| Minnie
was born in Albany, Linn County, Oregon in
1863 and was the daughter of Isaac and Nellie
(Jackson). In 1883, she married Charles Hill
in Portland, Oregon. After her marriage, she
received a master's license to operate
steamboats on the first of December 1886 and
became the first woman captain on the
Columbia River. She retired in 1900, the same
year that the census lists her husband as the
steamboat captain. Charles was born in New York
City in 1853 and was the son of Ralph and
Nancy Maria (Tinker). According to the 1850
and 1870 census records, both
were born in Connecticut. Notes of Minnie
stated that Ralph was a hatter and had owned
a large hat factory and store on Nassau
Street called "New Hat Shop." In
the 1850 Brooklyn, Kings Co.,
NY census he was listed as a hatter.
At the age of
twelve, Charles was "farmed out" to
his dad's Uncle Platt in Orange, New Jersey.
He later moved to Newark, Ohio and worked on
a farm and after living in Illinois, Kansas,
Colorado, and eventually in Washington, he
embarked on a steamer bound for the Cassian
mining country in Alaska and spent the next
two years there. After owning and operating a
steamboat he piloted on the Columbia and
Willamette rivers for ten years between 1880
and 1900. Charles O. Hill then became
interested in lumbering and became the
founder of Hill Logging Co in Lewis Co.,
Washington.
Two 1900
census pages list the men aboard various
steamers of which they resided. The first
page, first household, lists Charles as
steamboat captain of the Governor Newell.
This census lists his place of birth as
Maryland though he is believed to have been
born in New York City. It also lists his
birth year as 1859, and indicates he was
married fifteen years. Also included is his
partner William James Redmond who was married
to Minnie's sister Aimee. Edward Tackleberry,
a pilot from Oregon; Lewis Weatheford, an
engineer from Iowa; William A. Wylie, a
fireman from Kansas; Robert Burke, a fireman
from Minnesota; and Ah Kag a cook and servant
from China were also listed aboard the
steamer.
The 1900 census records which
shows Charles with his wife and son, appears
to be somewhat more accurate, listing his
birth place in New York while correctly
indicating he had been married 17 years. It
does however, list his birth year as 1855
whereas family papers indicate he was born in
1853. His wife Minnie is listed as having had
two children, one living. Herbert Wells Hill,
their surviving child, was born 19 Sep 1894.
He married Edna Frances Wilcox, daughter of
Nathan and Josephine Alice (Caul), and died
22 Jul 1969 in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa
Co., California. His wife Edna died in Castro
Valley, Alameda Co., California on 07 Jan
1975. Charles died in Portland on 12 Jun 1942
and Minnie in San Francisco on 09 Jan 1946
and his father in Portland, Oregon in 1942.
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