JOHN HALL, SR.

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE FAMILY HISTORY OF JOHN HALL, SR. AND FAMILY

As Written by J.P. HALL 6/1/1926
obtained by Imogene Springer, Calhoun City, MS
and edited and reformatted by Charles I. Black, May 26, 1997

J.P. HALL is the son of JOHN and ELIZABETH HALL. JOHN HALL SR. was born on the 26th day of Dec. 1795 in the state of N. Carolina. When a small boy his parents moved to Tenn., I think stopping in McNary County. I am not certain as to the county where he was raised to manhood. There he met and married MISS ELIZABETH ANDERSON his first wife, unto whom were born nine children, five boys and four girls, to wit: ALLEN, JOHN W., CLAIBORNE, JOSEPH W, BERRYIMAN, ELIZABETH, EMELINE, SUSAN and SARAH ANN. 

Soon after his marriage he moved from Tenn. to Greene County, Ala. and settled about six miles northwest of Eutaw, Ala.and remained there on the same farm for over forty years. Up to the time of his death which was on the 31st day of May, 1870. At the time he moved there his oldest son was quite a small boy. At an early day, he was elected Justice of the Peace of his precinct which position, he filled with credit to himself and his constituents, up to the time of his death. As to his brothers and sisters, I know but little, I know of the following ones to wit, JOSEPH, who lived in Eutaw many years prior to his death. DAVID and WESLEY who lived many years prior to their death in Mississippi. BERRYMAN and JOSHUA who lived many years and died in southern Texas, both having several children. JESSIE remained in Tennessee and died there leaving no children. 

His only sister, I have any knowlege of, was named SUSAN, and married a man by the name of QUARLES, and her and her husband both died in Arkansas, somewhere in the fifties in less than twenty-four hours of each other, leaving six boys and one girl. Their request before death was that father and mother should come and get their children and raise them. I well remember father and mother leaving their own family of eight children, and going after the seven little orphans. And well do I remember the family of fiteen children, all together, there at one time. 

Fathers first wife died soon after the birth of her youngest daughter SARAH ANN. I think it was in the year 1834 he was married to my mother, ELIZABETH MOORE, who was the daughter of JORDAN MOORE. She was born Oct. 6th 1805. Mother had five brothers and four sisters, some of whom I never saw. Their names are as follows: JAMES, SAMUEL, ALLEN, WILLIAM and JORDAN MOORE and ELBERT. SARAH who married a man by the name of SMALL. LAVINA who first married a man by the name of RASPBERRY and after his death married a man by the name of CHARNER COLVIN, DORCAS who died without marrying and WEALTHY who married a man by the name of TAYLOR who only lived a short time. And after his death, she came to fathers home and lived there up to the time of her death. 

My Mother was father's second wife, and of this union were born eight children, five boys and three girls, all of whom lived to be grown and married. JORDAN was the oldest and was born on the 26th day of Dec. 1833, the day father was forty years old. Then WILLIAM A., AMANDA, MARY ANN, JAMES PETTY, JOHN, LEONIDAS, CORNELIOUS C. 

At the beginning of the Civil War, there were only three of the half brothers living and five of the younger set. And before the war closed, all eight of them were in the Confederate Army. ALLEN, the oldest soon after his enlistment sickened and died in Mobile, Ala., JORDAN, My oldest, own brother was killed in the battle of Sharpsburg Maryland on the 17th day of Sept. 1862. The remaining six all returned home, two of whom, wounded. I enlisted in March 1862. Served about 18 months in Co. H, 31 Miss. Regiment of Infantry. I then served the remainder of my three years in Captain Irby's Co. in Gov Robert Lowry's regiment of Miss. Cavalry. And served as 3rd Lieutenant until said command was disbanded. 

JORDAN married MISS NANNIE DAVIS in Kempa Co., Miss before the war. WILLIAM A. married MISS MARGARET DAVIS, a sister to NANNIE. AMANDA married WILEY F. COLEMAN, in Greene Co.,Ala. MARY ANN married DAVID R. COLEMAN, a brother of WILEY F. They were all married three or four years before the war comnenced. WILLIAM and JORDAN moved to Kempa Co. Miss. AMANDA and MARY ANN with their husbands moved to Chickasaw Co Miss. 

After the war was over JOHN came home and married MISS PINK HARDY of Greene Co., Ala. CORNELIUS C. married JOHN HARDY a brother to PINK also of Greene Co. LEONIDAS married MISS MOLLIE WILKERSON of Greene Co. Ala. On the 1st day of Feb. 187(?5) JOHN while attempting to turn a Railroad bridge over the Tombigbee river, fell in and was drowned. CORNELIA and her husband moved to Cooke Co Tex. early in the eighties and she died in Cooke Co. a short time after they came here. AMANDA died some time in the seventies. WILLIAM died in Logan Co. Arkansas about 1901. MARY ANN died on their old home place in Chickasaw Co. Miss. where they had lived over 40 years. LEONIDAS moved to Arkansas, and soon after returned to Miss, and from there to Dallas, Texas. 

Several years ago where she is now living, Mother died Feb. 9th 1875 on the old home place in Greene Co Ala. without ever knowing of JOHN's death. At the time of JOHN's accidental death she was quite sick and they never did let her know of his tragic death

I, JAMES PETTY HALL, was born in Greene Co., Ala. on Fri Mar 25, 1842 on the old family home about six miles northwest from Eutaw, was raised on the farm and learned to love a farm life. And while my father owned over twenty slaves, yet he raised his children to work when not in school. I received what education I have in private country schools. And when a mere boy about 16 years old, was solicited to take the school where I had received the greater part of my education. After conferring with my father and mother about the matter I reluctantly agreed to take the task. After teaching three terms, I tendered my resignation and gave up my school, over the protest of many of my patrons. 

