The Earl's of Hillsborough
Marquess of Downshire

Moyses Hill (d.1630)
The founder of the family's fortunes was Moyses Hill, who came to Ireland as a landless adventurer in the following of the 1st Earl of Essex, during the reign of Elizabeth I.  After service under the 2nd Earl of Essex and then under Mountjoy in the wars against Hugh O'Neill, he attached himself to Sir Arthur Chichester.  The first land he acquired - a grant from the crown in 1592 - was in the vicinity of Larne in Co. Antrim.  In 1608 the corporation of Carrickfergus granted him some land within the liberties of the town, and he had an interest in the customs of the port until 1619.  In addition, he leased land from Chichester in Islandmagee and at Malone on the river Lagan, building forts in both places.  The Carrickfergus property, augmented by two substantial purchases in the early nineteenth century, became an estate of just over 5,000 acres.

The family's connection with Co. Down began in 1607 when Moyses Hill bought the manor of Castlereagh and eight townlands from the unfortunate Con O'Neill.  Later, Hill and Sir James Hamilton acquired a larger tract in the same area from O'Neill; and in 1622 he was one of the parties in a legal conflict over O'Neill's property.  The lands thus obtained, with some small additions at a much later date, formed an estate of some 13,000 acres.  Hillhall was the site of the bawn which marked its southern extremity.  From another native family, the Magennises, Hill acquired in similar fashion the beginnings of the Kilwarlin estate, which was to be the largest and most important of the family's possessions.  Brian Oge Magennis in 1611 sold seven of his forty-three townlands to his new neighbour.  By the time of his death in 1630 Moyses Hill had achieved the ambition of every landless younger son.

Arthur Hill (d.1664)
Arthur Hill's achievement was consolidated by his son Moyses, who prudently married his cousin Anne Hill of Hillhall and thus united the Castlereagh and Kilwarlin estates.  He survived his father by only a year, however, and was succeeded by a half-brother, William, the child of Arthur Hill's second marriage to Mary Parsons, daughter of one of the Lords Justices appointed in 1640 to govern Ireland when Lord Deputy Wentworth was summoned to London.
Child of Arthur Hill and Mary Parsons:

• William Hill(M)
  b. before 1656, William Hill was born before 1656.
  The connections formed by William Hill through his two marriages eventually resulted in considerable additions to the family estates.  The first, to the daughter of Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh, brought the lordship of Blessington in Co. Wicklow (but not until a century later, in 1778); the second, to Mary Trevor, daughter of the 1st Viscount Dungannon, brought a smaller estate at Loughbrickland in Co. Down.  A son by the first marriage, Michael, inherited in 1693 and purchased a townland at Newry.
  Child of William Hill and Eleanor Boyle:
  • Michael Hill
    b. circa 1672, d. 1699,
    Michael Hill was the son of William Hill and Eleanor Boyle.  He was born circa 1672.  He married Anne Trevor, daughter of Sir John Trevor and Jane Mostyn, in 1690.  He died in 1699.
    • Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough b. 1693, d. 3 May 1742
      Most of the early Hills were members of the Irish parliament and privy council, and the family had become well established by the end of the seventeenth century. It entered the ranks of the peerage in 1717, when Trevor Hill was created Baron Hill of Kilwarlin and Viscount Hillsborough in the peerage of Ireland.
      Children of Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough and Mary Rowe:
      • Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire b. 30 May 1718, d. 19 Jan 1766
        
        Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire was the son of Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough and Mary Rowe.  He was born on 30 May 1718.  He married Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare and Mary O'Brien, on 1 March 1747.  He married Mary Stawell, daughter of Edward Stawell, 1st Baron Stawell, in September 1768.  He died on 19 January 1766 at age 47.
        Children of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire and Margaret FitzGerald:
        • Lady Emily Mary Hill b. 1750, d. 27 Nov 1835
        • Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire b. 3 Mar 1753, d. 7 Sep 1801
          
          Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire was the son of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire and Margaret FitzGerald.  He was born on 3 March 1753.  He married Mary Sandys, Baroness Sandys, daughter of Hon. Martyn Sandys and Mary Trumbull, on 29 June 1786.  He died on 7 September 1801 at age 48.
          Children of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire and Mary Sandys, Baroness Sandys:
          • Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbell Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire b. 8 Oct 1788, d. 12 Apr 1845
            
            Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbell Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire was the son of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire and Mary Sandys, Baroness Sandys.  He was born on 8 October 1788.  He married Maria Hickman, daughter of Other Hickman Hickman, 5th Earl of Plymouth and Hon. Sarah Archer, on 25 October 1811.  He died on 12 April 1845 at age 56.
            Children of Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbell Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire and Maria Hickman:
            • Lady Mary Hill d. 15 Jul 1884
            • Charlotte Augusta Hill d. 24 Nov 1861
            • Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire b. 6 Aug 1812, d. 6 Aug 1868
              Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire was the son of Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbell Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire and Maria Hickman.  He was born on 6 August 1812.  He married Caroline Frances Cotton, daughter of Field Marshal Sir Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere and Caroline Greville, on 23 August 1837.  He died on 6 August 1868 at age 56.
              Children of Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire and Caroline Frances Cotton:
              • Lady Alice Maria Hill d. 25 Feb 1928
              • Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire b. 24 Dec 1844, d. 31 Mar 1874
                
                Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire was the son of Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire and Caroline Frances Cotton.  He was born on 24 December 1844.  He married Georgiana Elizabeth Balfour, daughter of John Balfour and Georgiana Campbell, on 26 July 1870.  He died on 31 March 1874 at age 29.
                Child of Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire and Georgiana Elizabeth Balfour:
                • Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire b. 2 Jul 1871, d. 29 May 1918
                  Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire was the son of Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire and Georgiana Elizabeth Balfour.  He was born on 2 July 1871.  He married, firstly, Katherine Mary Hare, daughter of Hon. Hugh Henry Hare and Georgiana Caroline Browne, on 22 June 1893.  He and Katherine Mary Hare were divorced in 1902.  He married, secondly, Evelyn Grace Mary Foster, daughter of Edmund Benson Foster, on 16 May 1907.  He died on 29 May 1918 at age 46.
                  Child of Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire and Katherine Mary Hare:
                  • Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire (1894-1989)
                  • Captain Lord Arthur Francis Henry Hill b. 28 Aug 1895, d. 25 Dec 1953
                    Captain Lord Arthur Francis Henry Hill was the son of Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire and Katherine Mary Hare.  He was born on 28 August 1895.  He married Ishabel Wilhelmina Sheila MacDougall, daughter of Lt-Col. Stewart MacDougall, on 15 October 1927.  He died on 25 December 1953 at age 58.
                    Children of Captain Lord Arthur Francis Henry Hill and Ishabel Wilhelmina Sheila MacDougall:
                    • Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire b. 10 May 1929
                      Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire was the son of Captain Lord Arthur Francis Henry Hill and Ishabel Wilhelmina Sheila MacDougall.  He was born on 10 May 1929.  He married, firstly, Hon. Juliet Mary Weld-Forester, daughter of Cecil George Wilfred Weld-Forester, 7th Baron Forester and Marie Louise Priscilla Perrott, on 5 October 1957.  He married, secondly, Diana (?) on 18 September 1989.
                      Children of Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire and Hon. Juliet Mary Weld-Forester:
                      • Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Ian Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire b. 4 Feb 1959
                        • Lady, Isabella Diana Juliet Hill, b. 1991
                        • Lady Beatrice Hannah Georgina Hill, b. 1994
                        • Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough, b. 21 MAY 1996
                          
                        • Lady Claudia Lucy Helena Hill, b. 1998
                      • Lord Anthony Hill b. 1961
                      • Lady Georgina Hill b. 1964
                    • Venice Marigold Hill b. 31 Jul 1930
                  • Kathleen Nina Hill, b. 15 Sep 1898
            • Captain William Frederick Arthur Montagu Hill b. 10 Jul 1816, d. 18 Mar 1844
            • Arthur Edwin Hill, 1st Baron Trevor b. 4 Nov 1819, d. 25 Dec 1894
          • Lt-Gen. Arthur Moyes William Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys b. 10 Jan 1792, d. 16 Jul 1860
          • Arthur Marcus Cecil Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys b. 28 Jan 1798, d. 10 Apr 1863
          • Arthur Augustus Edwin Sandys b. 13 Aug 1800, d. 10 Jul 1831
          • Major Lord George Augusta Sandys b. 9 Dec 1801, d. 6 Apr 1879
        • Lady Charlotte Hill b. b 1761, d. 17 Jan 1804
      • Anne Hill b. b 1731, d. 1 Aug 1751
    • Anne Hill b. b 1699, d. 25 Apr 1752
    • Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon b. b 1699