John H. Hill

John Henry Hill (July 4, 1852October 13, 1936) was an African-American lawyer, educator, school administrator, and military officer. He was the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute (present-day West Virginia State University) from 1894 until 1898. West Virginia State considers him its second president.

Hill was born into slavery in 1852 in Charles Town, Virginia, (present-day West Virginia). During the American Civil War, he relocated to Maine where he studied law. He became Maine's second African-American lawyer in 1879, and became West Virginia's first African-American lawyer after his admission to the bar of Jefferson County's circuit court in 1881. Hill then served in the 10th Cavalry Regiment for six years, during which time he participated in the Apache Wars. He was a schoolteacher and then principal at Shepherdstown's African-American public school, Shadyside School, from 1889 until 1893, and then served as the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute from 1894 until 1898. Hill resigned as principal to serve in the United States Volunteers during the Spanish–American War from 1898 to 1899. Hill returned to the institute in 1899, when he was appointed Commandant of Cadets and professor of mathematics, and remained there until 1903. Following his death in 1936, West Virginia State named Hill Hall in his honor.

Early life and education

John Henry Hill was born on July 4, 1852, in Charles Town, Virginia, (present-day West Virginia). Hill was born into slavery, Towards the end of the American Civil War, Hill ran away from his home and was then captured by Union soldiers. On April 11, 1879, Judge Charles J. Faulkner Jr. qualified Hill to practice law at the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Sagadahoc County, Maine. Hill became Maine's second African-American lawyer after Macon Bolling Allen. Hill returned to his native Jefferson County, West Virginia, to serve its African-American community. He became West Virginia's first African-American lawyer. While in Jefferson County, Hill also served as an assistant instructor on the board of teachers for Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in 1881.

Hill practiced law in Jefferson County until 1882, when he enlisted in the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. He was formally enlisted at Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 23, 1882. African-American historian Carter G. Woodson wrote that Hill was the "most prominent teacher that Shepherdstown had" and that the community remembered him for the efficiency of his work. known as Shadyside School. Shadyside School, Shepherdstown's second school for African Americans, had replaced the town's Old School—the town's first public school for African Americans—in 1883. when Alexander Freeman succeeded him in this position.

West Virginia Colored Institute

In 1893, Hill was appointed as the English professor and assistant principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute in Farm, West Virginia, (present-day Institute). A. S. Dandridge, Jefferson County's representative to the West Virginia Legislature, championed Hill's appointment to the institute.

Following the resignation of the institute's principal James Edwin Campbell in 1894, the president of the Board of Regents appointed Hill to finish Campbell's unexpired term. In June 1894, at the regular meeting of the board, Hill was elected and duly installed as the second principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute. In addition to his duties as principal, Hill also taught mathematics. and at the association's fourth annual meeting in Montgomery in 1894, Hill was appointed to a committee to urge the West Virginia Legislature to make an appropriation to the West Virginia Colored Institute's teaching fund. He attended the association's fifth meeting in Hinton in 1895 and the sixth meeting in Charleston in 1896, where he provided the welcoming remarks.

Hill resigned his position as principal in 1898 to fight in the Spanish–American War, and he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 8th United States Infantry Volunteer Immunes of the United States Volunteers on July 19, 1898. He was also appointed as the regimental commissary officer.

In February 1900, Hill announced his candidacy for a Kanawha County seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Hill was the only African-American candidate for a legislative seat in West Virginia's primary elections. He narrowly lost to Shelton Johnson in the Republican primary in May 1900. While Hill no longer worked directly for the institute, he continued his affiliation with the school as an occasional lecturer at student assemblies and informal advisor to students. Hill wrote Princess Malah "to depict the relationships existing between the master and slave in the period of our history just prior to the Revolutionary War". In May 1936, as president emeritus, Hill participated in West Virginia State's Founder's Day exercises on the 44th anniversary of the college's opening.

Hill died of sepsis on October 13, 1936, at his home in Institute. His funeral services were held at West Virginia State, and he was interred at Institute Cemetery. Hill Hall was a dormitory for upper-class women, and was built between 1936 and 1937 and renovated in 1979. According to The Shepherdstown Register, the "marriage was conducted very quietly on account of the recent death" of Lovett's father. Prior to her marriage, Lovett was the organist for Storer College in Harpers Ferry.