I went on a visit to my two older brothers in Kempa County Miss and while there in Oct 1860, I professed faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and was baptised with 13 others into the Missionery Baptist Church. And oh, how sweet it is to return in my Memory back over sixty years to that precious hour. And what a joy it has ever been through these many years to know that I gave my young life to Him that shed His precious blood for me. And I thank God from the depths of my heart that I have never had cause to regret surrendering my young life to Him for service. 

From there, I returned to my home in Greene Co Ala., and soon after went on a visit to see my two sisters AMANDA and MARY ANN, who had moved with their husbands to Chickasaw Co., Miss. And there for the first time met MISS HEPHZIBAH ELMIRA HANCOCK, commonly called HEPSA, who was the daughter of SAMUEL and ADA HANCOCK. She was born in Pickins Co Ala. on the 8th of Feb. 1844. She had three sisters, the oldest, ELIZABETH first married a man by the name of WILLIAM JOHNSON. After his death, she married a man by the name of INGRAM, and after his death she married a man by the name of PERKINS, who died in Ark. She then moved to Texas, and was taken sick and died in Cooke Co, Texas. 

The second sister was named HULDAH who married a man by the name of GEORGE TURMAN who was killed by a limb from a burning tree, falling on him, sometime in the seventies. They only had one child, JAMES TURMAN, who resided in Fannin Co Tex, the last I heard of him. 

HEPSA was the third child and SUSAN was the youngest. SUSAN died single about the time she was grown, at her fathers' home in Chickasaw Co, Miss. Soon after the birth of SUSAN their mother died and the four little girls went to live with their grandma HENLEY, their Mother's Mother. Sometime afterwards their father married again and they went back home. MR HANCOCK raised up several girls and one boy from his second wife. Soon after the war, he died in Chickasaw Co. Miss. 

On the 17th day of Jan 1861 HEPSA and I were married which was just before the Civil War broke out. On the 1lth day of Dec 1861, WEALTHA ANN our first child was born. In Mar 1862 I enlisted in the Confederate Army, carried my  young wife and baby back to my fathers home in Greene, Co, Ala. who promised me that he  would give her a home until I came back. And if I failed to return they would have a home as long as he lived. It was with a sad heart that I turned my back upon my dear wife and baby and my aged father and mother, but I felt that my country called for me, and that I should respond. 

I spent three years of the very best part of my life in that cruel war of which I have already given a brief account. On Oct 1st 1864 SUSAN MADORA, comnonly  called DORA was born.  After the close of the war, about the 1st of June  1865 I returned to the old home to find my dear companion nearly blind with Chronic  sore eyes, and had been so nearly the entire time that she had been there. After a few days spent with my aged parents I took my  wife and two little children and bid farewell to my loving father and mother, never to see them again in this life, and returned to my home in Chickasaw Co· Miss. 
On the 13th day of July 1866 BETTIE was born, in Chickasaw Co.Miss. About this time I had made up my mind to move to Texas and rigged up a four horse wagon and team and engaged a cousin JOSHUA QUARLES to go with me on our overland trip of about one thousand miles all alone. It really seems almost like a miracle to think over the trip and the dangers we had to encounter and see what good time we made without any serious trouble, sickness or accident. The good Lord certainly cared for us, watched over us, protected and shielded us from harm, to whom we give all of the praise, honor and glory. 

On the 3rd day of Nov. 1866 we bid farewell to our beloved sisters and
friends and turned our face to the west to cast our lot in a land of strangers, in a land surrounded and subject to the raids and depredations of wild indians. We were just one month and three days on the road. And on account of high water and cold weather coming on, we rented land and stopped to make a crop in Upshur County, Texas, which indeed was in a very poor section of country not even as good as that we had left behind us. 

In the fall of 1867 we moved to Smith County near where Aunt LEVINA COLVIN was living who formerly lived in our childhood days near our old home, in Greene Co Ala., We lived there two years, made two crops and taught one sumner school. In 1869, I was ordained as a deacon of the Missionery Baptist Church at Mt Zion about eight miles south of Tyler. I still was not satisfied and felt like I was not yet in Texas, and moved from Smith county to Cooke county landing near where Dexter now stands, and unloaded my wagon on the 19th day of Nov. 1869. In 1870 I made a crop near Whitesboro, Texas. 

In Feb, 1871 I moved up near Dexter and in Feb 1876 was elected Justice of the Peace and served in that capacity until 1878 when I was elected County Judge of Cooke County. I served in that capacity twelve years, was elected Moderator of the Shiloh Baptist Association, composed of about five counties, which position I held for eighteen years and resigned of my own accord.

In Nov 1869, another FANNIE BELLE was born. In August 1872 our first son JOHN CLARK was born, on June 3rd 1874 JAMES HALL JR was born. On Feb 28th 1877 CLAUDE H. HALL was born in the town of Dextor. In Oct 1879 an infant son was born but only lived a few minutes. On July 25th 1881, WALTER HALL was born in Gainesville, Texas. On Jan 13, 1925 HEPSA E. HALL departed this life in Gainesville, Texas and had she lived four days longer we would have been married sixty-four years. Of the nine children, six of whom died early in life and but three living at this time June 1st 1926, to wit: WEALTHA ANN, BETTIE WILLIAMSON and CLAUDE H.  BETTIE H. WILLIAMSON now a widow is living and keeping house for me.

Of the older children, ALLEN died in Oct 1863 in his fifthieth year. EMELINE died Mar 6th 1891 in her 73rd year. ELIZABETH PATTERSON died in 1866 in her 66th year. JOESPH died in 1883 in his 56th year. Never did get the exact date of BERRY’s death.

Written by J. P. HALL
June 1st, 1926