John Hilner’s name was spelled Heilner in the 1870 Federal Census. This may have been a typo by the census taker, or the extended family may not have change the spelling of the name yet (John’s father was born Isaak Heilner in Germany but by the time he died had changed it to Isaac Hilner). John was born in March 1840 according to the 1900 Federal Census.
His personal estate value in 1870 was $300. The value of his owned real estate was $600.
According to Federal Census data, John was a farmer who lived in various places: Shamokin Township, Northumberand County (1870); Madison Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania (1880); and Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in a rented house (1900). By the 1910 and 1920 Federal Censuses, John was living in Anthony Township, Columbia County, with his wife, Harriet, and their daughter Nora. They owned the farm.
He is listed as being able to read and write, as is his wife.
Both his mother’s and father’s birthplace is listed on the 1880 census as “Penna,” but this is not correct in the case of his father, who was born in Bavaria, Germany. On the 1900 and 1910 Censuses, his father’s birthplace is correctly listed as Germany.