Direct Descendants of Richard (1) HALL and his son Richard(2), through W.C. Hall(20) and J.L. Hall(21)

Compiled by William C. Hall and Jeffrey L. Hall

Generation No. 1

1. RICHARD 1¹ HALL died March 04, 1729/30 in Bradford, Mass. (left will). He married MARTHA. She joined the church of Bradford from Haverhill (Bradford town records).

Notes for RICHARD 1 HALL:

In the book "Genealogy and Family History of the State of New Hampshire" under Hall it is stated that Deacon Richard Hall of Stratford-on-Avon, England came to America with his brother John, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. then moved to Bradford, Mass. It has since been proven (Sherry Marshall) that Deacon Richard Hall of Bradford was not the man or the son of Richard Hall of Dorchester or Roxbury. It has been established (Jeff Hall) through contact with the Shakespeare Trust in Stratford-on-Avon that no Richard Hall’s were born in or near S-o-A in the correct time frame. Further, no proof whatsoever has been found that Richard of Bradford had a brother John. The “Genealogy and Family History of the State of New Hampshire” goes on to list all the male children Richard had in Bradford, the latter of which I have verified in the V.R. of Bradford births. However, the New Hampshire History book also says that they had two daughters, Sarah and Joanna. Neither of these women is listed in the Bradford V.R. births but rather a Mary and a Martha are listed as children of Richard and Martha. There is a record of the death of Sarah Hall in Bradford at the age of approximately 19 in 1690, but no evidence of Joanna. Sarah was possibly born elsewhere around 1671, which does help establish Richard and his wife Martha’s approximate birth dates (ca. 1648 – 1653)

Notes for MARTHA:

In Torrey's marriages before 1700 there is no last name recorded for Martha. It was either lost from the records or no one knew her last name.

Marriage Notes for RICHARD HALL and MARTHA:

In Torrey's "New England Marriages prior to 1700" the following was found: HALL, Richard & Martha ________?; b 1672(3?); Bradford.

Children of RICHARD HALL and MARTHA are:

2. i. RICHARD 2² HALL, b. February 06, 1675/76, Bradford, Mass.; d. Abt. 1760 in Harvard, MA.

ii. JOHN HALL, b. March 22, 1672/73.

Notes for JOHN HALL:

Birth confirmed in the V.R. of Bradford, Mass. Name also noted as son of Richard in the “Genealogy and Family History of the State of New Hampshire”.

iii. JOSEPH HALL, b. February 19, 1679/80.

Notes for JOSEPH HALL:

Birth confirmed in the v.R. of Bradford, Mass. as well as in the “Genealogy and Family History of the State of New Hampshire” under the name Hall.

iv. MARTHA HALL, b. March 11, 1686/87.

v. MARY HALL, b. 1684.

Generation No. 2

2. RICHARD 2² HALL (RICHARD 1¹) was born February 06, 1675/76 in Bradford, Mass., and died Abt. 1760 in Harvard, MA. He married (1) ABIGAIL DALTON April 24, 1699 in Bradford, Mass., daughter of SAMUEL DALTON. He married (2) MEHETEBALL BARKER April 26, 1715.

Notes for RICHARD 2 HALL:

Birth date confirmed in V.R. of Bradford, Mass. Name also cited under Hall in the “Genealogy and Family History of the state of New Hampshire”.

Children of RICHARD HALL and ABIGAIL DALTON are:

i. ABIGAIL³ HALL, b. October 17, 1702.

ii. HANNAH HALL, b. September 11, 1704.

iii. MEHETIBLE HALL, b. June 19, 1712.

iv. RICHARD HALL JR., b. February 12, 1700/01.

v. SAMUEL HALL, b. January 11, 1706/07.

vi. SARAH HALL, b. September 15, 1700.

Children of RICHARD HALL and MEHETEBALL BARKER are:

3. vii. TIMOTHY³ HALL, b. February 03, 1718/19, Bradford, Mass.; d. September 13, 1751, Harvard, Mass..

