Josiah W. Hill (Sr.)

Josiah W. Hill (Sr.) was Chuck’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather on the Hill line. He was the father of Harvey Hendershot Hill (Chuck’s great-great-grandfather, the man on the burro at the fair) and of Josiah Way Hill (the WWI casualty at the Meuse-Argonne).

He was born 4 November 1854 at Washington Township, Monroe County, Ohio and married Janetta (Smith) Hill (b. February 1864). The marriage produced at least three children in the GEDCOM record: Harvey Hendershot (b. 10 November 1882), Josiah Way (b. 29 September 1893), and one further sibling.

He died 20 March 1918, age 63 — seven months before his namesake son Josiah Way Hill was killed in action at the Meuse-Argonne (11 October 1918). The Hill family lost father and son within a single year of each other across the World War I home-front and battlefield.

Page is a stub. The “Way” in his son’s middle name suggests a parallel Way-family connection on the Hill side that runs separately from the Way line that enters the Davis side through Victoria Anna Way; the specific marriage that put “Way” into the Hill family is open research, but the likely point of entry is Janetta’s side of the family or an earlier maternal-line marriage of Josiah Sr.’s own parents.

Sources: Eesley/Wildermuth GEDCOM tree (June 2026 trace) — FamilySearch tree ID LY6K-3DG.