Frank R. Hill Travel Journal

Frank R. Hill was born in Newport, Ohio, on June 24, 1856. He graduated from Pulte Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1884. He married Abby Williams in December 1888. The couple had one son, Romayne, and three adopted daughters, Ione, Ina, and Eulalie.

The family moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1900, just as Washington Territory became the forty-second state. Abby was an artist and the rugged landscapes of the Pacific Northwest became some of her favorite subjects. She frequently headed into the wilderness to paint in remote places, usually accompanied by two or more of her children but typically without Frank.

In 1909, Frank suffered a mental breakdown from which he never completely recovered. Abby moved the family to Laguna Beach, California, then a remote, burgeoning artist colony. Frank became a patient at various hospitals and for years Abby cared for him, surrendering artistic time in order to help him recover. When he was released from the hospital in 1924, Abby bought an automobile. This allowed the family to winter in Tucson, Arizona, to travel to the Deep South, and to explore many locations in the West. In 1931, Frank's illness forced him to return to the hospital in southern California, so Abby settled in nearby San Diego to be available whenever he needed her.

After Frank's death in 1938, Abby became bedridden. She died in Laguna Beach in 1943, five years after her husband.