Whitmell Hill (February 12, 1743 – September 26, 1797) was an American planter from

Martin County, North Carolina Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,031. Its county seat is Williamston. History The county was formed in 1774 from the southeastern part of Halifax County and t ...

and commander of the Martin County Regiment of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He was a delegate for

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

from 1778 to 1780 and served as Speaker of the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

Early life

Whitmell was the son of a John and Martha Hill, and was born in

Bertie County, North Carolina Bertie County ( , with both syllables stressed) is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Berti ...

. In 1760 he graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and returned to North Carolina to begin developing his own plantation, ''Hill’s Ferry'', in what was to become Martin County when it was established in 1774.

Service in the American Revolution

Service record: * Lt. Colonel in the Martin County Regiment of the North Carolina militia (1775-1778) * Colonel over the Martin County Regiment of the North Carolina militia (1778 & 1781-1783) * North Carolina delegate to the

(1778-1780) Hill supported the rising revolutionary sentiment, and when the Martin County Regiment of the North Carolina militia was organized he was named its Lieutenant Colonel, and was later its Colonel in 1778. When the revolutionary

North Carolina Provincial Congress The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government. There were five congresses. They ...

met in 1775-1776 he represented Martin County. Then, in 1776 he was advanced to the Provincial Council to represent the

Edenton Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

district. During this time he was also a member of the local Committee of Safety.

Political career

Once North Carolina wrote its new Constitution, Hill was elected to the

state Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, and served as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1778. Later that year the Assembly named him as one of the state's delegates to the Continental Congress. He was returned to the Congress until 1781, when the

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

imposed by the state constitution prevented his reappointment. He was re-elected to the state Senate in 1783, 1784, and 1788. In 1788 he was also a delegate to North Carolina's

Hillsborough Convention The Hillsborough Convention, was the first of two North Carolina conventions to ratify the United States Constitution. Delegates represented 7 boroughs and 59 counties, including six western counties that became part of Tennessee when it was creat ...

to consider ratification of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. His outspoken support helped strengthen the forces that ultimately completed ratification the following year in Fayetteville.

Death

Hill died and was buried at his home, ''Hill’s Ferry'', in northwestern Martin County. In 1887 his grave was moved to the Trinity Cemetery, near Scotland Neck in

Halifax County, North Carolina Halifax County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,622. Its county seat is Halifax. Halifax County is part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

References

External links

Whitmell’s Congressional biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Whitmell 1743 births 1797 deaths Continental Congressmen from North Carolina 18th-century American politicians People from Bertie County, North Carolina American planters People from colonial North Carolina University of Pennsylvania alumni North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution Burials in North Carolina People from Martin County, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses