Samuel Hall
. . . Pioneer in the wilderness of New York. . .

Born April 3, 1768¹ [1769²/1771³], Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut
Died July 7, 1841, Brookfield, Madison County, New York⁴
Burial probably at old Hall homeplace in Brookfield⁵

Marriage - Anna Ives⁶

Daughter of Jotham Ives and Anna Foster of Torrington, Litchfield County, Connecticut⁷
Marriage circa 1794, Connecticut or New York⁸
She was born September 26, 1773⁹, or Sep. 28, 1772¹⁰, Torrington, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Died July 7, 1858¹¹ or August 1859¹², Madison County, New York
Burial probably next to her husband at old Hall homeplace in Brookfield

Children of Samuel and Anna:
All except Levi were born in Brookfield, Chenango/Madison Co., NY.

1. Levi Hall, b. December 15, 1795¹³, d. July 14, 1806 (age 10)¹⁴.

2. Martia Hall, b. April 4[/14], 1798^{15 16}, d. February 21[/24], 1834¹⁷, probably buried at old Hall homeplace in Brookfield¹⁸. The story is that Martia's baby was fathered by a married man of a prominent family. The baby, Emily, was raised by Samuel. Martia supposedly stayed out of sight and eventually died young of a broken heart and disgrace.¹⁹

i) Emily/Emeline Hall (illegitimate)²⁰, b. May 14, 1820, d. April 28, 1911; m. Rufus Foote (1817-1903); buried Universalist Cemetery, Bridgewater, Oneida Co, New York.²¹ Emily was left $50 from her grandfather Samuel's estate.

Obituary of Rufus Foote²²: "Death of Rufus Foote - One of the Oldest Residents of the Village of Bridgewater Feb. 18 - Rufus Foote, one of the oldest residents of this village, died Monday night. Mr. Foote was born August 21, 1817, on the farm in this town of Brookfield now occupied by his son, W.E. Foote. More than sixty years ago he was married to Emily Hall, who with one son, William E., survives him. In 1874 Mr. and Mrs. Foote moved from the farm into the village of Bridgewater. Mr. Foote had lived a quiet, uneventful life. He was of a kind, benevolent disposition, and during the years when the burden of old age was upon him he always manifested the most cheerful uncomplaining spirit. He was the last of a family of twelve children, of whom he was the youngest. In politics he was a Republican since Abraham Lincoln was candidate for President the first time. He was very much interested in the Universalist Church, but of late years too feeble to attend. The funeral will take place Friday morning at 10:30 at the house and at the Universalist Church…"

a.) William Foote, b. 1840, d. 1916; m. Emily Hall, daughter of Samuel Hall Jr.²³

3. Ira Hall, b. August 26, 1800, d. April 19, 1879, Jefferson Co., New York. [Several children - see Ira's page]

4. Hiram Hall, b. June 27, 1802²⁴[/3]²⁵, d. April 26, 1835, Jefferson Co., NY²⁶. [See Hiram's page]

i.) Reuben Hall, b. January 19, 1833, d. 1911²⁷

5. Joel Hall, b. February 25, 1805²⁸, d. February 24, 1817²⁹, NY.

6. Anna Hall, b. July 8, 1807, d. June 27, 1831, NY; possible married a ___ Converse.³⁰

7. Samuel S. Hall, Jr., b. January 26, 1810, d. November 1887, Oneida Co., NY. [Several children - see Samuel Jr.'s page]

Samuel's Story

Reference: Map of Eastern New York Counties
You can see where Madison County, NY is in relation to Connecticut and to Jefferson County, NY.

