Arrangement
The collection was organized into groupings of original material, research material, rough drafts, and final papers.
Administrative/Biographical History
Angelina Hill was born December 17, 1815 to Henry and Lydia Hill of New York. In 1837, Hill, along with her parents and younger sister Maria, left Harmony Township, Chautauqua County, New York, for Illinois, where her brother Edwin had a homestead. The family arrived in August of that year, after suffering through extreme heat and illnesses. The family first resided in a house in Strawberry Grove, on Killbuck Creek in Ogle County. In November, they had built a new house for themselves and began homesteading. On September 8, 1839, Angelina married Samuel Brown, another New York immigrant. The pair settled in New Milford. They had three children, Jonathon, Alice, and Sarah. Angelina died on November 28, 1911, and is buried in the New Milford Cemetery. Willa G. Cramton was born January 2, 1937. She earned her master’s degree in history from Northern Illinois University in 1991. As part of her master’s program, she edited and transcribed the Angelina Hill Papers. She later used the documents for several other courses, and presented one of her papers to the Chicago Area Women’s History Council. Cramton passed away February 7, 2012.
