In addition to the Hill Family Cemetery on Hog Rock Road in Edneyville, which contains the grave site of John Hill Sr., the first of the Hills to move into present-day Henderson County, there is another Hill Family Cemetery off Owensby Road in Dana.
Eight children of John Hill Sr. moved into the Dana community. Five were children from his first marriage to Sarah Wheeler (1790-1852). Three were children from his second marriage to Nancy Ann Gilbert (1829-1903). The grave site of his second wife, Nancy Ann Gilbert Hill, is most likely in the Hill Cemetery at Dana, as she was living with her children in Dana at the time of her death in 1903.
Several of his children who moved to Dana most likely have grave sites at Refuge Baptist Church, based on church membership, the location of their home and grave sites of children. These include Lewis “Louis” H. Hill (1810-1890), Johnson Hill (1825-1890), Henry Hill (1832-1864) and Louisa Hill Hyder (1830-1898),
Four of the children of John Hill Sr. have grave sites at this Hill Cemetery in Dana.
John “Jonathan” Hill Jr. (1812-1869) married Darcus Gilbert. John Hill Jr. owned the property on which the Hill Cemetery at Dana is located. His grave appears to be the oldest grave within this cemetery. The grave sites of several of the couple’s eight children are located at this cemetery.
One descendant of John Hill Jr., Ulysses Grant “General” Hill, 1888-1968, was a World War I veteran. His grave site is at this cemetery.
In an early deed, when the land was sold, the one acre of cemetery was not included in the sale.
The deed states, “excepting the one acre set aside as a family burial lot with a right of way from the public road set aside for the purpose of a burial place for families and immediate Hill families and connections of the same.”
The three other children of John Hill Sr. with grave sites in this cemetery are:
Reuben C. Hill (1855-about 1895) married Rosa Wadkins. The couple was living next to the other Hill families in the Dana area at the time of his death. His grave site is most likely one of the unmarked field stones at this cemetery.
Harriett F. Hill (1857-1939) married Andrew D. Elliott. Her grave site is at this cemetery.
Martha Ellen Hill (1868-1948) married William Fletcher Owensby. Her grave site is at this cemetery.
There is one Confederate veteran with a grave in this cemetery. Carson A. Hill, son of John Hill Jr. He served in the 56th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. G, Henderson Blues, according to pension records. Based on his birth date, he most likely was in the Junior Reserves before being assigned to the 56^th N.C. Infantry Regiment. He died in 1891.