Hill, Whitmel, 1743-1797

Whitmel Hill (February 12, 1743 – September 26, 1797) was an American planter from Martin County, North Carolina and commander of the Martin County Regiment of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He was a delegate for North Carolina to the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780 and served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1778.

Born in Bertie County, North Carolina, Hill attended the common schools before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and returning 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 Regiment of the North Carolina 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, serving as its 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. Hill was re-elected to the state Senate in 1783, 1784, and 1788. In 1788, he was a delegate to North Carolina's Hillsborough Convention to consider ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His outspoken support helped strengthen the forces that ultimately completed ratification the following year in Fayetteville. Hill died and was buried at his home. In 1887, Hill's grave was moved to the Trinity Cemetery, near Scotland Neck in Halifax County, North Carolina.