My Genealogy Hound

Philip J. Hill, one of the wealthiest and most influential farmers of Lawrence County, Mo., is a native of New York, and was born in Rochester on April 4, 1827. A mechanic while a youth, he learned much about the science of mechanism, at which occupation he has been very successful. Early in life he learned the mill-wright’s trade, which he followed for a short time but farming, which he has followed the greater part of his life, is his chosen vocation. Few men, if any, in Lawrence County, have been more successful in business than Mr. Hill. Starting in life without a dollar, he, by industry and close attention to business, has become possessed of considerable wealth. His farm contains 600 acres of the best land in the county, and upon it are a fine residence good barn and other improvements. Mr. Hill’s marriage with Prusha Beck was celebrated in Lawrence County in 1857, and to them have been born eleven children, six boys and five girls. Mrs. Hill was born in Middle Tennessee in 1837, and is the daughter of Dr. Daniel Beck and Elmina Beck. Preferring the quiet life of a farmer rather than a public life, Mr. Hill has never sought nor held office. He and his son Edward are among the largest stock dealers in the county, handling horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. The family are highly respectable, being classed among the best citizens of the county. Politically Mr. Hill endorses and supports the principles of the Republican party. He has lived in Lawrence County for the last thirty-five years, and has seen it changed from a comparative wilderness to its present flourishing condition. He is the oldest mill-wright in this part of the State, and introduced the first iron gearing used in the mills of this county.