Barbara Hill

From Scotland's People Old Parish Registers - Births and Baptisms

• 7 June 1792 birth or baptism of Barbara Hopkirk, daughter of James Hopkirk and Christian Glasford [child 5], in the parish of Glasgow

From 1792 06 07 Barbara Hopkirk Birth.jpg

Hopkirk: To James Hopkirk, merchant, and Christian Glasford, a lawful daughter, Barbara Hopkirk born 7 June 1792; Witnesses: Henry Riddell and Thomas Hopkirk, in the Parish of Glasgow

From 1813 01 19 Laurence and Barbara Hill (Hopkirk) Marriage.jpg and Scotland's People: Old Parish Records - Marriages and Banns

Glasgow/Barony: [Banns] 17 January 1813. Hill. Laurence Hill, Esq., Writer in Glasgow, and Barbara Hopkirk, [lawful daughter] of James Hopkirk of Dalbeth, Married 19 January 1813 by Mr. James Graham, Minister of Killearn.

• 19 January 1813 marriage or banns of Laurence Hill to Barbara Kokirk, in the parish of Barony
• 19 January 1813 marriage or banns of Laurence Hill to Barbara Hopkirk, in the parish of Glasgow

From Lawrence Hill m Barbara Hopkirk Dalbeth - Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday, 3 February 1813 Page 3 - Newspapers.com

Marriage - At Dalbeth, Lawrence Hill, Esq., to Miss Barbara Hopkirk, third daughter of James Hopkirk, Esq., of Dalbeth Dalbeth House, 1920 London Road, Glasgow 55.83858, -4.18492

From British Newspaper Archive: Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, 21 January 1813 Page 3 Married

Married: At Dalbeth, on Tuesday, 19 January 1813 [current], by the Reverend Mr Graham of Killearn, Laurence Hill, Esq. to Miss Barbara Hopkirk, third daughter of James Hopkirk, Esq. of Dalbeth.

From Scotland's People Old Parish Registers - Births and Baptisms

Possible list of 12 children of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk from 1st:29 October 1813 Christian Hill to last: 1 July 1829 Marianne Boswell Hill NOTE: missing Euphemia Georgina Hill

• 29 October 1813 birth or baptism of Christian Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [1st child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 24 October 1814 birth or baptism of Isabella Helen Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [2nd child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 21 July 1816 birth or baptism of Laurence Hill, son of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [3rd child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 6 November 1817 birth or baptism of James Hopkirk Hill, son of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [4th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 14 May 1819 birth or baptism of Anne Henrietta Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [5th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 18 August 1821 birth or baptism of Barbara Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [6th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 14 March 1823 birth or baptism of Elizabeth [Richardson] Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [7th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 15 April 1824 birth or baptism of Catherine [Glassford] Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [8th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 5 February 1825 birth or baptism of Charlotte Maria Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [9th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 15 June 1826 birth or baptism of Ninian Hill, son of Lawrence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [10th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 1 August 1827 birth or baptism of Rebekah Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [11th child], in the parish of Glasgow
• 1 July 1829 birth or baptism of [Marianne Boswell] Hill, daughter of Laurence Hill and Barbara Hopkirk [12th child], in the parish of Glasgow

From Early records of an old Glasgow family - Hill family, 1520-1901, by William Henry Hill, Published 1902 Page 156

Laurence Hill, LL.D., who married, first Barbara Hopkirk and left issue, viz.:

1. Christian Hill, who died unmarried.
2. Isabella Helen Hill, who married David Watson and had issue (10 children), the representative of this branch being Thomas Watson.
3. Laurence Hill, C.E., who married Catherine Wardrop and had issue (10 children), the male representative of this branch or stirps, and consequently also of the family, is Alexander Hill.
4. James Hopkirk Hill, who married Janet Smith Whitehead and had issue (2 children), the representative of this branch being Mrs. Janet Dixon Hill or Scott-Fogo.
5. Anne Henrietta Hill, who died unmarried.
6. Barbara Hill, who died unmarried.
7. Elizabeth Richardson Hill, who died unmarried.
8. Katherine Glassford Hill, who died unmarried.
9. Charlotte Maria Hill, who married Ninian Wight and had issue (5 children), the representative of this branch being Ninian Hill Wight.
10. Ninian Hill, understood to be dead, sans issue.
11. Rebecca Hill, who died in infancy.
12. Marianne Boswell Hill, who died unmarried.
13. Euphemia Georgina Hill, who died in infancy.

From Newspapers: The Caledonian Mercury Thursday, 9 May 1833 Page 3 Died

Died: At Barlanark [Barlanerk], on Sunday, 5 May 1833 [instant], Barbara Hopkirk, wife of Laurence Hill, Esq., of Barlanark. [Barlanark House, Shettleston, Glasgow 55.8589066, -4.1435791]

From Enumeration of the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow and county of Lanark. For the government census of 1831. With population and statistical tables relative to England and Scotland by James Cleland Published 1832 Page 104

The following very valuable article has been prepared by a Lady [Mrs. Hill, daughter of Mr. Hopkirk, of Dalbeth, an eminent statist, and excellent man], distinguished for amiable dispositions, and for scientific and domestic attainments. The thermometer, from which the Journal was prepared, was made by Crichton. 2 It has a Fahrenheit's scale, and is placed in a north exposure, distinct from buildings. The degree of heat, and state of the weather, were taken every morning at nine o'clock, without a single omission from 1 January, 1831 to 31 December 1831.

