The Hill and Grosvenor families of Memphis, Tenn.,
were joined by the marriage of
Olivia Polk Hill (1861-1934) and Charles Niles
Grosvenor (1850-1931) in 1885. Olivia
Polk Hill Grosvenor's father, Napoleon Hill
(1830-1909), made his fortune during the
California gold rush and upon his return to
Memphis, married Mary Martin Wood, daughter
of a large planter. Hill then established a series
of firms in Memphis, culminating
in the formation of Hill Fontaine and Co., a large
inland cotton house.
In 1897, Charles
Niles Grosvenor and Olivia Hill Grosvenor moved to
El Paso, Tex., for his health.
The three Grosveor children, Phoebe Olivia (d.
1963), Charles Niles, Jr. (1890-1930),
and Napoleon Hill, remained in Memphis. Apparently
in 1902, Olivia Hill Grosvenor
moved back to Memphis, followed by her husband in
1903. The Grosvenors spent much
of their later years in Pass Christian, Miss.
Primarily family correspondence, especially love letters between Olivia
Polk Hill
and Charles Niles Grosvenor, 1874-1885; Phoebe
Olivia Grosvenor and Marion G. Evans
and other suitors, 1908-1919; and Phoebe Airey
Evans and Jack Petree, 1940-1942. Also
included are letters, 1890- 1891, from Frank F.
Hill about life at the University
of the South, where he was in school; a letter,
1890, from Hamlin Garland; letters
reflecting on life in El Paso, Tex., 1897-1902; and
letters from students at Georgia
Tech and Washington and Lee University, circa
1908-1910. Other papers include financial
and legal materials of the Hill and Grosvenor
families; poems and other writings;
four diary volumes, 1892-1915, of Mary Martin Hill
(1835-1922) dealing with family
and personal news in Memphis and other locations;
items relating to social life in
Memphis, Tenn., 1895- 1940; material relating to
Army Air Force training during World
War II; and maps, 1897-1899, of mines in Chihuahua,
Mexico.
Source: finding-aids.lib.unc.edu