Person talk:John Hall (76)

Jacobus on John Hall [9 April 2014]

The following is from a carbon copy in the Hall file of Donald Lines Jacobus manuscripts at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford. It appears to have been prepared for a client further down in the line from John Hall, as I've not been able to find any article by Jacobus on John Hall of Middletown. The corrections to the article on Hall, with which I am in agreement, have stood on the page for some time now without comment, and I'd like to substitute this for the base article if there are no objections.

JOHN HALL

Born in England about 1584; died at Middletown, Conn., May 26, 1673; married _____ _____.

The name of his wife has often been stated as Esther, but on no record authority that has been seen. Ann Wilcox, the first wife of his son John, has often been assigned to him as a second wife.

Probably he came to this country by 1635 and was the John Hall who was made freeman of Massachusetts Bay, May 6, 1635. He settled in Roxbury, Mass, and in 1639 removed to Hartford, Conn. He was not the John Hall who served from Hartford in the 1637 Pequot War and who later lived in New Haven and Wallingford. Our John was called "Senior" in Hartford to distinguish him form this younger man.

He was a carpenter by trade, and moved to Middletown, Conn., probably by 1653.

In his will, made in May 1675, he calls himself "Carpenter, aged about 89 years." He remembered his son Richard Hall and his children; son John Hall; the children of "my daughter Wetmore, Decd," and surprisingly enough, also "the children of my daughter Sarah, Decd"; son Thomas Wetmore; and son Samuel Hall.--HBWhitmore 20:42, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

Manwaring's Digest has the date of the will as "3rd month, 1673", proved 5 March 1673/74 (1:205). No objection otherwise, as long as it is clear where this sketch by Jacobus amends any prior work. We ought to add the Manwaring abstract as well, but I can take care of that easily once you've made your changes.--jaques1724 02:27, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

Great on the Manwaring. I had thought I could get it from the NEHGS website and save keying it all in, but can't seem to find it there and my flat bed scanner isn't working at the moment so I can't scan from the book. The original will from the probate file reads 14-3 mo-1673 and I mistyped from the Jacobus document which reads May 1673. I made a scan from the microfilm of the original and I'll eventually scan that and put it up in John's picture space. Are you a John Hall descendant?

I finally got around to adding the Manwaring abstract today, while working on an entirely different issue. No, I'm not a descendant of John Hall or any of the other Middletown founders. I just have a general interest in Connecticut Valley families because of a close friend who is a descendant of the Haddam Brainerds.--jaques1724 20:33, 1 April 2021 (UTC)