Peter Hill (clockmaker)
Peter Hill (July 19, 1767 – December 1820) was an American clockmaker. Hill, a former enslaved person, was the first African American clockmaker and the only African American clockmaker working during the late 18th century and early 19th century.
Biography[edit]
Peter Hill was born into slavery on July 19, 1767, and lived on the land owned by a Quaker and clockmaker, Joseph Hollinshead Jr in Burlington Township, New Jersey.[1][2] Hill worked as an apprentice to Hollinshead, starting at age 14.[3] Hollingshead helped Hill set up a clockmaking business of his own before freeing him.[4] In 1794, Hill was given a certificate of manumission and was freed by his master.[2] He was certified a free man in 1795.[5]
Hill married Tina Lewis, an educator, on September 9, 1795.[5][3] Hill and his wife lived in the same location as his clockmaking shop where he maintained the business there for 23 years.[4] Hill was the first African American clockmaker and the only African American clockmaker working during the late 18th century and early 19th century.[1] Around 1814, Hill moved his business to Mount Holly, New Jersey.[6] On February 29, 1820, Hill purchased a large house in Mount Holly.[6] He died in December of that same year.[6] Hill was buried in the Society of Friends' Burial ground in Burlington Township.[7][1]
Most of Hill's clocks did not survive, with only five known to exist today.[8][1] One of Hill's clocks is in the collection of the National Museum of American History.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Smith, Jessie Carney (2003). Black Firsts : 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events (2nd, revised and expanded ed.). Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. pp. 591–592. ISBN 1-57859-142-2. OCLC 51060259 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Bedini 1999, p. 257.
- ^ a b Bedini 1999, p. 259.
- ^ a b Bedini 1999, p. 260.
- ^ a b Heung, Camille (June 23, 2008). "Peter Hill (1767–1820) •". Black Past. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c Bedini 1999, p. 264.
- ^ Bedini 1999, p. 267.
- ^ a b "Peter Hill Tall Case Clock". National Museum of American History. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
Sources[edit]
- Bedini, Silvio A. (1999). "Peter Hill, the First African American Clockmaker". In Hine, Darlene Clark; Jenkins, Earnestine (eds.). A Question of Manhood: A Reader in U.S. Black Men's History and Masculinity. Vol. 1. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253213433.