TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Mary A. Bolles Hall, second wife of Rev. George Hall–1816-1893

Headstone for Mrs. Mary A. Hall - courtesy of twilson99

I submitted a request for a photograph of this headstone, via FindAGrave, in 2015.  That request was fullfilled just this month.  Never give up on your requests.  

This headstone inscription reads as follows:

Mrs. Mary A. Hall

born August 10, 1816

died October 22, 1893

Asleep in Jesus

Mary A. Bolles is my husband’s 2nd great grandfather’s second wife.  She married Rev. George Hall a little over a year after the death of his first wife, Almira Rosette.  The marriage took place on 6 Oct 1859 in Jersey City, New Jersey.

There were 6 children born to George and Almira, so in 1859 there could have been at least 3 of those children still at home.  Those may have been Thomas, age 14, Susan, age 13 and Ellen, age 9.

Here is a newspaper extraction citing the marriage of Mary Ann and George.

U.S. Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930
Name:    Mary Ann Bolles
Father:    Abial Bolles
Event:    Marriage
Marriage Date:    6 Oct 1859
Marriage Place:    Jersey City
Spouse:   George Hall
Newspaper:   Christian Intelligencer of the Reformed Dutch Church
Publication Date:   13 Oct 1859
Publication Place:  New York, USA
Call Number:   486384

Although I’ve tried for years, and just tried again today, I am unable to locate an 1860 census for Rev. Hall and Mary. 
I have located his three youngest children, Thomas, Susan and Ellen, all living with other people.

So, with no children at home and newly married, where did this couple reside in 1860?

I did locate them in the 1870 census, living in Fayette, Jefferson, Mississippi. At that time, George’s youngest daughter, Emily, was living with the couple.  George is still working in the ministry.  Mary is listed as keeping house.  Two years later, Emily aka Susan Emily, married John H. Griffing in Claiborne, Mississippi.

Here is the cropped portion of the 1870 census.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Mary lost her husband George to yellow fever 4 Sep 1878 in Port Gibson, Claiborne, Mississippi.  Here’s a blog post I wrote about his death which includes a detailed obituary Sunday's Obituary - Rev. George Hall Victim of Yellow Fever – 1878

What happened to Mary after George’s death?  Yet, another census mystery.  I cannot locate her in the 1880 census.  However, I was able to find her in 2 city directories from her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina.  In both 1896 and 1890 she is living at 359 Meeting, in Charleston, and listed as “widow of George.”  I cannot find any record of her remarrying after his death in 1878.
Mary died on 22 Oct 1893 in her birthplace, Charleston, South Carolina.  Her cause of death was listed as Nervous prostration/old age.
 

Mary is buried at Second Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Charleston.  You may visit her memorial here #3586154.
 
NOTE – Just as I was finishing up this blog post, I decided to go over to Family Search and take a look for South Caroline records to see what I may have missed.  In doing so, I have located the actual death register for Mary.  The information on the register matches the death record I had already located.  But, nice to have that original register.

More information about Mary and some of my observations and questions:

• I believe that Mary is the daughter of Edwin Abiel BOLLES and his wife Hannah A. PATTISON
• She was 43 years old when she married Rev. Hall and I can locate no other marriage records for her.  In the 1850 census she was living with her parents and a few of her siblings.
• She was married to Rev. Hall for 19 years, from 1859 until his death in 1878. 
• I find no record of any children born to this couple. 
• What did Mary like to do?  Did she volunteer?  Did she quilt?  Did she like to garden?  What was her life like for the 15 years after Rev. Hall died?  Was she employed someplace?
• Someone provided a nice headstone for Mary.  Was it her siblings or other family?
• I’ve searched on newspapers.com and genealogy bank and not found an obituary.
• When you have no direct descendants, it’s nice to be remembered.  While Mary may not be a blood ancestor to my husband and his Hall family, I am still happy to recognize and remember her. 

