Rebecca Jane Kendall, wife of George W. Hill and mother of Owen D. Hill, was a daughter of Joseph C. Ken- dall, who came from King George County, Virginia, to Kanawha County, about 1840, and who purchased and settled thirty-nine thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Ken- dalia, West Virginia, which was named for him. Miss Ken- dall for a number of years taught school at or near Maiden, West Virginia, gained quite a reputation in her day as a portrait painter and artist, and was a woman of strong, forceful character and exceptional business ability, and foresight. The Kendall family are descendants of the Fitz- geralds, the Rowes and Randolphs of Virginia, and direct descendants of Edward Kendall, who was postmaster gen- eral in Washington's Cabinet. Joseph C. Kendall married a daughter of Captain Edward Burgess, who came here at an early date, bringing 100 colored slaves with him, and who established a plant for the manufacture of salt on Elk River, eight miles north of Charleston, built what is now known as "Big Chimney" on Elk River, but upon drilling a salt well petroleum oil flowed into the well to such an extent that he had to abandon the enterprise. But the big chimney, then erected in connection with his opera- tions, stands upon the north bank of Elk River, near the post office of that name to this day. 

Owen Duffy Hill acquired his early political and literary inspiration, patriotic principles, his broad ideas of business and citizenship from his early training within his father's household, and his main business through life, outside of his political, literary and educational labors, has been to main- tain, operate, manage and develop large tracts of timber and coal land. At his home at Kendalia he owns large tracts of land, and in New Mexico and South America, and operates lumber mills and farms, and also maintains a home in Charleston for the educational advantages of his children. In 1907 he was appointed postmaster at Kendalia. 

In 1906 he prepared an article which was published in the "Manufacturers' Record" of Baltimore, Maryland, de- scribing the natural resources of the Kanawha, Elk, Blue Creek and Gauley River Valley and drew an outline and planned the building of the Kanawha and West Virginia Railroad, which attracted the attention of some capitalists at Scranton, Pennsylvania, who later organized the Blue Creek Coal and Land Company and purchased 46,000 acres of coal and timber land in that vicinity, making the first purchase of 11,413 acres from Mr. Hill for which they paid $178,000, and built the Kanawha and West Virginia Rail- road from Charleston through this region, which opened up and developed numerous coal, timber, oil and other enter- prises along this new road, and has been a constant source of improvement and development to these vicinities.

 Mr. Hill has not only been a farmer, but has worked in a coal mine, sold fruit trees, taught school, leased oil and gas lands, sold Evangelist Sam Jones' sermons, kept general store, organized Hill Brothers Lumber Company, organized the Northwestern Manufacturing Company, and Clendenin State Bank, and in 1897, through the recommendation of Hon. Henry S. Graves, superintendent of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Hill was appointed by Messrs. Carter & Ledyard, lawyers of 44 Wall Street, New York City, to estimate thirty-four thousand acres of timber land in Webster County, West Virginia, owned by C. F. Pratt, vice-president of the Standard Oil Company.

In 1887, long before oil was discovered in Kanawha County, under the recommendation of Col. A. E. Humph- reys, now of Mexia, Texas, Mr. Hill was appointed a notary public by Governor E. W. Wilson, of West Virginia, and thereupon leased for Colonel Humphreys all the territory for oil and gas that later developed into the Blue Creek oil fields.

 From early manhood he took the same keen interest in political movements, patriotic organizations and organiza- tions for the betterment of farm life and farm and educa- tional work which characterized his father, and he probably has a wider range of acquaintance and association with the older leaders of these movements than any other man now living. He is probably the only man in the United States that was personally acquainted with every man whom he ever voted for for president but one.

When the Union Labor party met at Cincinnati for its national convention in 1887, he attended as a Greenback delegate from West Virginia, taking the place of his father, who had received an appointment and could not go. He was the youngest member of that convention, and later was sent as a Union Labor delegate to the convention which formed the people's party. Later he was nominated for state superintendent of free schools by the Union Labor party in West Virginia, and in 1892 for the same office by the People's party, receiving each time a larger number of votes than any other individual on the ticket. He also received the votes of the Union Labor party in the West Vir- ginia Legislature, and later of the People's party for United States senator, being the youngest man ever honored with votes for United States senator in West Virginia.

 From the first he espoused the cause of the Greenback and the People's party, and during its life acted in its counsels both in the state and in the nation, and since there is now no political organization that represents his ideas of a citizen's patriotic duty to his country he maintains a personal political independence that does not allow him to vote and does not permit him to affiliate with any of them, and did not allow him to take any part in the World war. He says "No patriot was ever a partisan and no partisan was ever a patriot."