Samuel Hall, born between 1768-1771 in Wallingford, Connecticut, almost certainly descends from the colonial Hall family of Wallingford, Connecticut. John Hall, born about 1605 (probably in England), was an early colonist in Connecticut³¹. He was likely the same John Hall who first settled Hartford, and served as a soldier in the Pequot War in 1637. He was one of the signers of the New Haven Planters Covenant, June 4, 1639, forming the Puritan colony of New Haven, Connecticut.³² He married Jane Woolen, an English immigrant who came to Boston as a servant to William Wilkes.³³ Wilkes paid her fare from England in exchange for 5 years of service in his family and 3 pounds payment per year. Mr. Wilkes was in Boston as early as 1633, and moved to New Haven with the first colonists in 1639.³⁴ John Hall and Jane probably married about 1640-45, and they had seven known children: John, Sarah, Samuel, Thomas, Jonathan, David, and Mary. John moved from New Haven to Wallingford about 1670, shortly after its formation, with his sons John, Samuel, and Thomas.³⁵ I have not yet identified our Samuel's specific line of descent from the many Halls of Wallingford; he would have been a fifth or sixth generation descendant of the colonists John Hall and Jane Woolen.

At the end of the Eighteenth Century, there was a great deal of migration from New England into central and upstate New York. It was common for younger sons to leave home and seek land and prosperity elsewhere, because they usually did not inherit land (it was left to the eldest son). Samuel Hall was among the earliest settlers to arrive in the area that would become the town of Brookfield in central New York, in what was at that time Chenango County but later became Madison County. According to a descendant, Samuel may have ventured to the area as early as 1790, surveying the forest lands for a Judge Sanger, and later purchased land in what became the town of Brookfield.³⁶ County records show that Samuel bought land from Powell Hall (probably a relative) and from Morris Langworthy.³⁷ The town of Brookfield was formed in 1795. A "History of Chenango and Madison Counties" lists Samuel as settling in Brookfield in 1797.³⁸ It is likely that Samuel traveled back and forth between Brookfield and Connecticut several times. He probably worked hard clearing land and constructing a simple log cabin before truly settling and bringing his family to the new homestead. Brookfield was in the Unadilla Valley, bounded on two sides by the Unadilla River, which early on could be traveled by canoe. The area was hilly with rough ridges and deep valleys. The first white settlers had arrived in 1791-92 and had set up a sawmill and gristmill along the river. News of the promising region traveled quickly back to New England and soon a steady stream of emigration began. The earliest settlers selected farmland on the hills thinking that hill land would be less likely to frost. Later, however, it was the valley farmland that would be most successful and valuable.³⁹

In about 1794, Samuel married Anna Ives, of another colonial Connecticut family. In the 1855 New York state census, Anna reported that she had lived in New York for 62 years - this would mean that she went to New York in about 1793.⁴⁰ So it is unclear whether Samuel and Anna were married in Connecticut or New York. When Samuel and Anna traveled to Brookfield in 1797, he was about 28 and she 24, recently married, with an infant son, Levi. In Brookfield they had six more children, but two died in childhood and three died in early adulthood. Only two children, Ira and Samuel Jr., lived past age 36. Life must have been very hard as settlers in the sparsely populated wilderness.

The Halls had a close association with the Maxson family. The Maxson family had been prominent in the early Seventh Day Baptist (SDB) group in Rhode Island.⁴¹ The Seventh Day Baptists started a new church in Brookfield soon after the town's founding, and the Maxsons were involved there as well.⁴² No Halls are listed among the members of the First, Second, or Third SDB Churches of Brookfield, so Samuel and Anna were probably not Seventh Day Baptists.⁴³ The two families seem to have been close though, and Ira Hall converted to the SDB church sometime in adulthood. In the late 1820s, Samuel's sons Ira and Hiram and their friend Benjamin Maxson moved to Jefferson County at about the same time and settled on neighboring farms at Stowell's Corners. Benjamin Maxson was married to Anna (Ives) Hall's niece, Lucy Ives.⁴⁴ Ira Hall and Benjamin Maxson were among the founding trustees of the Sulphur Springs Seventh Day Baptist Church in Jefferson County in 1847.⁴⁵