4. viii. NATHAN HALL, b. December 25, 1715, Bradford, Mass.; d. May 07, 1807, Mason, NH (site not yet found-JLH).

ix. EPHRAIM HALL, b. February 10, 1716/17, Bradford, Mass..

x. JAMES HALL, b. September 25, 1720, Bradford, Mass.; d. December 10, 1741, Tewksbury, Mass..

Notes for JAMES HALL:

Drowned in Tweksbury.

xi. MARTHA HALL, b. November 05, 1722, Bradford, Mass..

Generation No. 3

3. TIMOTHY³ HALL (RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born February 03, 1718/19 in Bradford, Mass., and died September 13, 1751 in Harvard, Mass.. He married MARY COBURN October 07, 1744 in Harvard, Mass., daughter of JACOB COBURN and JOHANNA VARNUM.

Children of TIMOTHY HALL and MARY COBURN are:

5. i. TIMOTHY⁴ HALL, JR., b. February 18, 1752, Harvard, Mass.; d. Abt. 1800, Wilton, New Hampshire.

ii. MARY HALL, b. August 25, 1749.

iii. JOHN HALL, b. May 22, 1747.

4. NATHAN³ HALL (RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born December 25, 1715 in Bradford, Mass., and died May 07, 1807 in Mason, NH (site not yet found-JLH). He married MARY CHAPMAN.

More About NATHAN HALL:

Property: Abt. 1750, Take Meetinghouse N. from Mason Ctr. Left on Greenville. Property was on right just after turn (now woods).

Notes for MARY CHAPMAN:

vii. Nathan Hall, b. 25 Dec. 1715, d. Mason, N.H. 7 May 1807; Tewksbury 18 Feb. 1742 Mary Chapman of Boxford, Mass., perhaps b. there 29 March 1723, [not in Boxford VRs], d. Mason, N.H. 27 Oct. 1810 (Mason 285). The first two children were born at Tewksbury, while some later ones were rec. in Groton and Pepperell (Tewksbury VRs, 42; Groton VRs, 104; Pepperell VRs, 59-60). Nathan and Mary (Chapman) Hall removed ca. 1751-52 to Mason, N.H., where the last five children here were apparently born (Mason, 202):

1. James Hall, b. Tewksbury 2.5 July 1743; prob. the James of "No. One" who m. (rec. Pepperell, Mass.) 3 Feb. 1767 Sarah Roe.

2. Mary Hall, b. Tewksbury 9 March 1745.

3. Nathan Hall, Jr., b. Groton, Mass. 23 Aug. 1748, bp. Pepperell 28 Aug. 1748.

4. Mehetable Hall, b. Groton 3 Dec. 1750, bp. Pepperell 3 Dec. 1750.

5. David Hall, b. Mason, N.H. 24 Jan. 1754 (Mason, 202), d. Mason 25 Aug. 1824, ae. '71 yrs." (ibid., 217).

6. Daniel Hall, b. 5 May 1756 (ibid., 202).

7. Henry Hall, b. 26 Oct. 1758 (ibid.).

8. Elizabeth Hall, b. 5 March 1765 (ibid.).

9. Richard Hall, b. 12 Sept. 1768 (ibid.), d. Mason. 16 July 1822, ae. "54 y." (ibid., 217).

Children of NATHAN HALL and MARY CHAPMAN are:

i. JAMES⁴ HALL, b. July 25, 1743, Tewksbury; m. SARAH ROE, February 03, 1767.

ii. MARY HALL, b. March 09, 1744/45, Tewksbury.

iii. NATHAN HALL, JR., b. August 23, 1748, Groton, MA.

More About NATHAN HALL, JR.:

Baptism: August 28, 1748, Pepperell, MA

iv. MEHETABLE HALL, b. December 03, 1750, Groton, MA.

More About MEHETABLE HALL:

Baptism: December 03, 1750, Pepperell, MA

v. DAVID HALL, b. January 24, 1754, Mason, NH; d. August 25, 1824, Mason, NH.

vi. DANIEL HALL, b. May 05, 1756, Mason, NH.

vii. HENRY HALL, b. October 26, 1758, Mason, NH.

viii. ELIZABETH HALL, b. March 05, 1765, Mason, NH.

ix. RICHARD HALL, b. September 12, 1768, Mason, NH; d. July 16, 1822, Mason, NH.