Mr. Hill is a man of strong individuality, high ideals and sterling character. He is a hard student, a tireless worker and a man of pleasing personality.  He became widely known as secretary of the Farmers' National Congress through the influence he wielded toward shaping its policies while connected with this National Farm organization. His connection with that Congress dates from 1905 when the governor of West Virginia appointed him a delegate to the Richmond, Virginia, meeting of said Congress, where he introduced and had passed a resolution against the in- troduction of foreign immigrants in this country, carrying the convention off its feet with an oratorical effort in sup- port of said resolution, which the Richmond press said "Set the Convention Wild," and won the passage of the resolu- tion over all opposition. At the session in Oklahoma City in 1906 he was elected third assistant secretary of the Congress, and as said assistant secretary introduced in the following reports the biographical sketches of the various officers, and in 1908, at Raleigh, North Carolina, was elected second assistant secretary, in 1909, first assistant secretary, and in 1913, at Plano, Illinois was elected secre- tary, and was reelected at Fort Worth, Texas, the next year, and served in that capacity for four years.

The committee appointed by the Farmers' National Con- gress to report on the work of the secretary, at the meeting at Fort Worth, Texas, in 1914, submitted to the Congress the following report:

"Your Committee desires to compliment Secretary Hill on the able manner in which he has met and handled the problems which confronted him in his official capacity. He is a live wire, and has presented the Congress with an in- telligent, clear-cut annual report, supplemented by some wholesome suggestions which should claim the attention of this body. We believe that Mr. Hill, by his ability, in- tegrity and efficiency, has met all the obligations of his office and has thereby won the confidence and respect of every
member of this organization."

His services, support and influence have been extended to a number of other organizations. He was elected a mem- ber of the executive committee of the National Irrigation Congress in 1911; a delegate to the Southern Commercial Congress in 1912; and at a meeting of the Farmers' National Congress held at Nashville, Tennessee, was ap- pointed to serve on the International Monetary Commission, which was sent to Europe to investigate the Raiffaissen and other credit systems of Germany and other countries, but on account of other pressing business engagements declined to serve, Hon. Harvie Jordan, of Georgia, having been sent in his place. In 1913 he was a delegate to the National Good Roads Congress at Detroit, Michigan. He is a member of the American Breeders' Association, West Virginia Live Stock Association, vice-president of the National Monetary League, member of the Anti-trust League, member of the Advisory Committee of the National Civic Federation, mem- ber of the Association for the Advancement of Science, a director of the Clendenin State Bank and a member of the Ralston Health Club of Washington, D. C.

During the life of the People's party, Mr. Hill was chair- man of the Third Congressional District Executive Com- mittee, edited and published a paper called "Liberty," and was also the publisher of a 400-page book which is entitled "The Church of the Bible and Its Apostasy."

On March 7, 1898, Mr. Hill married Miss Edna L. Black, of Gallatin, Missouri.  They have four children, Irene, Helen, Owen Delmas and Francis B.

Although engaged in many other enterprises, Mr. Hill has always lived on the farm and been an admirer and breeder of thoroughbred stock, in the development of which he has
taken much personal interest.

Mr. Hill says: Never having had any scholastic advan- tages, whatever I know of the sciences, medicine, philos- ophy, History, Astronomy and statemanship, I owe to the long association with my father, the late G. W. Hill who was a most learned man and thorough scholar, and what- ever I happen to know of law and equity and the prepara- tion of legal papers, I learned from Hon. James F. Brown, an able lawyer and a most brilliant man with whom I was associated seventeen years, and whatever knowledge I may possess of theology and religion and whatever I may amount to in the world as a man, I owe largely to Rev. Lyman H. Johnson, late of Boston, Massachusetts, and Rev. Francis G. Merrill, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, both men of exceptional wisdom, piety, religion and scholar- ship, both of whom had much to do with my earlier train- ing."

Mr. Hill frequently writes for the press along moral, civic, religious, political and patriotic lines.  His arti- cles are always carefully prepared, full of original ideas, forceful in character, clear in expression, exhibit a wide range of knowledge and well merit the consideration of an intelligent citizenship.

