Jacobus J. Hilton

by


Jacob or Jacobus J. Hilton was born in March 1753. He was the son of Jacobus and Judith Martin Hilton. He was the youngest son in the large family of a Southside artisan who died in 1763. Widow Judith survived for two decades longer bolstered by her adult children - most of whom had settled nearby. This sketch is admittedly conservative as a number of Jacobus/Jacob/James Hiltons were living in the Albany area during Jacobus J. Hilton's lifetime.

Perhaps he was the "Jacob Hilton" whose accounts were paid by the city council in January 1770 and in April 1772.

A young adult at the outbreak of hostilities and later identified as a "revolutionary soldier," we must account for him during the era of the American Revolution. Significant information is available for the wartime service of Jacob Hilton. However, "which Jacob Hilton?" poses a cautionary question!

As early as March 1779, Jacobus J.'s personal property was valued under his mother's house on the first ward assessment roll. By 1788, his mother had passed on and the personal property of Jacobus J. then was valued under the family home that then was owned by his much older brother, William J. Hilton.

In September 1789, "Jacobus" married Catharina Friar at the Albany Dutch church. By 1799, four children had been christened in the Albany church where he was a contributor.

The census of 1790 listed Jacob as the head of the family home which probably included his brother's family as well. Assessment rolls continued to list his properties in the first ward. In 1800, his household included five family members and was listed next to that of his brother.

Jacobus J. Hilton lost his wife in 1807. After that, far less information has been encountered in the Albany setting. Perhaps he left the city.

Directory information from 1813 accounts for a Jacob Hilton on Hudson Street - probably where Jacobus J. Hilton once lived.

James Hilton died in December 1836. The newspaper notice stated that this former "revolutionary soldier" was 84 years old.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Jacobus J. Hilton has not been assigned a CAP biography number. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.





first posted: 12/20/08