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Descendants of Thomas T. Hill

Generation No. 2

      2. Wade Hampton² Hill (Thomas T.¹) was born December 12, 1868 in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, and died December 06, 1935 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida. He married Mary Etta Driggers March 04, 1890 in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida, daughter of William Silcox and Elimira Driggers. She was born April 15, 1873 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida, and died November 02, 1942 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.

Notes for Wade Hampton Hill:
      Unsure of Wade's formal education or the learning of a trade in construction or when he came to Clay County and the Bostwick Area. He was initially engaged in the building of a railroad extending from Jacksonville along the St. Johns River to central and south Florida. At one time he worked as a lumberjack....He would cut cypress trees into cross tie (hewn) length and haul them to the depot for .05 each. As time went by he would leave the area to find work elsewhere.
      On March 01, 1890 Wade Hampton Hill married Mary Etta Driggers in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida. They built a home and lived on a 50 acre plat (frequently referred to as "Hammock"). While there, they had 5 girls and 4 boys. As was common for the times, they raised their own meat and vegetables on the farm. Everyone had chores to do.
      The task of raising the children was primarily the responsibility of his wife. His work in construction would keep him from being at home for weeks at the time. He would send money often to provide for the family. He also made it a point to take a short leave of absence from his job to be at home when a "new child was due".
      In 1902 he contracted for the building of a hotel at St. James, Pine Island, Florida. The hotel "Eusseph Inn" is still being used for lodging. He was also known for building of several bridges, i.e. Tampa Bay Area and in Palataka.
      In 1923 the family moved from Bostwick to Eagle Lake. He had 2 Ford Trucks that he used to haul fruit to the canning plant in town. Many of the family members were employed in the plant. There was a decline in the market, a beginning phase of the late 20's Depression.
      The following year, 1924 would result in his return to construction at Pine Island. The family tried to locate there but the mosquitoes were such an irritant that they settled in the Fort Myers/ Punta Gordo Area. During that year when he was not working, he would be fishing for a living.
      In 1925 they returned to Eagle Lake and remained there for those years to follow. At the time of his death he was residing in a 2-room rented apartment next to the Eagle Lake Post Office. He died from a weakened heart condition due to a recent bout with pneumonia. His physical health had been considered reasonably good. He had experienced a mild heart attack in his mid 30's but refused to limit his work as a construction worker, Forman and engineer.
      Wade's father was Thomas T. Hill who came to Florida from South Carolina (when and what city is unknown). Wade's mother was Elizabeth A. Carraway also from South Carolina. Before Elizabeth married Thomas she was married to an Owens. Think the Owens man died in the Civil War? Also believe they had a child named Florence Owens, born about 1863. Wade's parents were married May 19, 1867, in Suwannee County, Florida (I, Eddie III, found this information while searching on the internet and received information from Glenn Carraway of Fort Pierce, Florida and the Suwannee County Genealogy Society).
      I have a certified copy of marriage on Thomas and Elizabeth. Where and when Wade's parents died is unknown. I believed that they are buried in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida? I will continue to search for this information and hopefully one day soon, something will turn up!




More About Wade Hampton Hill:
Burial: December 09, 1935, Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida
Cause of Death: Weakened heart condition due to a bout with pneumonia.
Cemetery Name: Church of Christ Cemetery
Medical Information: His physical health had been considered reasonably good. He had experienced a mild heart attack in his mid 30's but refused to limit his work.
Occupation(s): Railroad, Carpenter, Foreman, & Engineer

Notes for Mary Etta Driggers:
      Primary education was in the Bostwick area. Mary Etta's mother was Elimira DRIGGERS and her father was William "Bill" D. SILCOX, a farmer who owned several hundred acres of land "Hammock" in the Bostwick area. The story is Bill SILCOX was a widow and had four boys from his first the marriage and that Elimira was his housekeeper. He refused to marry her, though they had four (4) children together, so the four (4) children retained their mother's maiden name.
      On March 01, 1890 Mary Etta Driggers married Wade Hampton Hill in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida. They built a home and lived on a 50 acre plat (frequently referred to as "Hammock"). While there, they had nine children, 5 girls and 4 boys. As was common for the times, they raised their own meat and vegetables on the farm. Everyone had chores to do. The task of raising the children was primarily the responsibility of Mary Etta. Her husbands work in construction would keep him from being at home for weeks at the time.
      Mary Etta was a strong willed person and persevered through some trying times in her life. Besides having nine (9) children, five (5) girls and four (4) boys, and rearing them, she continued to assist when they were "on their own". An example I understand that when her daughter Jessie, was at the Depot in Bostwick, visiting during the day with her husband (Dan) who was a telegrapher, she left one of her babies (at the time) in the care of her mother (Mary Etta) to breast feed, as she too was breast-feeding one of her own at the time. Mary Etta performed mid-wife duties, not only for some of her children but for many of the children born in Eagle Lake during the late 1920's and 1930's.
      The family moved to Eagle Lake in 1923 to work in the canning plant. A decline in the economy forced them to move to Pine Island and the Punta Gorda area, where her husband could find work but also where other members of the family were living at the time. Upon returning to Eagle Lake in 1925 she became a janitor for the local school. This was a job she kept for several years. The job paid $90 a month and she was provided a house on the school grounds where she completed the rearing of her daughter, Lillie Mae. In the summer months she would go fishing and live with her husband at St. James.
      Sometime during the depression she bought a house for $50 or $75 from the owner of the Canning Plant who had gone bankrupt. She continued to live there for the remainder of her life. She often referred to the house as a "match box" - which may have been related to the way of its design.
Her daughter, Bertie Mae, moved into the house after her death. Bertie and her husband, Ernest Reynolds, made some additions and raised several of their children there.
      The house was then acquired by her son, Percy, who completely renovated it. It remains on the original corner lot next to the highway as you enter Eagle Lake from Eloise. His wife, Emma Lee, lives there today.
      Mary Etta was a kind person and revered by her children.



More About Mary Etta Driggers:
Burial: November 05, 1942, Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida
Cause of Death: Stroke
Cemetery Name: Church of Christ Cemetery
Occupation(s): 1925, House Wife, Mid-wife, & Janitor

More About Wade Hill and Mary Driggers:
Marriage: March 04, 1890, Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida
Marriage license: March 04, 1890, Recorded in Book "H", Page 4, in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida

Children of Wade Hill and Mary Driggers are:

+	3	i.	Robert Davis³ Hill, Sr., born September 04, 1891 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died April 01, 1952 in Waynesboro, Burke County, Georgia.
+	4	ii.	Jessie Mae Hill, born May 21, 1894 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died January 01, 1978 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.
+	5	iii.	Nora Bertha Hill, born March 11, 1897 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died December 21, 1963 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.
+	6	iv.	Bertha Viola Hill, born April 04, 1901 in Bostwick , Putnam County, Florida; died April 01, 1961 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.
+	7	v.	Clarence Wesley Hill, born October 19, 1903 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died December 08, 1973 in Mobile Alabama.
+	8	vi.	Percy Hampton Hill, born March 06, 1906 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died February 04, 1983 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.
+	9	vii.	Eddie Merrill Hill, Sr., born June 06, 1909 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died June 10, 1957 in Holly Hill, Volusia County, Florida.
+	10	viii.	Grace Lucille Hill, born December 24, 1912 in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida; died September 20, 1999 in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida.
+	11	ix.	Lillie Mae Hill, born May 30, 1914 in Bostwick , Putnam County, Florida; died June 04, 1968 in Eagle Lake, Polk County, Florida.

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