Agate Type

pete hill’s autograph

Ron Hill recently obtained Pete Hill’s records from the Railroad Retirement Board.  Here is a copy of his original, handwritten application for a Social Security number.  It’s the document from which the Form SS-5 I got from the Social Security Administration was typed.  They have exactly the same information, except on this document we get a very good sample of Pete’s signature—much better than the scan of his World War I draft card (though I am requesting a better copy of that).

the rediscovery of pete hill

For those who are interested, here are the key posts about the search for Pete Hill, with copies of many of the most important documents and photos:

Is Pete Hill’s Hall of Fame Plaque Wrong? (April 20, 2007)

Pete Hill’s Death Certificate (November 24, 2008)

Pete Hill’s Possible Family (November 28, 2008)

Pete Hill’s Family Confirmed (July 30, 2009)

A Solution to the Mystery of Buena Vista (July 30, 2009)

Photos: Pete Hill, Kenneth & Bettye Hill (August 11, 2009)

pete hill in the news

A good AP story about Pete Hill has now run in a couple of places.  Also, see Kevin Gorman’s blog entry about Pete.

for pete’s sake

The Pete Hill story is beginning to spread.  Check out this column by Kevin Gorman in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

correcting history, part three

Here are the final pieces in Zann Nelson’s series on Pete Hill, which include a possible clue as to the fate of Pete Hill’s otherwise mysterious father, Ike Hill.

correcting history, part two

Here’s the second in Zann Nelson’s three-part series on Pete Hill.

correcting history

Check out the first in Zann Nelson’s three-part series in the Culpeper Star-Exponent on the rediscovery of Pete Hill.

the search for pete hill, continued

Here (via Ron Hill) is the latest on the search for Pete Hill’s exact birthplace, as well as the rest of his family in Culpeper County.  The researcher there, Zann Nelson, is a former director of the Museum of Culpeper County History.  She has pointed out (in an article that doesn’t seem to be online) that Rapidan exists on both sides of the river, in both Culpeper and Orange Counties.  So it’s possible that Pete Hill was born in Orange County.

UPDATE 9/16/2009  Here’s Zann’s earlier story, courtesy of Bill Mullins in the comments.

glimpses of the past

Here are some wonderfully evocative photographs of Pete Hill’s family, shared by Ron Hill and Leslie Penn.

First, on the left is Pete’s mother, Elizabeth Seals; on the right his older brother, Walter Vaughn Hill, second of the three Hill brothers.

Here are Pete’s sisters-in-law, Bessie Johnson Hill (left), who was married to Jerome, and Florence Findlay Hill (right), who was married to Walter.

  

And lastly, Pete’s oldest brother Jerome Bryant Hill at his retirement from the post office in Pittsburgh.

success?

From Leslie Penn: it seems that Ron Hill (Leslie’s cousin and Pete Hill’s great nephew) has heard positive noises from the Hall of Fame about the possibility of changing Hill’s plaque and even having a “re-induction” ceremony.  We’ll see how it develops…