Whitmell Hill

Who was Whitmell Hill?

Whitmell Hill was an American planter from Martin County, North Carolina. He was a delegate for North Carolina to the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780.

Whitmell was the son of a John and Martha Hill, and was born in Bertie County, North Carolina. In 1760 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania 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.

Hill supported the rising revolutionary sentiment, and when the Martin County militia was organized he was named its Lieutenant Colonel, and was later its Colonel in 1778. When the revolutionary North Carolina Provincial Congress met in 1775-1776 he represented Martin County. Then in 1776 he was advanced to the Provincial Council to represent the Edenton district. During this time he was also a member of the local Committee of Safety.

Once North Carolina wrote its new Constitution, Hill was elected to the state Senate, and served as speaker 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 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 Convention to consider ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His outspoken support helped strengthen the forces that ultimately completed ratification the following year.