Little more is known about the lives of Samuel and Anna in Brookfield. At some point they erected a beautiful brick house on the Brookfield farm, which still stands today. The bricks were kilned right on the Hall farm. Samuel Hall is on record as a Grand Juror in Madison County in 1829.⁴⁶ Samuel died at his home in Brookfield in 1841, and left a will. He wrote his will in December 1840 and died July 7, 1841 at age 70. His will lists his wife Anna and children Ira, Hiram, and Samuel, and a granddaughter Emily. The will does not mention Levi, Martia, Joel, or Anna, as all of them were deceased. Even though Hiram had died, he was mentioned - probably because he had a son Reuben who was about seven years old. Samuel also mentioned his granddaughter Emily Hall, the illegitimate daughter of Martia. He made his youngest son Samuel, Jr., the Executor.⁴⁷ His only other surviving son, Ira, had moved away to Jefferson County. Samuel Jr. still lived in Brookfield and would inherit the family farm.

Anna survived Samuel, and after his death she remained on the farm, with her son Samuel Jr. and his family.⁴⁸

Samuel Hall's Will

Brookfield, Madison County, NY, written December 7, 1840, recorded September 15, 1841
[Transcribed by Kelly Hokkanen from a photocopy. Note: this copy was very dark and small so it was very hard to decipher. There is a "?" for unreadable words and there may be a few errors in the transcription.]

I Samuel Hall of the Town of Brookfield in the County of Madison in the State of New York considering the [?] of this mortal life and being of sound mind and memory on mature deliberation do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following. That is to say.

After all my just debts and [?] charges are paid I give and bequeath to my wife Anna the use and occupation of one third part of my real estate in lieu of her right of dower [?] in the Town of Brookfield aforesaid during her natural life also one third part of the personal property [?] she [?] of.

I give and bequeath to my son Samuel all the real estate I may die [?] [s--?] in the Town of Brookfield subject to the bequest made to my widow.

I give my son Ira three hundred dollars.

In as much as I have heretofore given my son Hiram his equitable proportion of my estate therefore no provision is made for him in this my last Will and Testament.

I give to my granddaughter Emily [Hall?] fifty dollars. The Legacy aforesaid to be paid by Executor hereafter to be named and I make my [?] [?] when for the payment thereof.

And I do hereby appoint my son Samuel Hall sole Executor of this my last will and Testament hereby revoking all former [?] [?].

In witness where I have here unto set my hand and seal in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty [?] [?] [?] say the above named Samuel Hall to be his last will and Testament in the presence of us who have [?] [?] [?] [?] names and [entrusted?] in the presence of and by the request of the Testator.

[signed] Samuel Hall [seal]

Signed [witnesses]:
Levi Carpenter, Bridgewater, Oneida County
Sweet Allen, Bridgewater, Oneida County

During the "proving" of the will in court, the two witnesses took oaths confirming that Samuel Hall wrote his will on December 7, 1840, of his own free will, in sound mind, etc. They also confirmed that Samuel died in Brookfield in July 1841. Samuel's son Samuel Jr. then testified that his father died on July 7, 1841 in Brookfield, and that this will was found in his desk and had been in possession of Samuel Jr. since his father's death. The court Surrogate, James B. Eldridge, approved the will, September 14, 1841.

Sources:

Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records, New York State Series, Vol. 56, p. 127. Copied by Grace E. Brown. Located in Oneida County Courthouse, Utica, NY. Photocopy provided by Marion Keefer Williams. The bible record lists his death in 1841 at age 73 yrs, which would put his birth at about 1768.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64. Excerpts taken by Marion Keefer Williams from the original letters, owned by Duane Palmer, El Cajon, CA. Florence Howes (1893-1969) was a great-granddaughter of Samuel Hall. In the letters, she gave Samuel Hall Sr.'s birthdate as April 3, 1769.
Arthur Coon Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family: Including a History of the Early Settlements and the Movement from Quinnipiac to the Black River Country (Watertown, NY: Hungerford-Holbrook Co., 1931). The Ives book puts Samuel's birthdate at April 3, 1771. There are definitely errors in this book, however, and no source is provided for the information.
Samuel Hall will and probate (1841), Madison County Will Book B: 177, Madison County, NY.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64. Howes stated that her aunt (Emily Hall Foote) told her that Samuel and Anna Hall are buried on the Hall farm in Brookfield.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family. No specific source was given. No marriage or death record has been found to confirm these dates for Anna, but Samuel's will does confirm his wife's name was Anna. Also, a letter written by Mandana Hall names "Harry Ives" as a cousin of her husband Ira Hall. It seems certain that Samuel's wife was indeed Anna Ives.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64. Howes stated that Samuel married Anna Ives in 1794. This date is appropriate to the birthdate of their first child, Levi, in 1795. Howes claimed they married in Watertown, New York. The exact location of the marriage has not been found.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64. Howes gave dates for Martia as April 4, 1798 - Feb. 21, 1834. She said she copied these dates from the headstone in Fairview Cemetery on September 8, 1965. (She said there was a headstone in Fairview although Martia was buried on the Hall farm in Brookfield.)
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records. The transcription gives Martia's dates as April 14, 1798 - February 24, 1834. The Ives Genealogy contains the same date, but lists the name as Martin Hall. The bible record clearly says "Martia" as do probate documents relating to the will of Samuel Hall, and the letters of Florence Howes.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64.
Samuel Hall will and probate (1841). Samuel left $50 to his granddaughter Emily Hall, and during the probate she is listed as "Emily Foot of Brookfield…daughter of Martia Hall deceased who was daughter of said Samuel Hall deceased" and as Emily, "wife of Rufus Foot".
Descendants Report, Marion Williams Keefer, Beaverton, OR, 2000.
"Death of Rufus Foote," unidentified newspaper clipping, 1903. Photocopy provided by Marion Williams Keefer, Beaverton, OR.
Descendants Report, Marion Williams Keefer, Beaverton, OR, 2000.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records.
Hiram Hall tombstone, Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Hounsfield, Jefferson County, NY; photographed and transcribed by Kelly Hokkanen, 1994.
Reuben Hall tombstone, Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Hounsfield, Jefferson County, NY. Tombstone reads "1833-1911".
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records.
Samuel Hall family bible record, D.A.R. Bible Records.
James Shepard, John Hall of Wallingford, Connecticut: A monograph (New Britain, CT: Record Press, 1902).
Shepard, John Hall of Wallingford, Connecticut.
David B. Hall, Halls of New England (Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1883).
Hall, Halls of New England.
Shepard, John Hall of Wallingford, Connecticut.
Excerpts from Letters Written by Florence Howes to Ethel Palmer, 1963-64.
Information provided by Marion Keefer Williams, Beaverton, OR; found in deeds of Madison County, NY.
James H. Smith, History of Chenango and Madison Counties, New York (Syracuse, NY: Truair, Smith & Bruce, 1880), 828 & 1234. Samuel Hall was among settlers who arrived in Brookfield in 1797, one of the first in the town.
Mrs. L.M. Hammond, History of Madison County, State of New York (Syracuse, NY: Truair, Smith & Co., 1872). New York County Histories, Reel 21, Book 93, Sutro Library Film 239.
Samuel Hall household, 1855 New York state census, Madison County, town of Brookfield; Madison County Historical Society, Oneida, NY.
Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, online , reprinted from Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, Volume 1 (1910), 120-146. Among the pastors of the Westerly, RI church in the late 1700s were John Maxson, Sr. and John Maxson, Jr. A settlement was formed in Brookfield, Madison County, New York, where the First Seventh-Day Baptist Church of Brookfield was organized in 1797.
Ilou M. Sanford, Membership Records of Seventh Day Baptists of Central New York State 1797-1940s (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books Inc., 1994).
Sanford, Seventh Day Baptists.
Ives, Genealogy of the Ives Family.
Edgar C. Emerson, Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Jefferson County, New York (Boston: Boston History Co. Publishers, 1898).
William H. Tuttle, Names and Sketches of the Pioneer Settlers of Madison County, New York (Interlaken, New York: Heart of the Lakes Publishing).
Samuel Hall will and probate (1841).
Samuel Hall household, 1855 New York state census. History Co. Publishers, 1898).

Samuel Hall . . . Pioneer in the wilderness of New York. . .