Generation No. 4

5. TIMOTHY⁴ HALL, JR. (TIMOTHY³, RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born February 18, 1752 in Harvard, Mass., and died Abt. 1800 in Wilton, New Hampshire. He married SARAH KEYES, daughter of JOHN KEYES JR. and ABIGAIL LIVERMORE. Marriage recorded in Northborough, MA.

Notes for TIMOTHY HALL, JR.:

Jeffrey L. Hall discovered this information about James Hall's parents on March 18, 2002 after extensive earlier work had been done by his brother William C. Hall, leading up to this event. It has been about 5 years in the making! Eureka! he lived for a time in Wilton, N.H. when James was born. This Timothy Hall was born in Harvard, Mass. and was the son of Timothy Hall of Harvard.

The history of Wilton, New Hampshire lists the Timothy Hall family and their children as noted. It also said, "Timothy Hall bought of Archelaus Putnam lot No. 17, ninth range, deed dated March 26, 1774. He was last taxed in Wilton in 1799. The previously described piece of land was of 90 acres and he is said to have paid 60 pounds for it. 60 acres of it was sold to a Mr. Hood in 1784 for 140 pounds. The remainder of this land or another piece of property that Timothy farmed but perhaps didn't own was sold in 1803 by Timothy Hall's heirs; Sarah, his wife; Timothy, his son; John, his son; and Sally, his daughter and her husband, John Holt.

Children of TIMOTHY HALL and SARAH KEYES are:

6. i. JAMES⁵ HALL, b. January 07, 1787, Wilton, New Hampshire; d. August 22, 1841, Worcester, Massachusetts.

ii. TIMOTHY HALL, b. September 28, 1776.

iii. SARAH HALL, b. April 26, 1778.

7. iv. JOHN HALL, b. February 19, 1780, Wilton, New Hampshire; d. April 04, 1857, Worcester, Mass..

v. MEHITABLE HALL, b. June 20, 1782.

vi. MOLLY HALL, b. September 06, 1785.

Generation No. 5

6. JAMES⁵ HALL (TIMOTHY⁴, TIMOTHY³, RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born January 07, 1787 in Wilton, New Hampshire¹, and died August 22, 1841 in Worcester, Massachusetts². He married SILANCE PARKER^3,3 Abt. October 12, 1811 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts⁴, daughter of HOLLIS PARKER and LOUISA BRAGG.

Notes for JAMES HALL:

James was for a long time (100 years) the oldest member of the Hall family who had been traced. He was born in 1787 as evidenced by the birth date on his gravestone. This is also documented by a faded inscription in his bible noting his birth to be 1787 January __? The exact day can not be read well. In his death announcement in the National Aegis Newspaper and also in the death records of the State of Massachusetts his age is listed as 53 years old. Since he died in August 1841 this would not correlate with a birth date in 1787 but rather 1788. At this time we cannot say for sure if his age or birth date is correct. We did not know who his parents were or where he originally came from. James Hall was felt to have worked in Charlton or Sutton in his early years which is near Uxbridge. He was a carpenter/steeplejack by trade.

He was married to Silence Parker in October of 1811. Repeated efforts to find any Congregational Church records of his marriage in Shrewsbury have proved futile even with the help of a very enthusiastic church historian, Polly Kimmett. She has stated however that the records are quite disorganized. This marriage is noted in the Parker family genealogy book and was also verified by William Carl Hall in the vital records of the Town of Shrewsbury. His death was also verified by W.C.H. in the Massachusetts death records first compiled in 1841 and the microfilm viewed at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society in Boston. It was noted that he was 53 at the time of his death and that he died from a fall at a construction site in Worcester. Oral history from William Edgar Hall indicates that his son William Eustis Hall was working with him and that he too was a carpenter. A review of James's probate records, obtained by William Carl Hall, lists his place of residence as Northborough when he died. No specific address was given and no land was mentioned in his estate. His worldly possessions, consisting mostly of household items and carpenters tools, were appraised at about $85.00 and were left to his children (no one specifically). His oldest son James Monroe Hall was mentioned in the legal papers as being of Shrewsbury at the time and signed papers turning over the handling of the estate to a local attorney.

