William R. Hilton

by


William R. Hilton was born in March 1732. He was the son of Richard/Ryckert and Maria Bennewe Hilton. The existence of several William Hiltons during this individual's life span complicates the assignment of qualitative information.

In April 1754, a marriage license was granted to William Hilton and Elizabeth Brooks. Between October 1753 and March 1768, those parents witnessed seven children being christened with familiar first names in Albany churches.

In February 1778, William R. Hilton of Albany petitioned Governor for damages done to his property by the Army in 1777. He identified himself as a cartman and stated that he had kept and improved a house and garden on the hill in Albany and that the forraging soldiers appropriated and destroyed all of his holdings. His crops lost included 500 cabbages, carrots, parsnips, and beets.

In 1788, the meager holdings of "William R. Hilton" were included on the assessment roll for the first ward. Also living in that house was Richard Hilton Jr.

These Hiltons probably settled in Albany near the homes of their families. In 1790, the household of a "William Hilton" and his wife was enumerated on the census at the end of the first ward. In 1800, an older couple, was living alone in a similarly located household on the first ward census. After that, specific community-based references to William Hilton cease.

The "wife of William Hilton" died in at the end of 1812. Her age was given as seventy-nine - making her a good fit for the woman married to William Hilton in 1753.

William R. Hilton died in June 1823. His final age was given as ninety-four years, three months, and twenty-two days.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of William R. Hilton has not been assigned a CAP biography number. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. This exposition is admittedly over-cautious.





first posted: 9/25/08