In 1834, at age 27, Hillyer was elected as the Solicitor General of the Western Judicial Circuit of Georgia.[2] In 1836 and again in 1838 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. In 1841 he became Judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia's Western Circuit. From 1841 to 1845, he presided as a circuit judge.[3]
United States House of Representatives
Initially elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 1850 as a Unionist, Hillyer was re-elected in 1852 as a Democrat, and he served from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1855.[2] In his second term Hillyer was chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims.[3]
Later years and legacy
After his congressional career, Hillyer was appointed by PresidentJames Buchanan as Solicitor of the United States Treasury, and served from 1857 until February 13, 1861, when, as a result of Georgia's secession from the Union, he resigned his post and returned to Georgia.[2][3] This marked the end of Hillyer's career in public service. For his remaining years he concentrated on the private law practice.
Junius Hillyer married the former Jane Selina Watkins in 1831. They had five sons, one of whom died at age 30 or 31 while the other four, including Eben Hillyer, obtained success in their respective fields, and either three or four daughters.[1][3] One of his sons, George Hillyer, was a prominent Georgia politician who led a regiment in the Confederate States Army at the Battle of Gettysburg and later served in the state legislature, as a Judge, and as Mayor of Atlanta.[2]
Junius Hillyer's interest in the economic growth of his boyhood home of Athens prompted him to invest, at an early age, in the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, which was first chartered in 1833. It was the first railroad built in the state.[2] The railroad eventually extended a line to a spot near the old Creek Indian village of Standing Peachtree.Because it was the end of the line, the community took on the name "Terminus". Several name changes later, Terminus became Atlanta.
