1951 Report of House Fire Reveals An Unknown Sister b 1822: Harriet Hill Hull

While searching online newspapers for information regarding the 1899 death of young Hiland Hill in Catskill, NY, the report of a house fire in 1951 surfaced.  It referenced a home at Hill and Bronson Streets in Catskill that had been built in 1848 by Hiland Hill (1786-1850), the great grandfather of my research subject.

It mentioned that the builder had been the father of  “late bankmen Frederick and Henry and Mrs. A. Cooke Hull”.  Really ? I had records for 2 other daughters of Hiland and his wife Mary Butler, Mary and Emily, both of whom had died unmarried. I knew nothing of Harriet.

Lucikly A. Cooke Hull is not a common name and I easily found him, a physician, trained in NYC and practicing in Brooklyn. He and Harriet married about 1845, too early for her to have ever been listed with her parents in a census. Aaron Cooke Hull was a leader in the field of homeopathic medicine as were his brother and brother-in-law which adds a bit of interest to the story of the Hill bankers.

You never know when a “remember when” or other historic notations in a newspaper will reveal new family members and stories.