO) requesting a deposition inquiring about whether he was sworn before George W Dansby as writing looks like all by H F Hill

89. (Cont.) asking the papers be completed and returned to the law division.

90. Papers Not Briefed Discharge Certificates, Powers of Attorney, and Contracts for Fees Not to Be Enclosed Examiners are required to keep the important papers in this wrapper.

91. Envelopes Taylor &  Neal Van Buren Ark to John C Black and Jasper Ark(Newton Co Ark) clerk to W W Dudley

92. Envelope 15 Sep 1888 Called in to see why he issued this card 12 Oct 1883

93. Business Card or Ad of HF Hill Pension Agent

94. Note on back of Card(cont. On front)

95. Note Correspondence by Mr. Brooks Can be found 16 Nov 1883

Source:  Case File of Henry F. Hill(Archive Catalog https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147050790); Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others Relating to the Prosecution of Pension Claims and the Investigation of Fraudulent Practices, ca. 1862-1933; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs  Department of the Interior. Bureau of Pensions. 1849-1930 Record Group 15 (RG 15); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).

 

Oh, Henry! What a mess!

Looks like Henry was already in trouble before he married Tennie Ferguson. The document below is a scan of a letter from the Dept. of the Interior asking Henry to verify his address.  He had written from Ozark, Arkansas which was not the address they had on file for him.  

From the 13th paper in the Henry F Hill Investigation Case File:

There are some pretty strong statements about Henry.  I've included a few below.

W T Brooks -Storekeeper-Gauger (Logan, AR) Mar 3 1885

To Hon. Wm W Dudley Comsr of Pensions Washington DC (Begins on Pg 10 of Case File)

I have just filled out blank for Mr. Samuel Highland, that he recd from the pension office.  I am no atty nor have I any interest in the claim more than that I think all disabled soldiers should be provided for and I am confident this is a deserving claimant and think he would long since have recd his pension if he had not fallen into the hand of one Hill that represented himself as a claim agent.  Hill I know to be utterly worthless as the Records of the U.S. Court at Ft. Smith this state will show.  It is a pity that such men are allowed to butcher up deserving men's claims.

Please give this matter attention until you find that I am mistaken in thinking Highland deserves a pension

T C Moore --Dept Clk Circuit Court Franklin Co(Ozark, AR) Dec 16 1888

To Hon Jno C Black Comsr of Pensions Washington DC(Begins on Pg 15 of Case File)

We would not have written upon this subject were it not for the fact that we wish to place ourselves right with you as far this man Hill we are more than willing that he should make any charge against which he deems proper for this acts are attributable more to his combined cupidity and ignorance than to other consideration and the record of the federal court at Ft Smith might throw some light upon his character.

J. A. McAfee- Special Examiner (Fort Smith, AR) May 6 1898

To Hon. H Clay Evans Commissioner of Pensions Washington DC (Begins on Pg 30 of Case File)

I have the honor to call attention to the irregular and illegal practice of one H. F. Hill an attorney and notary of this city, more particularly described in report in claim of Moritz Kagin No. 332.869 transmitted herewith in the above described claim.

The certificate held by this pensioner shows service in Co M 12 Regt KY Vol Cav but he denies such service and the above named attorney evidently found his name in the Adjutants Reports and claimed for all in sight. This book is his stock in trade and if a soldier does not know his service he selects one to fit the name. 

The pensioner states that H F Hill was more interested in the pension than the solder and induced him to apply and prosecuted the claim for a consideration.

(continuing on further down the page)

The attorney H F Hill is supported by the ignorant pension claimant who believes him to be versed in law and rules of practice when in fact , he is ignorant, careless and without principle or fear of law.

he admits that he regularly executes forty or more vouchers in this reckless manner notwithstanding the fact that he has been warned and instructed time and again and he has not yet awakened to the fact that he has violated any law and seems disposed to vary from the beaten path.

After he failed to answer to the charges against him, Henry was disbarred as a pension claim attorney on August 18, 1898. It appears he continued as a Notary Public. 

Source:  Case File of Henry F. Hill(Archive Catalog https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147050790); Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others Relating to the Prosecution of Pension Claims and the Investigation of Fraudulent Practices, ca. 1862-1933;Veterans Administration. (7/21/1930 - 3/15/1989),(Most Recent) Department of the Interior. Bureau of Pensions. 1849-1930 (Predecessor) Veterans Administration. Bureau of Pensions. Law Division. (7/21/1930 - 7/1/1931) (Predecessor)Record Group 15 (RG 15); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).

A few observations on the Henry F Hill Case File

In a previous blog post I mentioned that I would be ordering documents pertaining to Henry F Hill. Henry was the 2nd husband of Tennie Ferguson Hill. Tennie is the step daughter of my great granduncle James Polk Cook(1836-1888). The copy of the file detailing an investigation into the practices of Henry F Hill pension attorney/agent was ordered from NARA on September 8th and arrived yesterday(Nov 12th). It contains 95 pages. I read thru some of it last night and will be doing an outline of what is covered on each page hopefully this week. This is the same process I used with the copies of the TN Supreme Court Cases I'd ordered from TN State Library and Archives. My outline for the papers from Williams vs. Putman has been a great help when I need to find a specific item in the file. So yes...pretty much a finding aid. 😀

The dates on the papers cover the time period from 1883-1902 as given in the archives catalog entry.  The handwriting runs the gamut from beautiful penmanship to "chicken scratch" as shown in the images below.

 




While Henry F Hill's reputation was recorded as good here(Fort Smith?) it was noted as bad in Ozark.  This was repeated throughout the file.  I haven't yet received the pension file but I will post an update when it's received and I've had time to look over it.

Source:
Case File of Henry F. Hill(Archive Catalog https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147050790); Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others Relating to the Prosecution of Pension Claims and the Investigation of Fraudulent Practices, ca. 1862-1933;Veterans Administration. (7/21/1930 - 3/15/1989),(Most Recent) Department of the Interior. Bureau of Pensions. 1849-1930 (Predecessor) Veterans Administration. Bureau of Pensions. Law Division. (7/21/1930 - 7/1/1931) (Predecessor)Record Group 15 (RG 15); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).

NARA Catalog Search Reveals Additional Records

While I was thinking of things I need to do and items I need to order, I pulled(at Ancestry) the US Civil War Pension Index Card for Henry F Hill and his wife Tennie(Ferguson) Hill, step-daughter of James Polk Cook. I need to order copies of Henry's pension file and his widow's file. I'd also like to see the service files for Henry. He was a US Pension agent in the Ozark Arkansas area. On a whim I searched the NARA catalog and found a case file containing an investigation about him.

"These records are part of subseries 1. This file contains the oath of allegiance of Henry F. Hill of Huntsville and Ozark, Arkansas, that was required for admission to practice before the Bureau of Pensions, as well as investigative reports and correspondence about procedural matters and misconduct by Mr. Hill in his capacity as a notary public."

So...now I need to get copies of the pension files of Henry and Tennie and also THIS!!

While I'm at it, it would also be a good idea to get a copy of the service records of George H Solifelt. For those who haven't read my previous blog posts about Tennie, this was the man who Tennie(about 5 yrs after Henry's death) moved from Arkansas to Iola Kansas with and lived with him as his niece. I've yet to find any connection to confirm that she was his niece. I've checked George's family which is sketchy at best and I'm pretty familiar with her parents and step-dad's families. So now I'm looking to see if the niece relationship is thru her marriage to Henry. Henry was born in OH but his parents were from Maryland and Vermont. George on the other hand, was from Pennsylvania and served some time in prison. I have little hope that the Niece/Uncle story is valid but I am checking everywhere.