Sadly, James Henry Hill's first wife (my g grandmother), Molly Lee, died at the age of 41. On Feb. 23, 1900, she gave birth to twins. Only one of them survived and Molly died three days later. The widower Jim Hill had eight children to care for; six were under ten years of age.

In 1901, Jim married Zula Mitchell Grace, the widow of J.A. Grace. They were married on Dec. 14th in Brown County, Texas. It is not known if Zula brought children with her into the new marriage. By this time, Allie (Jim's eldest daughter) had married John Alexander Stone; and Giddy, the retarded child, had died.

Between 1903 and 1908, Jim and Zula had four more children: Dovie, Ruby, Alex, and Eddie. In November of 1908, Zula died and left Jim a widower again. Most of the older children had married or left home, but it still must have been difficult for Jim Hill to care for his family all alone.

Then times got even tougher! Jim Hill died in January, 1910. He was only 45 years old. Four children under age seven became orphans.

Minnie Hill, an older half-sister of the children, had married John Lock Welch in 1908. The children evidently moved in with Minnie and her husband. But, three weeks later, Welch went before a judge in Erath County and transferred the guardianship of the children to The Buckner Benevolence Home in Dallas. Only three of them; Dovie, Ruby, and Alex were taken into the Buckner Home. Eddie, the youngest who was born in 1908, had apparently died.

My mother, Floy Stone Hendon, was always curious about what happened to her mother's half brothers and sisters, so she wrote the Buckner Home to make an inquiry. They responded with the following: Buckner Letter . They also sent copies of some orginal records about the Hill children;  Dovie Hill's Application , Ruby Hill's Application , and  Alex Hill's Application .