Albert James Hill was born on April 7, 1836, in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

He was a pioneer in the British Columbia railway building and an eminent civil engineer and land surveyor of Dominion-wide reputation in geological research. As an engineer with extensive railroading experience during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, he established his land surveying practice in New Westminster, B.C. in 1890. He also served as a Provincial Land Surveyor and was one of the directors of Coquitlam Waterworks Co. Ltd. He was later active in municipal affairs.

In 1866, he married Agnes Lawrence (ca. 1841- ). He died on November 26, 1918, in New Westminster, British Columbia.

H.J. Hill was the president of the Industrial Exhibition Association of Toronto.