William G. Hillman

WILLIAM GRANT HILLMAN was born on August 10, 1865 in Camden NJ, the sixth of nine children of Edward Hillman and his wife, the former Margaret Grant. Edward Hillman was born on October 2, 1834, and had moved to Camden’s Middle Ward during the 1850s. When the Census was taken in 1860, he was single, living at the home of Samuel and Abigail Osler, and working as a deck hand aboard a boat that plied the Delaware River. He married Margaret Grant soon afterwards; a son, James Hillman was born around 1862. By 1870 Edward Hillman was working as the pilot of a steam-powered ferry for the West Jersey Ferry Company. Still then living in the Middle Ward, when the Census was taken in 1870 the family included Edward and Margaret Hillman, and three living children—James, 8; William, 4; and Margaret, 2. Ten years later the family was living at 227 Benson Street, where they remained through 1882. Two other children were living there as well—Jesse, aged 5; and George, 2. Edward Hillman was still piloting the ferry; William, then 15, was still in school. Edward Hillman remained with the West Jersey Ferry until it was absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and stayed on, working for the new management through at least 1890.

Edward Hillman and family lived at the corner of South 5th and Stevens Street in 1883 and 1884. By 1885 they had moved to 624 South 2nd Street. The 1887–1888 and 1888–1889 City Directories show them at 312 Mickle Street. By 1890 the family had moved to 330 Royden Street.

William Hillman first appears in the Camden City Directories in the 1888–1889 edition, working as a deck hand, most likely for the Pennsylvania Ferry, and living at 26 Market Street, a short walk from the ferry terminal. It appears that he followed his family to South Camden, the 1890 Directory shows him living at 617 South 3rd Street, near the corner of South 3rd Street and Beckett Street, and not far from his father’s Royden Street home; this was the home of another West Jersey ferry pilot, George Hillman, who may have been a relation. William Hillman then worked as a “wheelman.” In November of 1899 William Hillman secured an appointment to the Camden Fire Department. He served with Ladder Company 2.

At the time of the 1900 Census William Hillman was single. He boarded with Caroline Martin, a widow, 214 Beckett Street in South Camden, around the corner from his previous address. Margaret Grant Hillman passed away that year. Edward Hillman died on October 6, 1903.

On March 16, 1906 Fireman Hillman was killed along with brother fire fighters George Shields of Ladder Company 2 and William Jobes of Engine Company 1, killed in the line of duty while fighting a fire at the former Sixth Regiment Armory at 4th and Mickle Streets.

Fireman Hillman was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery, on the southwest corner of Mount Ephraim Avenue and Ferry Avenue. He was survived by his brother George and his wife Louisa and their children; and by his brother Jesse and his wife Mamie, all listed in the 1910 Census.

The Hillman family apparently could not afford a headstone, so William G. Hillman’s final resting place was unmarked until May of 2006 when, through the efforts of Camden Fire Department photographer Bob Bartosz and others, he received a headstone that reflects his heroic sacrifice.

Caroline and Arthur Martin had moved to 239 Beckett Street by 1906. It is quite possible that William Hillman was still boarding with the Martins up until the time of his death.

George and Louisa Hillman had divorced after the compilation of the 1914 Camden City Directory. In January of 1920, he was still living in Camden, but was not living at that time with his wife and children. Jesse Hillman was also still living in Camden in 1920; he and his wife were still childless at that point.

George and Jesse Hillman are not listed in Camden in the 1924 City Directory. George Hillman’s daughter Emma had married Edwin Van Horn by April of 1930. The Van Horns lived on River Road in the Delair section of Pennsauken NJ; George Hillman and his youngest son, Frank L. Hillman, lived with the Van Horns. Oldest son George Jr. lived elsewhere in Delair, as did middle son, William K. Hillman, named for his fire fighter uncle, on Finlaw Avenue. The Hillman family is still in the area as of 2006.

On Saturday morning, May 20, 2006 a group of Camden Fire Fighters, Camden County Fire Fighters, retired members of the Fire Force, along with United States Congressman Robert Andrews, Camden City Mayor Gwendolyn A. Faison, Fire Chief Joseph Marini and Msgr. Michael T. Mannion, S.T.L. and other friends gathered at Evergreen Cemetery in South Camden for the 100th Anniversary of the tragic 1906 Camden Armory Fire that took the lives of the three Gallant Fire Fighters. Fireman William Jobes of Engine Co. 1, Fireman George Shields with Ladder Co. 2, along with Fireman William Hillman of Ladder Co. 2 died in the Line of Duty that day. In recent years it was found out that Fireman Hillman had been buried in an unmarked grave, and a fund was set up to provide him with a proper headstone.

While researching the events of this tragic fire some very strange and unusual and ghostly events had surfaced. All of the details have been documented by newspaper clippings and personal encounters from members of the present fire fighting force.

This story starts on the morning of March 16, 1906 when Fireman William Hillman is attending Roll Call and is physically upset. His Foreman says to him, “Bill what’s wrong?”

