Little has been written about William Hill, the fourth original member of the partnership of Griffen, Smith & Hill, and for good reason. His tenure at the company lasted less than a year and a half and his influence on the operation is unknown. Unfortunately, we also don’t have any photos of him or his family so he has remained a cypher in the company’s history. However his initial remained on the company’s monogram until 1889 when David Smith also left the partnership and the company was dissolved. As a result Etruscan wares are always referred to as the product of Griffen, Smith & Hill instead of the company that actually manufactured the bulk of it, Griffen, Smith & Company.
The Etruscan monogram of GSH. After Hill’s departure the company
kept the logo but claimed it stood for “Good, Strong and Handsome.”
What we do know is that Hill was born in Longton, Staffordshire, England on February 9, 1837, Longton is one of the six pottery towns in England that make up Stoke-on-Trent, an area collectively known as “The Potteries.”
Longton, Staffordshire
His father was a potter by trade so William grew up in the ceramics business and began to apprentice in the field at a young age. By the age of fourteen records show that he was already employed as a potter.
In February 1863, he married 32 year-old Jemima Frackleton. They lived in Dresden on Longton, Staffordshire where they had three children: two sons‚ William Jr. and Tom and a daughter, Jemima. In the Spring of 1868, Hill left Great Britain for the United States to find work in the pottery business at the burgeoning pottery center in Trenton, New Jersey. In October of the same year Jemima and the three children boarded the ship, City of Baltimore to join Hill in the USA.
The Trenton pottery industry
City of Baltimore was primarily a passenger ship that carried
European immigrants to the United States
A year after moving to Trenton, tragedy hit the young Hill family when three year-old daughter Jemima died in September 1869.
In 1872‚ Jemima gave birth to their fourth child, Frederick in Trenton. It is unknown how Hill became aware of the operation at the small Phoenix Pottery in Phoenixville but it seems likely that Hill made the acquaintance of David Smith who also worked briefly in Trenton. After Smith’s appointment as manager of the Phoenix Pottery, Hill moved his family to Phoenixville‚ Pennsylvania, a western suburb of Philadelphia, to join the operations at Beerbower & Griffen at the Phoenix Pottery
The Phoenix Pottery
Workers at the Phoenix Pottery
In 1879 he developed a partnership with the Griffen brothers and David Smith at the Phoenix Pottery which they renamed the Etruscan Works. The partnership became known as Griffen, Smith & Hill. Census records show that Hill’s eldest son William Jr. also joined the operation.
From the Phoenixville Independent, January 1, 1878:
Co-partnership— We the undersigned, have this day formed a Co-partnership, under the firm name of Griffen, Smith & Hill for the manufacture and sale of White Earthenware,& c., at the Phoenix Pottery Works, Phoenixville, Penna. We have purchased the business and interest of Beerbower & Griffen for that purpose, and all accounts of the said firm will be settled by us. Henry R. Griffen, George S. Griffen, David Smith, William Hill Phoenixville, Pa.
Majolica production began almost immediately at the Etruscan Works as the new company took advantage of the latest fad in ceramics as seen at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.
An early production Etruscan Majolica Cauliflower plate
Carr exhibit at the 1876 Exhibition showing
parian, majolica and other earthenwares
A.B. Daniell & Son retail exhibition in Philadelphia
showing a large collection of majolica
Gilded Minton majolica Prometheus vase shown at the
1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
It is not known what Hill’s formal role was in the operation but it is believed he was involved in early pottery production and design. Unfortunately the partnership lasted only sixteen months.
Pottery production at the Phoenix Pottery
He withdrew from the firm in May of 1880 and the company name changed to Griffen, Smith & Company.
From the Phoenixville Messenger, May 8, 1880:
Dissolved— The partnership heretofore existing between Griffen, Smith & Hill, was dissolved by mutual consent on Monday last, at the annual meeting by the retirement of Mr. Hill.
Hill left Pennsylvania and moved his family to Boston, Massachusetts where there was a thriving pottery import business. We do not know if he tried producing his own pottery but he soon began his own crockery selling business in the pottery district of East Boston. He did well in this line and the family prospered. His son Tom soon joined him. Hill continued to operate his business for the next 28 years.
In June of 1908 William’s wife Jemima died of a stroke at the age of 78. After her passing Hill retired, moving to Roslindale, Boston to live with his adult son Frederick and his family. He remained there until his death by gas asphyxiation in 1913 at the age of 76. He is buried with his wife in Woodlawn Cemetery in Boston.
Woodlawn Cemetery, Boston Mass.
Many years ago I was contacted by one of William Hill’s descendants and I requested information on him. I never did hear from them again which was a disappointment, but at least we know that William and Jemima have family that continues today.
