Warrick Hill / Cornelius Awkard, Tolbert Awkard and Offords / James Offord

Warrick Hill, also, Cornelius Awkard, Tolbert Awkard and Offords, also, James Offord. Sandy Spring African American Heritage Trail. , Warrick Hill: Author and Superstar Math Teacher from Holly Grove , Warrick Hill was born in Baltimore in 1926. As a child he lived with his parents at Alloway and walked two and a half miles twice a day to and from Spencerville Elementary School, and it was then, at age 10, he said that he decided that he liked math and to become a math teacher. At Lincoln High School in Rockville he graduated at the top of his class, went on to Morgan State University in Baltimore where he received a degree and major in mathematics., After a two-year stint in the Army, where he served his country as an instructor in non-military subjects in the US Army in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Japan and South Korea, he returned to teaching at Brook High School in Calvert County, MD for ten years., He came home to Montgomery County in 1962 to teach at Peary High School in Aspen Hill, a predominantly white school where he was one of two black classroom teachers. He taught Algebra I and II Geometry and Pre-Calculus for Twenty Two Years at Peary and remained there as a teacher and administrator until the school closed its doors. At Peary he was characterized as a "dignified man who demanded the best of his students", he had high expectations and demanded high expectations from his students., Before classes started Hill would write a quote on the blackboard every morning. He said, "it was always something to inspire students to greater heights and deeper thoughts." An example of his quotes was: "he who stays up half the night hooting with the owls cannot soar with the eagles the next day". He kept this tradition going for many years. The quotes were avidly collected by his students. Hill in turn was truly loved as a math teacher, mentor and role model at Peary, where he was the recipient of several Teacher of the Year Awards from the students. He subsequently taught at Immaculata High School in Maryland., He studied Arts and the Humanities at George Washington, Catholic, Columbia Universities, and University of Maryland. From his experience at Lincoln High School in Rockville he wrote a book titled "Before us Lies the Timber" that chronicles the trials, struggles and successes of Black students in the segregated high schools of Montgomery County from 1927-1960., Warrick Hill received many accolades in his career, including the Teacher Tribute Award from Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) and Newsweek Magazine (a tribute given to the people listed as having influenced winning teachers) and the Exceptional Teacher Award from St. Mary's College. Hill retired from public school teaching in 1984. Warrick and his wife Christine have three sons and several grandchildren. For several years he was Head Deacon of the Emmanuel Seventh Day Adventist Church in Brinklow., Where did the Hill's come from? , Warrick's fathers name was Clifton (Kip) Hill who died when he was a child. His mother was Sadie Hill and his maternal grandmother, who also worked at the Millers home in Alloway (Route 198 and New Hampshire Avenue) was Charles T. Hill. Charles T. Hill is a descendant of Remus Q. Hill, one of the four principal founders of Cincinnati (Brinklow). Charles Hill (1853-1942) amassed enough funds to purchase 1949 acres of land from Robert H. Millers and who at the time became among the largest black landowner in Montgomery County. Charles T. Hill established a viable working family farm with teams of horses, cattle, and cultivated corn, rye, vegetables, worked the lumber on the land, and participated in the Rockville Agricultural shows. Charles T. Hill operated the High Ridge Dairies with a hundred cows and a milk wagon that operated between Holly Grove and Washington, DC. Several family homes were built on the property, which today, is located on both sides of Norwood Rd. near the intersection of Norwood Rd and New Hampshire Ave. Charles T. Hill died on July 1, 1950 at 89 years old leaving an estate of more than 120 acres to his children. Several more churches, Peoples Baptist Church, the Chinmaya Mission, and Iglesias Ivangelica Missinera, occupy the land previously owned by the Hills., Cornelius Awkard, Tolbert Awkard and Offords on Brooke Road, Sandy Spring , Eliza H. and Robert Awkward are considered the patriarchs of the Awkward and Awkard, and Offord clans in the Sandy Spring area., As a direct result of marriages and relationships the Awkward families exploded into broad and diverse family trees of Awkwards, Awkards, Billows, Williams, Hopkins, Claggetts, Matthews, Bacons, Hills, Budds, Smiths, Tilgmans, and many others., Sometime during the 20th century, Cornelius Awkard (son of Eliza and Robert Awkard) and Rosina Bacon produced Tolbert Awkard who changed his surname from Awkard to Offord. Cornelius's children, including Tolbert resided on large acreages on Brooke Road., Tolbert Awkward Offord (1876-1972) and Ada Williams (1884-1988) families and in-laws included Chases, Pumphreys, Parrotts, Snowdens, Prathers who seem to be the most prominent. In reality, all these families are derived from Awkwards., Ada Virginia Williams Offord, who is the matriarch of the Offord families lived to 106 years and died at her residence on Brooke Road, Sandy Spring The third generation of Offords, including Clifton, Doodie, Leroy, Rosie and others resided in the Sandy Spring area., James Offord, An Alumnus of Hill Top , Student James Offord like most black children growing up in Sandy Spring attended Hill Top Elementary. His fondest memories of his childhood were dressing up to attend Sunday School at Sharp Street Church and classes at Hill Top. He remembers the headmaster, Miss Swann, and Mr. Norton as fantastic teachers, who were on a mission to gain equality for blacks. Hill top had three large rooms and potbelly stoves that provided heating. James Offord became a politician later in life, and credits Jewish sponsors who enabled recruitment of blacks into politics. As head politician in District 14, James Offord supported what democrats supported, if it benefited blacks in the area., As a young student James Offord grew up on Offord land across from the Rose Body Community Center and at the top of Uncle Son's Hill, and lands owned by his grandfather and his two sisters on Chandlee Mill road. He was not related to the Howards and he knew his wife when he was 4-5 years old. His wife was a Hopkins and lived right next door to the elementary school. Mable Thomas was born in a house next door to the elementary school.