He is buried in the third oldest part of the cemetery behind the Congregational Church in the center of Shrewsbury. The prominence and size of the plot (6 or 8 spaces) may be due to the prominence of his wife's family as she was buried first in 1832 following the birth of her last child. Also buried there are William Judson Hall and his wife Annie Hovey as well as their son and his wife Robert Hall and Charlotte Williams. Oral history from William Floyd Hall has it that William Judson or his son Robert Judson had the present HALL monument erected on the Shrewsbury plot and used the old marker from James and Silence as the base for the newer and larger monument and put it atop the old stone!

Correspondence with the historian for the Town of Northborough in the summer of 2001, Bob Ellis, reveals that James Hall did live in town in at least 1839-1841 and paid poll taxes for 1839 and had his taxes paid for him in 1842 by the executor of his estate. He may have been in arrears for the years 1840 and 1841. The small amount of his taxes would indicate that he did not own a house or land. He was hired in 1837 or 1838 to oversee the construction of the new Center District school, now the Grange Hall on School Street for 10 shillings per day but walked off the job much to the disadvantage of the town for reasons unknown. This was recorded in the Northborough history published in 1921. The tax records for the town from 1836 - 1838 were lost according to Mr. Ellis and James does not appear on any of the earlier records. Presumably, he may have been living in Shrewsbury or elsewhere then.

On Oct. 18,2001, William C. Hall reviewed the 1830 and 1840 census records for Worcester County and specifically the Town of Northborough at the NEHG. James was not found in the 1830 census in Northborough. He was however noted in the Northborough census for the year 1840. His name was listed after Asaph Rice and before Harriett Eager, Elijah Ball Jr. and John R. Miller. No middle initial is used for James Hall in this record. After James' name is listed 1 male 15-20 yrs., 1 male 50-60, presumably James himself, 1 female 5-10, 2 females 15-20, 1 female 20-30, for a total of six in the household. His wife Silence had long since predeceased him. It also listed one person in the family employed in manufacturing and trades. A close scrutiny of the 1830 census records for Worcester County did show a James Hall at the end of page 277 next to the bottom of the page for Shrewsbury. After his entry as head of household is listed 1 5-10 year old male, (William Eustis), 1 10-15 year old male, (James Munroe), 1 40-50 year old male, (James himself), 1 5-10 year old female, (Mary Jane), 1 10-15 year old female, (Anna Parker), 1 15-20 year old female, (Louisa Augusta or Sarah Zebiah, one of these two may have been married, dead?, or out of the house) and 1 40-50 year old female, (Silence, the mother). Silence Maria had not been born yet. Under categories at the end of the census James is not listed as a foreigner, naturalized, or freeman of color other than white. Therefore, I believe him to have been born in the United States. Also, no one was listed as deaf, dumb, or blind in the family. At the time of this 1830 census Shrewsbury was a town of 1386 people.

I, William C. Hall, feel that I have come across James Hall in the Worcester County census of 1820 in Sutton, Mass., a town that has had a great many Halls in it since the early 1700s. Two other bits of information are contributory here as I found no other James Hall listed in any Worcester County towns for this census period and the Parker family genealogy account has James Hall falling off the meeting house (not injured) in Sutton in 1828. At the time of this 1820 census report there was 1 male under 10 years of age, (James Munroe), and three females less than 10 years old, (Sarah Zebiah, Louisa Augusta and Anna Parker), and one female 26-45 presumably his wife Silence. Now, what is troubling is that there is no adult male checked off that would represent the father James. The answer I got to this question at the NEHG was that these were imperfect records and they probably just forgot! Could you be in jail, or have left the family, been in the service, worked elsewhere, or been dead and this is the wrong James?