From Biographic and descriptive sketches of Glasgow necropolis by George Blair, Published 1857 Page 268

One of the three tablets is worthy of special attention, not only on account of the peculiar character of the inscription, but also as one of the first, in point of chronological order, with which the Necropolis was adorned. Hence the compartment was termed Beta, immediately succeeding in alphabetical order that which contains the sepulchres of the Jews, the earliest tenants of the Necropolis. The tablet indicates the last resting-place of the late Mrs. Hill, who may be regarded as the first Christian lady, moving in the upper or respectable ranks, whose remains were deposited in the cemetery. There is one portion of the inscription on this tablet which we cannot transfer to our columns — we mean the curious anagrammatic device immediately above the name of the deceased, in which a combination of cypress boughs is made to represent either B. H., or L. H., or both, as the reader may choose to decipher it. Omitting this symbol, the inscription is as follows: —

• Tranquillus eram et disrupit me—
• Vulnerat, et manus ejus medicantur. [Possibly Isaiah 53:3 - The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed]
• Barbara Hopkirk.
• C. C. Laurentii Hill, LL.B [Probably: Spouse of Laurence Hill, LL.B]
• Dec. III Non. Maii. MDCCCXXXIII. [Possibly: Died 3rd [Non.? maybe buried 9th] May 1833]
• A. O.
• Mar. F. F. Q. XII. L.
• Vale! paullisper. [Probably: Farewell, for a short time.]

From findagrave: Barbara Hopkirk Hill (1792-1833)

• Name: Barbara Hopkirk Hill
• Born: Thursday, 7 June 1792, Glasgow, Scotland
• Died: Sunday, 5 May 1833 (aged 40)
• Buried: Glasgow Necropolis, Wishart Street, Glasgow G4 0UZ 55.86217, -4.23340
• Plot: [Beta 1/1 55.86203, -4.23285]

From PDF FORMAT: Gentle Ladies and "Gipsie" Queens: Constructing and Performing Gender in the Glasgow Necropolis by Vanessa L. Smith, Independent scholar

Another grave demonstrates how class divisions might act on and alter Victorian gender expectations and ideology. The grave of Barbara Hopkirk is extolled in an early Necropolis guide as “the first Christian lady, moving in the upper or respectable ranks, whose remains were deposited in the cemetery” (Blair 1857, 269). Hopkirk was the wife of Laurence Hill, a prominent Glasgow businessman, Collector of the Merchants' House, and one of the founders of the cemetery (Scott 2005a, 2, 20). Contrary to the guide's assertion, Barbara Hopkirk was actually the third woman interred in the Necropolis, preceded by both Elizabeth (Miles) Milne (Thursday, 4 April 1833) and Isabella (Milne) Kennedy (Thursday, 4 April 1833). Elizabeth and Isabella were the mother and the sister, respectively, of the Superintendent of the Necropolis, George Milne (Scott 2005a, 119, 221). While Milne’s title may appear noteworthy, in practice he was a landscape gardener by trade, appointed by the cemetery committee to execute the founders’ vision of the new Necropolis (Scott 2005a, 76). George Milne certainly held a less prestigious role than Barbara Hopkirk’s illustrious spouse. The Necropolis Committee minutes demonstrate that Milne was answerable to Hill on matters relating to the construction and management of the new cemetery (c.f. Scott 2005a, 135). A biographic note from Hopkirk’s life may also shed light on her elevation over the Milne family women. In her short life, Barbara Hopkirk bore a remarkable 13 children and would have spent almost all of her married life pregnant [Footnote 9: Glasgow Women’s Library 2011. see] PDF FORMAT Necropolis Women's Heritage Walk. The potent mix of her husband’s elevated social status and her extraordinary embodiment of the Angel in the House model of Victorian motherhood could explain why Hopkirk was celebrated and the earlier burials ignored.

From Glasgow Women's Library Louise Bell Women’s History tour guide

The Necropolis opened in 1833. There are around 50,000 people buried here, with 3500 visible tombs. The 1st Christian burial was of a woman: Elizabeth Miles - stepmother to George Mylne, Superintendent of the Necropolis.

Our last stop is this monument to Laurence Hill (one of the founders of the Necropolis) and his second wife. His first wife, Barbara Hopkirk, is to the right. Barbara led a life of constant pregnancy and died at the age of only 40, in 1833, having given birth to 13 children.

Image from Necropolis Glasguensis with observations on ancient and modern tombs and sepulture by John Strang Published 1831 - View of ground for proposed cemetery

Image from The Necropolis: an Elegy, and other Poems by Mrs. Mary MacArthur Published 1842

Descending now, I midway pause and lean
O’er the low fence which guards the sacred spot
That seems, encircled with its ivy screen,
Like fabled nymph, or dryad's vernal grot.

Sacred to her whose name the marble bears,
The willow weeps, and gentle spirits mourn;
Her couch of rest the aspect fitly wears,
The rural scenes she loved, so long have worn.

The fount and pitcher tell the oft told tale
Of life elapsed — eternity begun!
But she had scarcely traversed half the vale,
The vale of tears, ere life’s brief course was run.

Happy and envied, midst her numerous race
Of young descendants, life’s bright noon-day smiled:
When last I saw her sweet engaging face,
’Twas wet with tears, shed for a darling child.

[Footnote 13: Page 11, line 8, the grave of Mrs. Barbara Hopkirk, the wife of Laurence Hill, Esq.]