John Hill was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, cousin of John Thomas Harris.

Born in New Canton, Virginia

New Canton, Virginia

New Canton is an unincorporated town in northeastern Buckingham County, Virginia, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 15 above the James River, northeast of the county seat of Buckingham...

, Hill completed preparatory studies and was graduated from Washington Academy (now Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...

), Lexington, Virginia

Lexington, Virginia

Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

, in 1818. He studied law and was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1821.

Hill was elected as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the Twenty-sixth Congress

26th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :*President: Richard M. Johnson *President pro tempore: William R. King - House of Representatives :*Speaker: Robert M.T. Hunter -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1841). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840 to the Twenty-seventh Congress

27th United States Congress

The Twenty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1843, during the one-month...

.

Hill then resumed the practice of law. He served as member of the Virginia constitutional convention 1850-1851.
He worked as a Commonwealth attorney

State's Attorney

In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...

 for several years, before becoming county judge of Buckingham County from 1870-1879.

He died at Buckingham Court House, Virginia, April 19, 1880. He was interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery.

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