Person:Ahab Hill (1)

Ahab Hill was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1772. It was a vibrant time with people coming from Europe and other places and settling the new world. Ahab grew and learned farming, hunting and fishing, from his family. Born to Mary (Coombs) and David Hill he was half Indian, his mother being full blooded Indian.

He met and fell in love with Ruth Smith, a girl from England and decided to marry her. His family had no problem with it but her family would not have one of their daughters marrying an Indian and her father forbade it. Ruth had fallen in love with Ahab and wanted to be his wife so she defied her father and went ahead and married Ahab. Her family disowned her.

Ahab decided that it would be wise to relocate. Whether or not it was due to family problems, or that he saw an opportunity in the western part of Massachusetts we don't know, but one day he decided that they were moving. Ahab and Ruth loaded up the wagon, the kids, and the animals and what belongings they could carry and headed out. What lay ahead they could not guess but Ruth having left her home in England had some experience. She reassured the family as best she could.

The trip took days. Whether they met up with other travelers along the way and formed a train we don't know. That sort of thing was common as there is protection in numbers. Finally they arrived and Ahab found his home. It was a wooded area north of what was called Adams, named after Samual Adams.

He started clearing the land and set out a pasture area, an area for farming, and after many months were ready for winter. Winters in Western Mass can be brutal but they had built a sturdy log cabin and had an abundance of wood nearby. Ahab hunted food and the kids grew up and began looking for husbands. Most of the girls brought their husbands back to the farm to set up their own homesteads. Ahab and Ruth had 8 daughters and 1 son who died young. The husbands all helped with the farming and the settlement grew. Kids were born and eventually they had several log cabins in the area. Then the unthinkable happened.

Ahab died in 1835. It was devastating for the family but together they got through it. Ruth decided that Ahab would be buried on his land and they put him out in the pasture. He rests there today in a small family cemetery on what was the Hill Farm.