Submitted by:  vfcrook@earthlink.net (Valerie Crook)

THE WEST VIRGINIA HILLS
as referenced at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blogan/v408.html on 03.09.2007

War with Chief Cornstalk brought Col. Lewis and his motley army from Lewisburg…..through the Kanawha Valley in early October 1774, on their way to Point Pleasant and their appointment with history. They came by way of the Midland trail, now U.S. Rt. 60, the same trail said to have been chosen by prehistoric buffalo herds. The twisty, over-hill-and-dale older sections would tend to confirm that.

Some contend that the fracas Oct. 10, 1774, in which Cornstalk was trounced, was the opening battle of the Revolution. Others not. Whether or no, many of Lewis' battle-seasoned men fought on throughout the Revolution and were rewarded with grants of land after the victory for their patriotism.

One canny Dutchman, Capt. John Van Bibber, and several of his sons (John's only son, James, did not fight in the battle of Point Pleasant) and relatives were with Lewis, whether motivated by patriotism, adventure or greed. As they went through, they were so impressed by the beauty and seemingly endless natural resources of the Kanawha Valley in forests, wildlife, inexhaustible species of oversized fish and rich bottoms lands for raising crops they asked that their grant of land be here. They were given more than 50,000 acres extending from Kanawha Falls westward towards Charleston and north towards Falling Rock up Elk River.

Their names have been all but forgotten, though they are immortalized in granite on the obelisk and other monuments at Point Pleasant Battlefield State Park.

Earlier, John Van Bibber had wandered over much of the eastern wilderness from Pennsylvania to Tennessee seeking a suitable place to settle and thoroughly enjoying his nomadic freedom. Through some misadventure, he lost his way and all his possessions including his survive-or-die flintlock rifle. That was not a very healthy situation—with Indians lurking everywhere, who were taking an increasingly-dim view of the invading hordes of whites—and with no way to slay game for a growling stomach.

Just about to give up in despair, Van Bibber spotted smoke curling skyward from what could only have been a chimney. He was certain it was no Indian campfire.

Charging through the underbrush, joy of joys, he found a pioneer cabin which was little more than a lean-to. Whooping and hollering—in English so he wouldn't be shot for an Indian—he greeted the inhabitant, who welcomed him only as a lonely pioneer and hospitable Southerners can do. The man introduced himself as Dan Boone, who fed and bedded Van Bibber, beginning a friendship lasting for decades.

Finally, Van Bibber felt he must take his leave, and Boone loaded him up with light trail food, probably including jerky and rockahominy, or parched corn, such as the Indians used, and forced upon him, against his protests, one of his prized flintlocks. It was a beautiful piece, with carved wood stock and fancy brass plating, plus a silver sight made by gunsmith, Michael Kimberlin, of whom research disappointingly fails to turn up any record.

It is entirely probable that it was the same weapon Van Bibber used at the Battle of Point Pleasant. It is also probable that several of Cornstalk's braves on the other end of it said, "Oh, that smarts," since the piece had a bore of about 60 caliber.

Back in West Virginia and the war over, Van Bibber built himself a cabin on his new land near Kanawha Falls. It is likely that his friendship for Van Bibber is what brought Daniel Boone to West Virginia, where he built a cabin near what is now the eastern city limits of Charleston, raised a family, and doubtless a bit of hell, as well as serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses as a representative from Kanawha County, albeit powerless and ineffective.

Boone was so angry at the inattention given the needs of Virginia's western counties, he probably sowed the first seeds of unrest and discontent, which eventually made West Virginia a separate state. In bull sessions with the Van Bibbers and other cronies in Charleston, he cursed the panty-waisted, lace-bedecked, powdered-wigged, perfumed, self styled aristocrats, who turned up their noses at the rough, smelly, deerskin-clad, uncouth, ignorant wilderness-breaker, whose name will be revered forever though theirs have been log forgotten. Boone was a practical-type aristocrat.

According to some old family records, Boone's son, Jesse, married one of John Van Bibber's younger daughters, Chloe. (Look out, here comes that same flintlock rifle again.) No it wasn't a shotgun wedding.

Years earlier, Chloe had been kidnapped by Indians and spirited off to one of their villages in Ohio. Her father, headstrong and determined as are most of his descendants, grabbed his rifle, mounted his horse
and began to search for her although he didn't have the vaguest notion which tribe had taken her or where. For 84 days he roamed and combed every Indian village in Ohio, the most likely place to look, since Cornstalk and his ilk had been driven across the Ohio River.

