Edward Hill Jr. (circa 1637–November 30, 1700) was a controversial Virginia planter, local official and politician, who like his father operated

Shirley Plantation Shirley Plantation is an Estate (house), estate on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. It is located on scenic byway State Route 5 (Virginia), State Route 5, between Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and Williamsburg, ...

in part using enslaved labor, as well as briefly served as 20th Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses (in 1684), and several times represented

Charles City County Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The a ...

in that body.

Early and family life

His grandfather, father, and son all shared the name Edward Hill, and he and his father served on the

Virginia Governor's Council The Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State, was the upper house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia (the House of Burgesses being the other house). It also served as an advisory body to the List of colon ...

, the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. His father Edward Hill had led Virginia forces against usurpers in Maryland and against Native Americans in Virginia, as well as established Shirley Plantation and served several times as Speaker of the House of Burgesses before his promotion to the Governor's Council (also called the Council of State). This Edward Hill married twice, both times within the First Families of Virginia, daughters of burgesses. In 1680, Hill married Anne Goodrich (1625–1696). Following her death, but in the same year, he married Tabitha Scarborough (1640–1717). One of his wives was the mother of Edward Hill III (died 1726) who continued to operate Shirley Plantation as well as also served in the House of Burgesses.

Career

Like his father (and as his son would later), Hill operated Shirley Plantation in Charles City County, using indentured and (increasingly) enslaved labor. He also commanded the militia of Charles City County and nearby Surry County.Tyler Charles City County voters elected Hill (like his father) multiple times as one of their representatives in the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

, and after the reorganization of 1680, he served a single term in 1684 as its Speaker. On the first day of

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American India ...

in 1676, some rebels attempted to get Hill to join them, but he was a friend of Governor Berkeley, and took an active part in suppressing the rebellion, although Bacon's friends expelled him from the House of Burgesses in 1676. Hill became a subject of the "Charles City Grievances" of May 10, 1677, which accused him of misappropriating county taxes for his own use." He was also accused of misappropriation of public funds before the 3-member royal commission investigating the rebellion, which included his son-in-law

Edward Chilton Air Marshal Sir Charles Edward Chilton, (1 November 1906 – 4 August 1992) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command from 1959 to 1962. RAF career Educated at Portsmouth Grammar School,

and ultimately recommended that Hill be left out of the new Governor's Council. Nonetheless, on September 29, 1679, during the royal investigation, Deputy Gov.

Henry Chicheley Sir Henry Chicheley (b. 1614 or 1615 – d. February 5, 1683) was a Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, lieutenant governor of Colony of Virginia, Virginia Colony who also served as Acting Governor during multiple periods in the aftermath of Bacon ...

(one of Gov. Berkeley's supporters) appointed Hill as the colony's attorney general, although the following year Edmund Jenings arrived from Britain and was sworn in as the colony's attorney general. The commissioners called Hill "the most hated man of all the county where he lived."Troubetzkoy p. 13 A decade later, around 1690, the Lords of Trade again reorganized the British colonial structure, which led to a power struggle between the Burgesses and the new Governor

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, ...

. The Burgesses elected Hill as the colony's treasurer in 1691, but the governor refused to acknowledge the Assembly's power to appoint that position, considering it his prerogative. Hill compromised by accepting the lucrative position of collector of revenue for the upper district of the James River. In 1697, Governor

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714; also spelled ''Edmond'') was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other ...

named Hill as Judge of Admiralty for Virginia and North Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Edward Jr. 1630s births 1700 deaths Speakers of the Virginia House of Burgesses House of Burgesses members People from Charles City County, Virginia 17th-century American planters