“Captain I have one of my bad feelings today. We are going to have a bad fire and some of us boys are going to get hurt.”

The Captain said he tried all day to talk Hillman out of his feelings but could not. He said to him, “Bill where is the fire going to be at?”

Hillman says, “We are going to get the Armory on fire and some of us are not going to return.”

(Note: in 1906 Camden firemen were paid $600.00 a year and worked a straight 24 hour shift for twenty or more days before having a few days off. Each Member was allowed to go home for 1 hour a day for lunch or dinner; many of the firemen were in walking distance to their homes.)

On the afternoon of March 16, 1906 Fireman Jobes of Engine Co. 1 had left the Station to go to his home and have dinner with his family. About the same time Fireman George Shields left Ladder Co. 2 Station to walk a half of block to his home at 525 Kaighns Avenue, which was just down the street from Ladder 2 Station.

(Note: Fireman Shields was a veteran fireman coming on the department in the 1890s; his parents presented him with a shiny ID Tag with his name and fire company No. and his address on the ID Tag. These were similar to what Civil War soldiers carried to identify themselves if they were killed in battle. Shields had this ID Tag with him at all times. We feel that he may have had this ID Tag pinned to the inside of his fireman’s uniform coat.)

Shields had just arrived at his home and hung his coat in the closet near the kitchen and had just set down to dinner with his wife and children when he heard the bells from Engine Co. 8 clanging as they were leaving the station just up the street from his house. He knew that Ladder Co. 2 would be following them in a few more moments. He apparently raced from the table and grabbed his coat from the closet and out the front door as Ladder Co. 2 slowed, which enabled him to jump on the side of the truck next to Hillman. And off they went into eternity.

(Note: When Shields grabbed his coat from the closet his ID Tag apparently fell from his uniform coat onto the floor of the closet, falling into a crack in the floor. There it would remain for almost 90 years.)

Almost at the same time Fireman Jobes, from Engine Co. 1 was told of the blaze and he too left the dinner table and his family and returned to Engine Co. 1’s quarters, boarded the apparatus and raced off to 4th and Mickle Street. Hillman’s last known location in the burning building was near the front door of the Armory. Jobes and Shields were found together a few feet from Hillman. Ladder Co. 2 with Hillman and Shields, along with Jobes, Jobes, Hillman and Shields were all caught in the collapse of the roof. They all died a hero’s death.

In the early 1990s a fireman from Ladder Co. 2 was renovating his home near Kaighns Avenue. In the floor of a closet he found an old ID Tag which read “George Shields, Camden Fire Dept. Camden N.J.” They thought it was quite unusual for a fireman to find another fireman’s ID Tag in a burned out home. They proceeded to Fire Headquarters with the ID Tag to show Fire Chief Joseph Marini to ask him if he had ever heard of this fireman.

Chief Marini said that the name sounded familiar and as he opened his desk drawer, there sitting in front of him was the old 1906 postcard with the three firemen’s photos on it, and the middle picture was a fireman by the name of Shields. It would be amazing that these two events would come together but still no one ever heard of the fire or these men.

At the same time a committee was now working on a book to mark the 125th Anniversary of the Camden Fire Department. Chief Marini gave the postcard and the ID Tag to the committee to research. This is how the “Mystery of the Three Gallant Firemen” came to light.

It was later found out that Shields did lose his ID Tag on the night he was killed. Was this a hidden message telling his brother firemen “Don’t forget about us”? How strange is it that a brother fire fighter from his same Company, Ladder Co. 2, would find this hidden message almost 90 years later.

It took another 10 years of in-depth research, over many hours of looking into microfilm of 1906 newspapers to find out more information about the fire, where it was found out that Fireman Hillman did predict the Armory fire and his death. It took over three more years to find out the location of the three firemen of their burial sites. Evergreen Cemetery, at the southwest corner of Mt. Ephraim Avenue and Ferry Avenue, where Shields and Hillman are buried, was under very depressed conditions and had been badly vandalized.

It was found out that Shields did have a headstone and so did Jobes, who is buried at Harleigh Cemetery not far from the grave of Walt Whitman, but Fireman Hillman had lain buried in a cold unmarked grave for over 100 years.

Was it the ghost of these men, especially Fireman Shields, who left his hidden message with his lost ID Tag for his brother firemen to find to bring this story to an end?

A fund was started and a beautiful headstone was purchased. On the headstone is a picture of Fireman Hillman along with an original photo of the 1906 Horsedrawn Ladder Co. 2. Hillman is standing next to Shields in this picture which is now embedded into this headstone.

On May 20, 2006 the tears from heaven started to pour down as brother firemen lined up at the opening ceremony on this 100 year Anniversary for the dedication of Hillman’s headstone. As Fire Chief Marini saluted Fireman Hillman’s grave, the sun came out, the rain clouds were no longer in the sky and a beautiful sunny day was now upon us. As if Firemen Jobes, Shields and Hillman were saying Thank You. All of us from the Camden Fire Department are saying, Rest In Peace Brothers for your Gallant Sacrifice. This story has reached its Happy Ending.