In an e-mail communication with Bob Ellis, Northborough town historian, He felt that James Hall and his family were most likely borders at the homestead of Asaph Rice. He was a widower of about 72 years of age and lived on a farm on Lincoln Street. There were no other immediate neighbors and it is quite possible that James Hall could have grown crops there as were mentioned in his probate records. According to Mr. Ellis Asaph Rice was the cousin of Jacob Rice whose daughter, Sophia married James Hall's son James Munroe Hall in 1840. He stated that Jacob Rice married his wife Nancy Barber of Shrewsbury in 1805 and their daughter was Sophia Rice. There is a photo of this Rice family homestead in the Northborough Historical Society. The original house "perished" according to Bob Ellis in 1900.

Personal communication on June 28, 2001 with Denis Laurie of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass. show that he found mention of James Hall's fatal accident in the Massachusetts Spy Aug. 25, 1841. His recollection was that he was hit by a timber and "lingered" for two days before dying. Also mentioned was a previous fall he had had working on another project earlier in his life. There was also a death notice. He also found the probate postings on Sept. 15 and 22 of 1841 as well as the postings on Sept. 14, 21, 28 of 1842. "If no claim against estate children would get inheritance."

William C. Hall personally visited the American Antiquarian Society on August 17, 2001 and found the microfilm record of James Hall's probate notice of September, 1841 in the Mass. Spy Newspaper. It revealed nothing that wasn't already known from his probate papers already obtained. The National Aegis, another paper in Worcester at the time, had James's death notice as of August 22, 1841 and listed his age as 53 years. In the August 25, 1841 Mass. Spy Newspaper there was a story of his accident which revealed that he was hit in the head by a timber while working constructing wood sheds for the Boston and Worcester Railroad in the rail yards in Worcester. He died two days after his accident. The newspaper article from 1841 about his death also commented on the fact that he had fallen "a few years earlier" from a meeting house spire in Charlton but was not visibly injured. This account is in conflict with the data from the Parker family genealogy which states that he fell from the meeting house spire in Sutton in 1828.

After a very rewarding consultation with Marcia Melnyk of the NEHG, I sent off, at her suggestion, for the death certificates of Wm. Eustis Hall and his brother James M. Hall to see if they listed the birthplace of their parents, most notably James Hall. I have received Wm. Eustis's report and it indicated an unknown city in New Hampshire. This I consider a real breakthrough! On March 18, 2002 Jeffrey Lee Hall cracked the case of the origin of James Hall! On information from his brother, William Carl Hall, Jeff located records in Concord, New Hampshire indicating that James Hall was the son of Timothy and Sarah Hall, and was probably the youngest of six children.

Notes for SILANCE PARKER:

Silence was born in Hubbardston, MA on Great Farm No. 1. This was a 500 acre farm at the exact eastern corner of Hubbardston (a diamond shaped town). Great Farm No. 1 was later ceded to the town of Princeton, MA (Princeton Town History). The farm today is very swampy and has only dirt roads crossing it. Her father moved the family back to Shrewsbury not long after Silence’s birth, where he was originally from. The Parker’s had a large family place there. The Parkers were some of the earliest denizens of the area although they were not founders. She is related to Capt. John Parker of the Minute Men and the family can trace its origins back to Lexington and Reading MA.

Her brother, Amos Parker, was the long-time postmaster and Doctor of Bolton, MA and his house still stands to this day (2005).

Silence died just a few days after giving birth to her seventh child at the age of 46. The girl was subsequently called Silence Maria Hall. Her name is spelled as Silance in the Parker family genealogy. She was the first to be buried in the Hall plot at the Mountain View Cemetery in Shrewsbury, Mass.

Children of JAMES HALL and SILANCE PARKER are:

8. i. WILLIAM EUSTIS⁶ HALL, b. April 26, 1824, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; d. July 06, 1907, Worcester, Massachusetts.

ii. SARAH ZEBIAH HALL, b. October 02, 1813.

Notes for SARAH ZEBIAH HALL:

There is a book among the Hall family books given to William Carl Hall by his uncle William Floyd Hall and it was given to Albert Eustis Hall by his aunt Sarah Newell. My guess is that that was Sarah Zebiah Hall's married name and that she might have lived in the Worcester area.

iii. LOUISA AUGUSTA HALL, b. June 28, 1815; m. UNK. NAME SALTUS.

