Frances M. Hill

Frances M. Hill (July 10, 1799—August 5, 1884) was an American missionary and educator who moved to Greece during the Greek War of Independence and established the first educational facilities for girls in Greece. She and her husband were the first foreign missionaries sent by the Episcopal Church in the United States to serve abroad. While her husband worked to establish their mission, Hill supervised the girls' educational facilities and ran the mission during his absences. After her retirement from the mission, she founded a teacher training academy and continued to administer the school until her death. Early life Frances Maria Mulligan was born on July 10, 1799, in New York City, New York to Elizabeth (née Winter) and John W. Mulligan. She was the eldest of nine children, three boys and six girls, in the family. Her father was a prominent attorney in New York City and her grandfather Hercules Mulligan was an Irish immigrant who had served in the Revolutionary War. He was a familiar of both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Educated at home with her siblings in the family mansion on Cedar Street across the street from the Old Dutch Church, Mulligan was trained as was typical for cultured and refined young women in the period. On April 26, 1821, she married John Henry Hill, a local banker. Hill was a Sunday school teacher at St. George's Episcopal Church (Manhattan) and her husband was the superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1829, John retired from banking to enter the Virginia Theological Seminary. When he was ordained in 1830, the couple were posted to Greece, the first foreign mission undertaken by the Episcopal Church. Career On October 1, 1830, the couple set sail along with Mr. Bingham, a printer and the Rev. John Jacob Robertson and his wife Julia. They arrived in Malta on November 16. Robertson had been the minister who had originally proposed a foreign mission to the church. From Malta, they proceeded that same day to Smyrna making their way to Tenos, where they would remain until spring due to the ongoing conflict in Athens during the Greek struggle against the Ottoman Empire. On May 26, 1831, the group left the island and made their way to Athens, their original destination. By July 18, they had found suitable accommodations for Hill to establish a school for girls, as Athens was in ruins due to the war.