Generation No. 1

1. John W.¹ Hill was born Bef. 1830 in Maryland, and died Aft. 1861. He married Sarah Taylor.

Notes for John W. Hill:

John was a captain who fought the Yankees by scuttling boats so the Northerners couldn't get them, in Texas' part of the Civil War. This was in the vicinity of Port Lavaca

He and Sarah came to Texas in 1836.

Children of John Hill and Sarah Taylor are:

Generation No. 2

3. Josephine² Hill (John W.¹) was born April 06, 1855 in Caney Creek, Matagorda County, Texas, and died October 15, 1948 in Nueces County, Texas. She married William Petzel March 30, 1874 in St. Joseph Island, son of John Petzel and Marie Berg.

Notes for Josephine Hill:

Josephine Hill was born in a log cabin in Matagorda County on Caney Creek on April 6, 1855. She lived in Corpus Christi, Texas for 74 years. "It was just a cow town, then" she said. "Lighters came in from Aransas Pass, bringing in the freight from the Gulf. The ships couldn't come in. There was no Harbor."

It is uncertain the exact number of siblings Josephine had. Some reports say she had ten brothers and sisters, and some say eleven.

Josephine lived with her family on their sheep ranch on Matagorda peninsula. She lived in a virgin country where even children soon learned to be self reliant and independent. The Hill family was very well know in the vicinity of Indianola, Texas.

Even though she was very young during the Civil War, she says she was a staunch rebel. She used to help her brother mold lead bullets during the siege of her part of the country. "My brother and I would spit on the hard round lead balls, and whisper fiercely, "Get a Yankee. Get a Yankee."

When the Gulf Coast was blockaded by Yankee ships and Yankee soldiers were in the vicinity, some of the soldiers gave Josephine and her brothers United Stated bank notes. However, they were so fiercely loyal, they wanted no Yankee money. They burned the bank notes, because they used Confederate money.

Josephine and her sister got married in a double wedding on St. Joseph Island in March of 1874. Josephine married William Petzel and her sister, Louisa married Alexander Singer.

Women couldn't take it easy doing housework in those early days. "There were no new fangled ways of doing things. You had to use elbow grease." Mrs. Petzel remembered making soap in big iron kettles, and doing Most of the cooking in iron pots over the fireplace. She told the story of her mother who kept boarders at Indianola. "She bought a new $100 cook stove. She thought it would make cooking easier. But after she tried it for a while, she set it out in the back yard and went back to cooking over a fire place. She said she either let the fire in the cook stove go out, or she burned everything. It was too much to bother".

Mrs. Josephine Hill Petzel said she liked fire place cooking, too. She did not mind it at all. They lived in Mexico for two years, across the river from Laredo. She had nothing but a fireplace then. She said there was an oven underneath and an oven on both sides of the fireplace where you could keep things warm.

Notes for William Petzel:

William was born in Hamburg, Germany. He was one year old when his father arrived from Germany well before the Civil War.

The William Petzels moved to Corpus Christi in the 1870's.

Texas Adjutant Service Records show William Petzel was a Texas Volunteer Guard in 1899. his call number was 401-208.

The Land Survey Abstract Indices of the Original Land Owners of Texas state the William Petzel owned land in Crosby County.

Marriage Notes for Josephine Hill and William Petzel:

They met at the Aransas Pass (now Port Aransas)

Children of Josephine Hill and William Petzel are:

5. Louisa Marie² Hill (John W.¹) was born Bef. 1860, and died Bef. 1947. She married Alexander Singer March 30, 1874 in St. Joseph Island.

Notes for Louisa Marie Hill:

All the folks for miles around came to the double wedding of Louisa and her sister, Josephine on St. Joseph Island. There were guests from Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Lamar, Indianola, St. Mary's, and Rockport. Josephine became Mrs. William Petzel and Louisa, Mrs. Alexander Singer.

It was a gay and happy affair. The wedding guests danced until 8 o'clock the next morning. The supper table was set all night, and food never ran short. Coffee was made in four iron wash pots.

Children of Louisa Hill and Alexander Singer are:

12. Steve² Hill (John W.¹) was born Unknown, and died Bef. 1947.

Children of Steve Hill are:

Generation No. 3

15. Ronald S.³ Petzel (Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born February 06, 1880 in Texas, and died November 1966 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He married Roxie Rogerson May 01, 1919, daughter of Roger Rogerson and Jeanne Robinson.