Notes for LOUISA AUGUSTA HALL:

She is said by William Edgar Hall to have married a cranky old seacaptain whose last name was Saltus and they moved to Odell Illinois (Ohio?) where they died and had no children.

There is at least one book of Albert E. Hall's that is inscribed to Albert from Aunt Louisa.

In the Parker family genealogy book she is said to have been a school-teacher in Northborough, Mass.

Notes for UNK. NAME SALTUS:

He was said by William Edgar Hall to be a cranky old sea captain and they moved to Odell, Illinois (possibly Ohio) and he didn't think they had any children.

9. iv. JAMES MUNROE HALL, b. July 22, 1817, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; d. November 18, 1886, Brookfield, Massachusetts.

v. ANNA PARKER HALL, b. November 13, 1819.

10. vi. MARY JANE HALL, b. December 08, 1821.

11. vii. SILANCE MARIA HALL, b. April 16, 1832.

viii. IDA HALL ?.

Notes for IDA HALL ?:

I do not have Ida listed as a child of James and Silence Hall by the V.R. of Shrewsbury but William Edgar Hall said she existed and married a James Montague and they went to California and had an orange grove in Riverside, California. They had a son "Jimmy" Montague who became a very successful lawyer on the West Coast (where?).

William Edgar Hall said that James and Silance had 9 children and I can only account for 7 of them at this time. I do think that Wm. Edgar was confused about Ida as the will of William Eustis Hall listed as one of his heirs Edna Montague, James M. Hall's daughter, as the person who moved to Riverside Calif and had a son who was a successful lawyer. I do not think at this time that there was an Ida Hall daughter of James and Silance Hall.

7. JOHN⁵ HALL (TIMOTHY⁴, TIMOTHY³, RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born February 19, 1780 in Wilton, New Hampshire, and died April 04, 1857 in Worcester, Mass.. He married NANCY MOORE, daughter of THADEUS MOORE and TABITHA GREEN.

Notes for JOHN HALL:

This John Hall is the older brother of James Hall who is in our family line. He may have preceeded James to the Worcester area and that may have been why James came to Worcester. His death record found at the NEHG revealed his occupation to be that of carpenter. Interestingly, the 1869 and other years Worcester City Directories list a William G. Hall as a carpenter whose home is listed as Leicester N.W. (a street or location in Worcester). Also listed as living at Leicester N.W. is Nancy Judson Hall Hosmer the widow of Luther Hosmer Jr. and Leicester N.W. is the address given for John Hall, James's brother, in the 1850 census. This would be the last one he was in before he died.

John's death record confirmed his death on Apr. 4, 1857, age 77y, place of residence Leicester St.? Worcester, cause of death consumption, condition widow, occupation carpenter, place of birth Wilton, N.H., names of parents not listed.

Children of JOHN HALL and NANCY MOORE are:

i. NANCY JUDSON⁶ HALL, b. November 28, 1823, Worcester, Mass.; d. November 03, 1878, Worcester, Mass.; m. LUTHER HOSMER JR., July 01, 1846, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Notes for NANCY JUDSON HALL:

This is the first time that the surname of Judson turns up in the Hall family tree.

Her death record lists her as being married,age 55y. 11m. 5d., disease paralysis, residence Worcester, occupation none listed,place of birth Worcester, Mass. parents John and Nancy.

ii. JOHN HALL JR., d. January 12, 1869, Worcester, Mass..

Notes for JOHN HALL JR.:

In the index to deaths in Worcester this person is listed as the son of John and Nancy. Unfortunately the microfim for his detailed death record is missing from the files of the NEHG so more details will have to wait until it is replaced. If this turns out to be the son of John as I suspect he is we have him married to Sophia Prouty and there will be children to be added to the records.

12. iii. WILLIAM G. HALL, b. 1815.

13. iv. WILLARD MORE HALL, b. April 15, 1820.

Generation No. 6

8. WILLIAM EUSTIS⁶ HALL (JAMES⁵, TIMOTHY⁴, TIMOTHY³, RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born April 26, 1824 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and died July 06, 1907 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He married MIRANDA SARAH WOOD July 03, 1849, daughter of MR. WOOD and MRS. WOOD.

