Bio of HILL, Dr. Richard J. (b.1853 d.1923), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical

RICHARD J. HILL, M. D. - Vol III, pg 431-432
Dr. Richard J. Hill, a prominent Minneapolis physician and surgeon who was long
numbered among the leading representatives of the medical profession in the
state, passed away on the 2d of February, 1923, when he had rounded out the
Psalmist's allotted span of threescore years and ten. His birth occurred in
Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1853, his parents being Dr. Nathan B. and
Elizabeth L. (Mendenhall) Hill. The father, who was born in Randolph county,
North Carolina, in May, 1817, was a graduate of Haverford School in Haverford,
Pennsylvania, and received his professional training in the Jefferson Medical
College of Philadelphia. In 1861, in company with Dr. Sindley, he came to
Minneapolis with his family and the two physicians formed a partnership that was
maintained until the death of Dr. Hill. The latter was deeply interested in
civic matters, serving for several years as a member of the common council. In
1871 he was appointed a member of the state board of health by Governor Austin,
while at the time of his demise he held the presidency of the Minnesota State
Medical Association. He was likewise honored with the presidency of the Hennepin
County Medical Society and the Minnesota Academy of Medicine. and for many years
he was identified with the Great Northern Railway as chief surgeon for the
territory around Minneapolis. A contemporary biographer said of him: "He was
known, too, as a trustworthy and reliable expert on the witness stand, where he
was called, not only for the road of which he was chief surgeon, but on other
cases in which he had only a medical interest. He never stooped to anything that
was mean or little, and even though he left something open for the other side he
was true in his testimony." It was in 1845 that Dr. Nathan B. Hill wedded Miss
Elizabeth L. Mendenhall and they became parents of two sons: Richard J., of this
review; and Samuel Hill, a prominent citizen of Seattle, Washington.
Richard J. Hill, who was a lad of eight years when he accompanied his parents on
their removal to Minneapolis, remained here practically the rest of his life,
with the exception of a period of three or four years spent in regular army
service in Arizona. He obtained his education in the grade and high schools of
this city and prepared for his chosen calling as a student in the Jefferson
Medical College of Philadelphia, while during the years 1867 and 1873 he was a
special student at the University of Minnesota. For several years following the
completion of his professional course he attended medical lectures in
Philadelphia. From 1879 until 1881 he served as a surgeon in the regular army
and while at Fort Stevens, Montana, he rode the horse of General Custer. On his
return to Minneapolis he wedded Miss Louise Johnson, who was also a student in
the University of Minnesota in the years 1867 and 1873.
Her parents, John Chandler and Anna Carter (Filton) Johnson, came to Minneapolis
from New Hampshire in 1854, her father here devoting his attention to the
wholesale grocery business as a partner of John Pillsbury and winning wide
recognition as a pioneer merchant in this field. Dr. and Mrs. Hill became the
parents of a son and a daughter: Richard J.; and Louise Carter, who is the wife
of Kenyon Keath, son of Arthur Keath, a prominent Minneapolis attorney.
The following is an excerpt from an editorial appreciation of the life of Dr.
Hill, which appeared in the Journal-Lancet, the official journal of the medical
profession in the Northwest, under date of February 15, "1923: "The
Journal-Lancet voices the sentiments of the medical profession of Minnesota and
elsewhere when it records with keen regret the death of Dr. Richard J. Hill of
Minneapolis. He knew most of the men in the state and was on cordial terms with
them, for he had the happy faculty of making friends and retaining them.
Everyone who knew Dr. Hill not only loved him but respected him. His views on
medical matters, his opinions, and his advice were always carefully considered.
He was probably one of the earliest members of the Hennepin County Medical
Society, and he was usually in active service in not only the local but the
state organizations, and for many years he was on the council of the State
Medical Association. There, too, he will be missed, for he knew what it meant to
the other members to have with him a mental record of past events of what was
just and right in medical matters. His father, Dr. Nathan B. Hill, was one of
the pioneer physicians of Minnesota, consequently Dr. Richard Hill gained much
of his information and knowledge from his association with older and trained
men."
In 1887 Dr. Hill spent six months abroad, visiting European hospitals. For more
than thirty years he served on the staff of Abbott and St. Mary's hospitals of
Minne­apolis and he was a member of the executive board of these institutions.
For a period of three decades he acted as chairman of the board of the State
Medical Association and for more than four decades was chief examiner of the
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. His appreciation for the social
amenities of life was indicated by his membership in the University and
Lafayette clubs, while his religious faith was evidenced in his identification
with the Society of Friends. It was said of him that he "had the gentle and
conservative manner of the Quaker." In his passing Minneapolis sustained the
loss of one of her foremost physicians-one who at all times conformed his
practice to the highest professional ethics and enjoyed the respect and esteem
of his fellow practitioners in an unusual degree. Mrs. Hill, who survives her
husband, still makes her home at No. 1910 Stevens avenue, in Minneapolis, where
she has an extensive and favorable acquaintance.