Hill, George Washington (1814–1860)

Type: Biography

Published: 1976

Updated: January 1, 1995

George Washington Hill, secretary of war and secretary of the navy in Sam Houston's cabinet, was born on April 22, 1814, at Hill Creek, Warren County, Tennessee. After attending common schools he received a degree in medicine from Transylvania University. He moved to Texas in 1836 and served as a surgeon at Fort Houston in 1836–37. The latter year he settled in Milam County and was elected county medical censor. There he married Matilda Slaughter. When Robertson County was formed from Milam County, Hill was elected to represent it in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh congresses. In 1841 he was appointed Indian agent by Sam Houston and the same year moved to Spring Hill in Navarro County. From January 16, 1843, to December 9, 1844, he served as secretary of war and navy in Houston's cabinet. After annexation Hill resumed the practice of medicine in Navarro County. In 1855 he was appointed first agent for the Brazos Indian Reservation. He died at Spring Hill on May 29, 1860, and was buried there. Hill County was named in his honor.

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Frank W. Johnson, A History of Texas and Texans (5 vols., ed. E. C. Barker and E. W. Winkler [Chicago and New York: American Historical Society, 1914; rpt. 1916]). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832–1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941). Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813–1863 (8 vols., Austin: University of Texas Press, 1938–43; rpt., Austin and New York: Pemberton Press, 1970).

Categories:

Peoples
Native American
Indian Agents
Politics and Government

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Anonymous, “Hill, George Washington,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 25, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hill-george-washington.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Original Publication Date:: 1976
Most Recent Revision Date:: January 1, 1995

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