William Hill Field

Biography

William Hill Field was born on June 3, 1808 in Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia, USA. His parents were Henry Field, of Culpeper County and Frances Field (Hill).

William married Mary Jane Field in 1835 in KY. Together they had the following children:
Edmonia Field;
Henry Young Field;
Caroline Carrie Wallace Field;
William Hill Field;
Judge Emmet Robert Field;
Hon Richard Field;
Edward Field;
Stanley Field;
Thomas Field, MD;
Mary Field.

He died on June 5, 1862 in Georgetown, Pettis County, Missouri, USA, he was re-interred in Cave Hill Cemetery on November 16, 1865. in Louisville, KY

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William Hill Field was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on June 3, 1808. His father, Henry Field, was a substantial planter and influential citizen there. Young William was provided a good education, and he began the study of law. Around 1830, he emigrated to Tennessee, then on to Kentucky. Soon, he established a thriving law practice in the town of Bedford, where he met and married Mary Jane Young, daughter of a wealthy local physician, in 1835. Seeking greater success, he moved to the city of Louisville, where he built a large home on Chestnut Street and began to engage in politics. He was a Whig and a staunch supporter of Henry Clay of his adopted state of Kentucky. In 1839, he led efforts to defeat the Southwestern Railroad Bank Bill, which proposed to distribute stock in Kentucky so as to allow the company to build a railroad to the Atlantic Ocean. Building on his successes, Field was one of thirteen Kentucky electors in the Presidential election of William Henry Harrison in 1840. In 1844, Field himself was victorious in a special election to the Kentucky State Senate, representing Jefferson County. He was re-elected to a two-year term in 1845, before resigning from public office in 1847. He gained wide respect. Mr. George D. Prentiss, the distinguished editor of the Louisville Courier, on one occasion, referred to Field as "one of nature's noblemen" upon his return to Kentucky for a visit. Despite his growing family - nine of his ten children were born in Louisville - and successful career, Field, at age 45, decided to relocate to Missouri to carry on his life as a gentleman planter. In 1853, he arranged to buy 1,700 acres of land in Pettis County, Missouri. Field sold his Louisville home for $21,000, and in late 1853, the Field family moved to their new plantation near Georgetown, Missouri, where they built a replica of his Chestnut Street home. On June 5, 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, Field was ordered from his home by Union 2nd Lt. George W. Nash of the 1st Missouri Cavalry, and Nash had him shot because of suspected Southern sympathies. Nash was arrested and tried for murder in July 1862, but fearing conviction, he escaped in the middle of the trial. The incident caused quite a stir in the St. Louis and Kansas City papers, as it seemed a microcosm of all the anxieties and animosities of Missouri. Field was originally buried in Missouri, but after the war, his family had his body moved back to Louisville, and he was re-interred in Cave Hill Cemetery on November 16, 1865.
- bio by Member #48336373

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• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 17 2023, 4:23:03 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Sep 19 2019, 0:40:55 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 5 2022, 14:36:49 UTC