Notes for WILLIAM EUSTIS HALL:

William Eustis Hall is the second and youngest son of James Hall and Silence Parker. His middle name of Eustis may be from one of the early governors of the State of Maine whom his father, it is said, held in high regard. I think there is a town in Maine called Eustis and this name is a lead that should be followed regarding the origins of James Hall. He apparently took up the carpenters trade along with his father, and according to William Edgar Hall's oral history of the family, he may have been present on the job site when his father James died. He is said to have left Shrewsbury after his father's death in 1841 and first worked in Worcester then he went to Connecticut. It was from here that he got the idea from an associate to move to the Chicago area for work and opportunity. He apparently found both in abundance. Working first on the detailed woodwork on the interior of railroad passenger cars and later opening his own sash and blind business he seems to have amassed a sizeable fortune.

During the Civil War he paid one of his workers $500 to serve in his stead which was a commonly accepted practice of the time. William Edgar Hall related that the employee was killed in one of the early engagements of the war.

The family lived in Englewood, Illinois a section of Chicago until they returned to Worcester, Mass. in embarrassment, it is said, from the divorce of their son Albert Eustis from his first wife Elizabeth Sarah Behrs. William Edgar Hall noted that his parents fought or did not get along well. Story has it that William Eustis and his wife encouraged Elizabeth to "go away" or leave her husband which she eventually did. Also William Eustis is the one that was supposed to have negotiated and paid for the removal of William Edgar from his mother so that he might return to Worcester and be raised by Hall family. A sum of $600 dollars was involved in the transfer on the train, a move that would result in William Edgar never seeing his birth mother again.

Upon removing himself to Worcester, William Eustis apparently lived the life of a gentleman farmer with a property at 98 Woodland Street on what is now the grounds of Clark University. His house was for a time the faculty house until it was torn down. The date of sale of the house to Clark Ubiversity was about 1920. It was demolished and a dormitory stands there now. William Edgar relates wrestling pigs at the place and that grandfather had buggies and a surrey with a fringe for traveling. His obituary indicates that he was not much of a joiner of clubs or organizations but did belong to the Pilgrim Church in Worcester.

Notes for MIRANDA SARAH WOOD:

She is said to have been one of 13 children and was William Edgar Hall's grandmother. She was also the alleged instigator of the arranged marriage between her son Albert Eustis Hall and her sister's daughter Mabel Wood for the purpose of keeping the Hall money in the Wood family.

Children of WILLIAM HALL and MIRANDA WOOD are:

14. i. ALBERT EUSTIS⁷ HALL, b. June 11, 1855, Worcester, Massachusetts; d. July 01, 1900, Worcester, Massachusetts.

ii. ALICE LOUISA HALL, b. September 01, 1858; d. February 06, 1862.

Notes for ALICE LOUISA HALL:

Alice was the only female child in the Hall family until Teydin Hall, daughter of Jeffrey Hall, was born. Alice died young at the age of three and one half years.

In an application to "The Sons of the Revolutionary War" for Jeff Hall in 1972, Albert Lee Hall had written in the margin that Alice Hall was born 1858 and died 1862. This seems to be verified by the entries in one of the old large Hall famly Bibles. I need to send off to Cook County for death records to verify.

William C. Hall also believes that at least two early Ambrotype pictures may be of Alice.

15. iii. WILLIAM JUDSON HALL, b. September 14, 1861; d. 1921.

9. JAMES MUNROE⁶ HALL (JAMES⁵, TIMOTHY⁴, TIMOTHY³, RICHARD 2², RICHARD 1¹) was born July 22, 1817 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and died November 18, 1886 in Brookfield, Massachusetts. He married SOPHIA RICE October 02, 1840 in probably Northborough, Mass., daughter of JACOB RICE and NANCY BARBER.