For some reason, known only to the Great Spirit, the Indians feared Van Bibber and let him come and go in peace as they did Boone. He kept a record of the time it took by cutting notches on a small stick attached with rawhide to his shot pouch and powder horn. Unaccountably, the twig was highly polished, possibly from his constant rubbing of it in agitation and grief as one would a worry stone today. Some over-imaginative descendents claimed the notches Redskins he had slain, but that is ridiculous, for he was no murderer and the notches are marked off in units of sevens or weeks. His persistence finally paid off. John found Chloe and brought her back home to West Virginia.

John later passed on the now-famous Van Bibber rifle to his son, Mathias, (Mathias was not a son of John, but a nephew through his brother Peter) reputed to have been one of the first sheriffs of Kanawha County, who scratched his monogram in the brass stock plate. He also did a bit of other scratching around and married Mariam Hutchinson. (This was Margaret Hutchinson, his second wife, whom he married about 1811 and they had no children). They only had two children: David, and a daughter, Felicity, (Felicity was a daughter of Margaret Robinson, first wife of Mathias) who married Moses Mann Hill, son of Spencer Hill and grandson of Francis Hill, oldest known member of that tribe in America. Doubtless you have heard of the West Virginia Hills? They are everywhere, for Moses and Felecity must not have had much to occupy their spare time—they only had 15 children, equally fertile.

Dividing the original 50,000 Van Bibber acres so may ways didn't leave a very big hunk for anybody, but their favored first born, names for another prominent Kanawha Valley landowner, George Washington, got one of the choicer pieces, George Washington Van Bibber (should be George Washington Hill) married Rebecca Jane Kendall, sixth great granddaughter of John Rolfe and an Indian lass named Amonate or Matoax or Rebecca—take your choice. You may also have heard about her by her tribal name of Pocahontas, which means Little Snow Feather.

Indians were romantic!

So were George Washington and Rebecca Van Bibber (should be Hill). They begat nine younguns.

Major "Billy" Hill, another grandson of Spencer, inherited a vast acreage of the original Van Bibber holdings around Gauley Bridge and Belle Creek, said to be worth a million—quite a switch from the 10 cents an acre valuation when John Van Bibber got it.

It is said that on his deathbed Billy was frightened into leaving his property to some self-styled charitable organization or he would suffer the fires of damnation and hell. Relatives contested the will and litigation went on for half a century, meanwhile taxes and other fees nibbled away happily at the estate.

Eventually the estate was settled a few years ago in favor of the relatives who had proliferated algebraically with their own little private population explosion—oh, those West Virginia Hills—and the proceeds were divided—the more distant the relatives, the smaller the checks. The postage to mail them must have been frightful.

Two of George W. and Rebecca Hill's children: Antoinette, or "Pidge," and Owen Duffy (Duffy Street?), engaged in a little game of Monopoly and bought out, or otherwise contrived to get from the other children, most of their parent's property when it was whacked up.

Owen Duffy (O.D.) was an eccentric and took 3,000 acres-larger than many of West Virginia's beautiful state parks and forests—of the remotest area 15 miles up Blue Creek north of Charleston. He named it after his mother's family home, Old Kendalia, which in turn was named for her father, George Kendall, who married the fifth great granddaughter of John and Little Snow Feather.

O. D. Hill's nearest neighbor was two miles in one direction, and three in the other, mainly because he owned most of the land in between and because he was so gregarious.

"Pidge" was smarter and took her's along Elk River. She married the Rev. Christopher Bream Graham—thus the communities of Graham Station and Bream, just upriver from Charleston, and quite possibly Christopher Street in Charleston and maybe even Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Bream was rather a modest and retiring man.

Their son, Will Graham, was fire chief of Charleston for many years.

The Rev. Mr. Bream was minister of a church that established a mission in Siam, now Thailand, and once had the distinction of entertaining the King of Siam here in Charleston. The King had come as a goodwill gesture of thanks for the church's work in his country. Bream got so nervous at the prospect of such an awesome guest he asked "O. D." what in the world to do. Duffy answered, "Feed him rice and rats! That's what he's used to eating back home." You see, Duffy was more worldly and widely-traveled than Mr. Bream and couldn't resist any opportunity to jest, though many took him seriously, because he never laughed or cracked up at his own jokes.

"O. D.," began his multi-hued career as a school teacher at the age of 18 in a one-roomer just about as far back in the sticks as one can get. He used a stand-up schoolmaster's desk so old that it looked like it came over on the Mayflower, was rejected and sent back to England. It was solid cherry, put together with wooden pegs and the legs had been turned on a foot-powered lathe. When it was exhibited once, knowledgeable collectors said they had never even seen a picture or mention of one like in 30 years of antiquing. In their opinion, it was a museum piece.