Wednesday, July 6, 2016

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ A marriage record, of sorts, for Dr. Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey

History of First Cong Church of Hanover Mass 1727-1865_pg 90_blk&wht_enh_annotated
Reference to the marriage of Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Baily

As you know from my previous post Dr. Jeremiah Hall writes a letter to George Washington, I’ve been researching this line of our Hall ancestors.  In doing so, I’ve been trying to locate as many vital records, probate records or other documentation for their lives, as I can.
 
The one thing I couldn’t locate was a marriage record for Dr. Jeremiah Hall to Elizabeth Bailey. I had a research note in my database from 2009 that stated I had located a reference to their marriage at the New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS) website as follows:

“Hall, Jeremiah 1722 Wrentham 1807 Pembroke Pembroke HR 1785, 1775FS, 1775MS, 1779C; moderator 1780, 82, 83; major, lieut. colonel; M Elizabeth Bailey (c1730-1816) in 1747, 9 ch; MD. Served in the Revolution. He attended the HR sessions and accepted from one to four committee assignments. Wrentham VR 108; Pembroke VR 98, 410; DAR-PIc 1275; IGI for marr at Hanover; Hanover VR 21”

I found other references to their marriage, but no actual records.  Surprising, since Massachusetts is one of our states that has lots of historical records online.

What Did I Do Next?

Something I frequently do, I went to Facebook and asked my fellow researchers if they had or knew of a marriage record for this couple.  In this case I went directly to a group I belong to, dedicated to Hall families from New England.  You can go to that group by clicking here.

Hall FB page

The value of joining Facebook groups cannot be overstated.  There are thousands of groups dedicated to genealogy research.  They range from surname groups to state, county or city groups.  Please refer to my link at the end of this post, about joining genealogy Facebook groups.

I posted my question about the marriage record last night, and by this morning, I had several responses, one of which gives an actual reference to a record of the marriage.

Here’s how I worded my question.  I like to begin any posts of this sort with a specific statement as to what I’m looking for.  This allows anyone who wouldn’t be able to help to scroll right past my post and not waste time reading it.

Re: Marriage record of Dr. Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey.
Hello Hall families - I've been working hard on the Hall side of the family this past few days. I can locate many vital records on Ancestry for the Massachusetts Halls. However, I have been unable to locate a marriage record for Dr. Jeremiah Hall to Elizabeth Bailey circa 1748. The first child I have for them was born in 1753. It looks like all the children were born in Pembroke.
Do any of you have that marriage record? Or know where I might find it? Thanks!

 
One of the responses led me to a book, located on archive.org.  This book is downloadable or you can just search right on the site.  The name of the book is History and Records of the First Congregational Church of Hanover, Mass. 1727-1865

I located the reference to the marriage on page 90 of Volume I.

1747-48
December 22 Jeremiah Hall and Elizabeth Baily, Junr
both of Hanover

This is by no means a primary source.  However, it may be possible to view an actual church record, rather than this reference to the record.  Would they be available on microfilm?  That’s something I will check. An initial search of the FHL catalog has so far come up empty.  However, I will continue to look.

I will be writing more about this branch of the Hall family in upcoming posts.

Please contact me if you are related to anyone mentioned in this post or any of my other posts.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST



Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

6 comments:

  1. Facebook groups are the best. After asking for a couple of translations from the Swedish American Genealogy Group, I got those translations and more!

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    1. Anna - I agree. I've had so many wonderful finds and help and connections with cousins via Facebook genealogy groups.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Great idea about the family page on Facebook. I definitely need to do that. Thanks, Diane for showing how your research trail went.

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  3. I love how specific that FB group is! I belong to quite a few FB groups and have created several, but the results seem to vary. Yours definitely is a keeper! Great find.

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    1. I am very fortunate to belong to a couple of very active groups Michelle. One in Lawrence County, Ohio and this Hall group. Great resources.

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.