Notes for JAMES MUNROE HALL:

Little is known of James Munroe Hall at this time but he is mentioned in the probate records of his father James Hall. He was living in Shrewsbury at the time of his father's death in 1841and he signed some of the papers as oldest son.He is said by William Edgar Hall to have moved to Brookfield, Mass. I have sent a letter to the town clerk there to verify this and to see if they had any children there. I received a response from the Brookfield Town Clerk stating that James M. and his wife Sophia Rice are listed in the vital records of the town kept prior to 1849. Their birth was noted as copied from their gravestones which are in the Brookfield Cemetery. I shall have to find out the dates of their deaths either through the death records for the state or by going to the cemetery personally and transcribing them. Perhaps there will be other Halls in the same plot?

Shrewsbury V.R. lists his birth as July 22, 1817, but Brookfield V.R.s list his birth date from cemetery marker as July 23, 1817.

A trip by William C. Hall to Brookfield, Mass. on 4/27/01 revealed the following information. James M. Hall, his wife Sophia (Rice) Hall and their son, George H. Hall are all buried in the main Brookfield Cemetary right on Rt. 9. The plot is of substantial size, has a tombstone about 5 feet tall and is near the front wall of the cemetary not too far from the flagpole. James and Sophia died in Nov. 1885 within 5 days of eachother and the report in the local paper noted the cause of death of both of them to be from "typhoid pneumonia". Obituary said they attended the Congregational Church regularly and left a son and two daughters. The children were grown when the parents moved to town and when they died the tax records show the estate disappearing from the tax roles in 1886 from the Hall name.

J.M.Hall first appeared on the tax roles in 1871 when he paid $2.00 (poll tax?). In 1872 he paid $6.30 on money, but no land. By 1874 he owned a house and barn valued at $3500 and a 1/2 acre of land. This went up to 1 acre for a while then back down to 1/2 acre. 1887 was last year he was mentioned on tax roles. His house is a very stately brick one located on the map on the town green and built in the late 1700s. It is now the Antiques on the Common shop and residence.

Brookfield Times dated Nov. 26, 1886 stated:

"Last week we announced the sudden death of Mr. James M. Hall of typhoid pneumonia and now we are pained to announce that his widow, Mrs. Sophia H. Hall survived him only until the following Tuesday, and died of the same disease and at the same hour of the day. They were both worthy people, and consistent members of the Congregational Church for many years. They leave a son and two daughters to mourn their loss."

In James Hall's probate records his son James M. Hall is mentioned to be of Shrewsbury, Mass in Sept. of 1841, however the census done in 1840 does not show James M. Hall as listed as residing in Shrewsbury. Did he move there after the census, was he missed, did he reside in a different part of the town listed as something else, or could he have been in someone elses household and not mentioned by name. James M. was also not found in Brookfield or Grafton in the 1840 census.

Interestingly and possibly unconnected W.C.H. found the following in the Worcester City Directories on 8/28/02.

First appearance, James M. Hall, carpenter 1870, h. 18 Myrtle. In 1875 he is listed as a cabinetmaker, 21 Cypress, house 44 Salem. In 1876 he does not appear in the city directory any longer. Could this be the same James M. Hall?

Notes for SOPHIA RICE:

Marriage vital records of Shrewsbury found by William Carl Hall list Sophia as being from Northborough. The date of Oct. 2, 1840 is the date of their intentions and probably not the actual date of marriage.

Sophia (Rice) Hall had two living daughters and one son at the time of her death from "typhoid pneumonia" in Nov. 1886 just five days after her husband died of the same disease. Vital records of Brookfield listed her age at the time of her death as 70 years and noted that she was the daughter of Jacob and Nancy Rice (quite possibly of Northborough, Mass.).

Marriage Notes for JAMES HALL and SOPHIA RICE:

Personal e-mail communication with Robert Ellis, historian for Northborough, Mass. disclosed that he found a announcement of James M. Halls wedding to Sophia Rice on Oct. 20?, 1840. This was presumably in Northborough, Mass. Jame M. was listed as being from Shrewsbury, Mass.

Children of JAMES HALL and SOPHIA RICE are:

i. WILLIAM LYSANDER⁷ HALL, b. June 07, 1842; d. March 06, 1843.

Notes for WILLIAM LYSANDER HALL:

Data extracted from V.R. of Shrewsbury, Mass. by William Carl Hall.

ii. JAMES ELIOT HALL, b. March 05, 1844; d. April 24, 1844.