Hill Family Genealogy

Descendants of Robert Means

Notes


Philip Thompson Dr.

Philip practiced medicine in Portland, ME and he lived for most of his professional live on Ship Channel Road in South Portland.


117. Paul Banwell Means

Graduated from Yale with a BA degree and Phi Beta Kappa in 1915. 1916-1918 worked for the YMCA in Calcutta,India and later volunteered as a social service officer with the Indian Expeditionary Force to Mesopotamia during WWI. Won a Rhodes Scholarship fromn Nebraska to St. John's College, Oxford in 1920 and earned B.Litt. from Oxford in 1922. Completed a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1935. From 1927 to 1940 served with the Methodist Mission in Sumatra and Singapore. From 1940 served as professor at the University of Puget Sound, and from 1941 to 1959 was Head of the Department of Religion at the University of Oregon. During World War II, he had a leave of absence to serve with the US Navy as Naval intelligence officer for Southeast Asia on the staff of Admiral King in Washington D.C. In 1946 he returned to the University of Oregon as Head of the Department of Religion. In 1951-52 he had a sabbatical leave and was Fulbright Scholar to Malaya. In 1954 and 1956 he was on leave from the university and was Deputy Director of World Literacy for India, organizing adult literacy programs in many languages. Following his retirement from the University of Oregon, he taught for three years at two colleges in the Midwest--Jamestown College and Yangton College. In 1955-56 he joined the Peace Corp and worked in Malaysia and later organized adult literacy programs in Nagaland, India. Over a number of years, beginning in 1931 and continuing to 1974, he also periodically worked with aboriginal peoples in Malaysia and helped to put two unwritten aboriginal languages into written form. His work on aboriginal languages was continued by his wife, who edited dictionaries for the Sengoi and the Temiar languages which were published after his death in 1980.


Nathalie Alberta Toms

Moved to Spokane, Washington with her family when 2 years old. Graduated with BA in French from Washington State University in 1922. Continued with graduate studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris, from 1922 to 1924.
!Married Paul Means July 21, 1926 in Spokane, WA. With Paul she was a Methodist Missionary from 1927 to 1939 in Southeast Asia. Taught at Methodist Boys School, Medan, Sumatra 1927-29; taught at Eveland Seminary, Singapore 1930-31; Manager Geylang Girls School, Singapore 1934-39. During WWII she worked for the Board of Geographic Names for SE Asia in Washington, D.C. 1943-44. After the war, with Paul, she worked for World Literacy and other adult literacy programs in Malaya, Sarawak Borneo, Nagaland India, and other Indian provinces. Author of: The Indies Formerly and Now, 1929; Malaysia Mosaic, 1935; Aminah [a children's book] 1979; Sengoi Dictionary, 1985; Temiar Dictionary, 1998; And the Seed Grew, 1990.


Joseph Wier

He attended the University of Nebraska where he was an "All American" on the
football team.


124. David Gay Means

David graduated from Bowdoin College in 1933. He founded Means Investment Co. of Bangor, ME and was an investment broker for all his working life. During World War II served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Was a charter member of the Bangor YWCA and organized many successful donation campaigns for the YWCA.


Elizabeth Woodward

In later years she suffered from alcholism and depression. After the divorce from David Means she committed suicide.


156. Mary Jane Means

She was killed when a young woman without a license and with a small baby in
the front seat lost control of her car and hit Mary Jane on the sidewalk as she was going to work at a hospital in Bangor.