Notes for Ronald S. Petzel:

Mrs. H. R. Sutherland had a part in naming him Ronald Stuart Petzel after a Civil War General who fought with Gen. Robert E. Lee

He worked as a superintendent of county roads. He helped build the first paved road out toward Nuecestown, to Alice (when it was in Nueces County) and from Alice to Kingsville.

When his Mother was pregnant with twins Ronald was chosen to name them.

Notes for Roxie Rogerson:

She lived in Corpus Christi since 1901

Went to school at: Our Lady of The Lake University

411 Southwest 24th Street

San Antonio, TX 78207

(210) 434-6711

Children of Ronald Petzel and Roxie Rogerson are:

17. Lee Tilford³ Petzel (Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born February 01, 1885 in Texas, and died Bef. 1948. He married Rose Ann Acebo Unknown, daughter of Joseph Acebo and Anna Kelly.

Notes for Lee Tilford Petzel:

He was a local law enforcement officer.

Children of Lee Petzel and Rose Acebo are:

Generation No. 4

26. Ronald Stuart⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born February 04, 1920 in Texas, and died October 05, 1946 in Goose Bay, Labador. He married Etta Forest March 20, 1943, daughter of Charles Forest and Emily Hutson.

Notes for Ronald Stuart Petzel:

Ronald S. Petzel, Jr. joined the army at the age of 21 in the summer of 1941. Later he transferred to the Air Force and received his commission. He was transferred to Newfoundland and a short time after that to Labrador. He was killed in an airplane crash at Goose Bay, Labador at the end of World War II.

Child of Ronald Petzel and Etta Forest is:

27. Georgia Josephine⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born  private. She married Gordon Lee Walker August 20, 1950 in Matagorda County, Texas.

Notes for Gordon Lee Walker:

Owned business "Walker Painting and Yard Service"

Children of Georgia Petzel and Gordon Walker are:

29. Claudia⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born 1938 in Texas. She married (1) Ray Ahlers Unknown. She married (2) Carl Nix Unknown.

Children of Claudia Petzel and Ray Ahlers are:

31. Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. She married Gary L. Hamilton January 31, 1964 in Long Beach, California, son of Lester Beasley and Elaine Dickinson.

Children of Nancy Petzel and Gary Hamilton are:

32. Rose Lee⁴ Petzel (Lee Tilford³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Aft. 1899, and died Unknown. She married Jack Jester Hill, son of Emmett Hill and Clara Jester.

Children of Rose Petzel and Jack Hill are:

Generation No. 5

34. Susan Etta⁵ Petzel (Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born 1944 in Childress, Texas, and died April 05, 1994. She married (1) Richard Graham. She married (2) Nevitt.

Children of Susan Petzel and Richard Graham are:

35. Betty Sue⁵ Walker (Georgia Josephine⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born private. She married Ron Steadham.

Children of Betty Walker and Ron Steadham are:

37. Kathy Ann⁵ Ahlers (Claudia⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born private. She married Joel Camponova November 16, 1983.

Child of Kathy Ahlers and Joel Camponova is:

40. Beth⁵ Hamilton (Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born  in Long Beach, California. She married Andreas Roman May 23, 1992 in Long Beach, California.

Children of Beth Hamilton and Andreas Roman are:

41. Raye Ann⁵ Hamilton (Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born February 21 in Long Beach, California. She married (1) David Sampson, son of Shirley Sampson and Jolinda. She met (2) Jim Homsany, son of O'Toole.

Children of Raye Hamilton and David Sampson are:

Child of Raye Hamilton and Jim Homsany is:

43. Jacky Lee⁵ Hill (Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Aft. 1920. She married LeRoy Everett.

Children of Jacky Hill and LeRoy Everett are:

44. Joanne⁵ Hill (Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Aft. 1920. She married Lynden Wilson.

Children of Joanne Hill and Lynden Wilson are:

Generation No. 6

45. Malcolm⁶ Graham (Susan Etta⁵ Petzel, Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Unknown. He married Susan.

Children of Malcolm Graham and Susan are:

46. Ernest⁶ Graham (Susan Etta⁵ Petzel, Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Unknown in ?. He married Crystal Renee Reddick October 07, 1989 in Cayce, North Carolina, daughter of Warren Reddick.

Children of Ernest Graham and Crystal Reddick are:

64. Lynda⁶ Wilson (Joanne⁵ Hill, Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, Josephine² Hill, John W.¹) was born Aft. 1933. She married Michael Dyer.

Child of Lynda Wilson and Michael Dyer is: