BILL and SUE-ON HILLMAN: Through the years I have strived to keep our family legacy alive. I feel committed to this since I have inherited the family home and land which have a long history. In 1878, my great grandfather, James Campbell, brought his family and possessions on a long trek from Ontario to the Strathclair area of Manitoba. I wrote and recorded a song dedicated to my grandfather, John, who was just a small toddler at that time. My song from A PRAIRIE SAGA IN SONG tells some of the story:
A 60-YEAR MUSICAL ODYSSEY
60 Years on the Road with Bill and Sue-On Hillman
https://www.hillmanweb.com/book
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Presents
A LEGACY OF FAMILY NAMES
www.hillmanweb.com/book/legacy/names.htmlJOHN CAMPBELL, PIONEER
Westward bound the year was '78
John Campbell - Pioneer
Steamin' by train and rolling by wagon
To Manitoba's wild frontier
His daddy built a house of sod just for the winter
Come summer built a house of stone
Cleared the virgin land and they did it by hand
Workin' aching fingers to the boneHe met my Nanny in a country school house
Where they danced the night away
Bought a gold band and asked for the hand
Of pretty little Katy McKay
Green Bluff girl then moved into Maple Grove
Just a little south of town
Helping in the fields and cooking all the meals
And watching little babies run aroundChorus
Now I walk the same fields and the forests
But it's not as it once used to be
And I realize with tears in my eyes
Time fades their memory'20s brought good times, '30s took them back
'40s called the second son away
Winter '55 took and old man's life
And a woman's will to live another day
But the house still stands to the memory of a man
Who settled on this prairie land
Trees a-blowing in the wind are still growing
Planted by a woman's loving handThey homesteaded on the land in 1878 -- land that I have inherited. My song tells some of the story. The Campbells built a sod house for their first winter on the land. The farmland was very fertile, but had to be cleared trees and of many large stones to make farming possible. These stones were used to build a stone fence and stone house which later was taken over by John who had married my grandmother, Katherine Elizabeth McKay whose family had come from Minnesota to homestead in the area. In 1920 they built a large brick house designed by my grandmother, Katie This is the house in which I was born and raised. It was named Maple Grove since groves of Maple trees were planted around it. (We later named our recording company, Maple Grove Records.)
Looking back through the family histories of both sets of grand parents I see that my name WILLIAM is a common family name going back well into at least the early 1800s. Both my grandparents had favourite brothers named William. It was appropriate then that they name their second son, William. In WWII my uncle Bill volunteered to become a Lancaster bomber pilot in the RCAF and lost his life in the final days of the war. My Mom, Louise Marie Campbell, married Robert Gerald Hillman (Robert was his father's name) who joined the Royal Canadian Navy in the early days of the war. My sister and I were given "hand-me down" names from our parents. William Gerald and Bonnie Louise.
When I married Sue-On Choy we inherited our family home which contained generations of family heirlooms and photos. When it came time to name our three kids it seemed natural to follow family tradition and incorporate traditions into their names.*** Our first born we named William Ja-On Campbell Hillman. Ja was derived from his grandfather Jerry and the hyphen and On were a nod to his mom Sue-On.
*** Our second-born we named William Robin Monroe Li-Chan Hillman. Robin was derived from Robert, the hyphenated Li-Chan was derived from Sue-On's mom's maiden name Chan and Li from other family names. Munroe was a common family name in the McKay line but we changed the spelling to MONroe in honour of Sue-On.
*** Our daughter we named China-Li Jade Ma-Ri Hillman. China-Li was my hyphenated nickname for her mom during our 2-year courtship. Jade was the English name of Sue-On's mom and Ma-Ri is a hyphenated adaptation of my mom's middle name, Marie.
