Troup County, Georgia Biographies CHARLES DOUGHERTY HILL Hill, Charles Dougherty, has to his credit the distinction of having made a record as one of the ablest public prosecutors in his day and generation in Georgia, having rendered most noteworthy service as solicitor-general of the Atlanta circuit. A lawyer of most solid attainments and greatest facility in the marshalling of facts and evidence, he has also the incisive keenness and versatility which are such valuable ad-junts to technical knowledge. Of him it has well been written: "Felicitous of speech, quick at repartee, ready at all times with bright and sparkling quotations from his favorite authors, and rich in all the varied resources and accomplishments of the orator, he stands without a peer among the able and distinguished prosecuting officers of Georgia. Mr. Hill possessess a peculiar mind. It is not only quick in its perceptions but also remarkably firm in its retentiveness. He never makes a note in the trial of any case, however important it may be, and never mistakes the evidence in the argument of his cause to the jury. His preparations are purely mental and in none of his great speeches has he employed the use of a pencil. Perhaps no lawyer at the bar has a more prodigious memory." This worthy member of the bar of Georgia's capital city is also a representative of one of the best known and most honored families of this commonwealth. He was born near LaGrange, Troup county, Georgia, Nov. 3, 1852, and is a son of the lamented and distinguished Senator Benjamin H. Hill, of whose career specific mention is made in this work. Mr. Hill passed his boyhood days in his native county and there received his early educational training. In 1867 his parents removed to Athens, Ga., and after further preparatory study young Hill entered the law department of the state university, in that city, being graduated as a member of the class of 1871. He was admitted to the bar in Twiggs county and after practicing two years, with somewhat discouraging results, he decided to abandon the work of his profession and to engage in agricultural pursuits. He accordingly purchased a farm, and to the same he gave his personal supervision until the death of his father, in 1882. This called him to Atlanta, and after his honored father had been called from the scene of life's activities he "decided to resume the profession which had now become to him a solemn legacy." He assisted his brother in the prosecution of a number of criminal cases, and in this connection made a "brilliant reputation by his eloquence and adroit legal manipulations." In 1885 he was elected solicitor-general of the Atlanta circuit and was several times reflected. The review from which previous quotations have been made continues as follows: "Since entering upon the discharge of his duties as the state's prosecuting attorney Mr. Hill has been a terror to evildoers and while he claims that he has never convicted an innocent man it is equally true that a guilty one has rarely escaped. Mr. Hill has been identified with a number of celebrated murder trials, and his speeches delivered on these occasions have been masterpieces of forensic eloquence. The courtroom is always crowded to overflowing as soon as the report spreads that Solicitor Hill is about to make his closing speech to the jury. No man is more truly the idol of his friends or more conspicuously the life and center of every group in which he happens to be found. His humor is always captivating and his wit lively, good-natured and sparkling. He has very little artificial reserve and speaks with frankness and candor, never hesitating to give his opinion freely on any subject. Generous, open-hearted, indulgent and kind, he is one of the best of husbands as well as one of the cleverest and truest of men." Source: "GEORGIA - Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form", 1906, Submitted to Genealogy Trails by K. Torp]    Return to Troup County Biographies Return to Troup County Main Page ©2008 Genealogy Trails