Theophilus Hunter Hill, poet and librarian of Raleigh, N.C., who edited The Spirit of the Age, a Raleigh newspaper, and The Century of South Carolina. In 1861, Hill's first volume of poetry, Hesper and Other Poems, was published in Raleigh, the first book issued under the copyright laws of the Confederate States of America. He also published Poems (1869) and Passion Flower (1883). Letters and other items chiefly relating to literary matters. There is no information about Hill's career as a librarian or his other interests, and there are only a few letters that relate to family activities. Letters from Theodore Bryant Kingsberry (1828-1913), clergyman, author, literary critic, and journalist of Oxford, N.C., begin in 1858 and continue sporadically through 1889, and are mostly about Kingsbury's career and literary opinions. There are also a few letters in the 1860s through around 1890 from Charles Force Deems (1820-1893), clergyman, educator, and author, who apparently helped launch Hill's literary career, and who encouraged Hill to continue writing and publishing his work. Hill's major correspondent was John Henry Boner (1845-1903), poet of Salem, N.C. Letters from Boner begin in 1864 and continue through 1901, and are chielfy about Boner and Hill's friendship, Boner's religious beliefs, and, especailly, Boner's literary career. A few manuscript poems are enclosed with the letters. In the late 1890s, many letters focus on Boner's failing health. There are also a few writings of Hill, including manuscript poems and a manuscript volume of Hesper and Other Poems, 1859. Other papers include a few clippings collected by Hill, chiefly of poems, many of which were written by Boner, and a few items of family itnerest.