If you are connected to the BOLLES family of Charleston, South Carolina, I would love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILITARY MONDAY ~ THE CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE OF GEORGE F. HALL–1837-1896

George F. Hall wearing his Union Army cap - used with permission of Brian White who owns the photo

George F. Hall, my husband’s great granduncle, was born 3 Sep 1837 in New Jersey, the oldest son of Reverend George Hall and Almira Rosette Hall.  He had four younger siblings; Cornelia B.R. Hall, Charles A. B. Hall, Thomas Cornelius Hall and Susan Emily Hall.  According to his father’s obituary there was a 6th child born to the couple, but I don’t know what became of that child, when he/she was born or anything else, at this time.

By the age of 14, George F. Hall and his parents and siblings were living in Smithfield, Madison, New York.  All records indicate that George stayed in New York the rest of his life.  In the census taken in 1860, just prior to the beginning of the Civil War, George was living in New York City with the Howe family.  He was 23 years old and no occupation is listed for him.  Also in the household with him were his siblings, Emily & Thomas.  I have a death date for his mother, Almira in 1858.  The whereabouts of his father, Reverend George Hall is unknown in 1860.

Now to George’s military service.  He enlisted before April 1862.  He would have been 25-26 yrs. old at the time.  He served in Company H 1st U.S. Sharpshooters and Company I, 14th Heavy Artillery, N.Y. Volunteers.  And was discharged 25 Jul 1865.

Not only did George serve, but so did his brother Thomas Cornelius Hall (who is my husband’s direct ancestor), his great grandfather.

 

To learn more about Thomas’ service and his pension file you can read my blog post CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE ~ Cora E. Hall widow of Thomas C. Hall ~ What gems does it contain?

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Page 3 from his pension file

As I read through George’s pension file I learned that he experienced quite a bit of illness during his military service and that it continued for the rest of his life.  The entire pension file is focused on medical examinations and letters from George and others, trying to prove that he got sick in the service and remained so, which made him unable to perform manual labor.

Page 8 from his pension file

George applied for his Civil War pension in 30 Jun 1880.  You can find the pension index files on genealogy websites, such as Fold3, Ancestry.com.  These index cards then allow you to order the pension file.  The files vary a great deal in size and information contained.  I have some that are 50 pages long and others that are 225 pages.  The files can be ordered directly from NARA (National Archives) or from a third party.  I order mine from Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches Genealogy.  The turnaround is less expensive and quicker than what NARA can do. 

I make no guarantees nor do I make any remuneration from referral to Twisted Twigs.  The service has worked well for me.

 

Here is George’s index card, that got me started in seeking his file.

It seems that he contracted a fever, possibly Malaria and was taken sick in Yorktown, VA in April 1862.  In May of 1891 George was examined by a physician and said to be 5’ 10 1/2” tall, weight 124 pounds and 54 years old.  This physical description varies on some of the other examination records.  Was he 5’8, 5’9 or 5’10 1/2”? His statement to this physician is “I am totally disabled.”  He is also stated to have Dyspepsia (indigestion) and disease of the heart.

In Dec 1884 George was examined, yet again, and the doctor said “General appearance is unhealthy and very nervous, tremulous when he walks. Appears very much exhausted.  Exam of heart show no physical signs of heart disease.  In the opinion of this doctor he suffers from nervous exhaustion.” 

Throughout the pension file, one thing is clear.  George F. Hall is not a healthy man.  Although it states that prior to his service he was quite healthy and able.

There are several letters back and forth to the Commissioner of Pensions.  Not only from George himself, but one letter from a Lieutenant named William Worsley Winthorp.

 

Here’s the letter written to George F. Hall from Lt. Winthorp.  Dated 9 Aug 1862 from Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C.

I found out about Lt. Winthrop via a Facebook group for the 1st U. S. Sharpshooters.  I searched Facebook to see if there was a group for them.  It’s not uncommon to find specific pages devoted to units from any of our wars. You can find that Facebook group here Company H, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters.  I was unable to read the signature on the letter above and posted a query to see if someone in the group could read it.  Someone responded and told me it was William Worsley Winthorp.  As it turns out Lt. Winthorp, who later became a Captain, was well versed in Military Law and taught at West Point for a while.

Although there isn’t much in the way of family information in this particular file, there was mention of George being married in 1869 and moving to W. Stockholm, New York where he began practicing medicine.  He practiced something known as Botanic Medicine, according to a statement in his pension file.  I found this definition of Botanical Medicine

“Herbal medicine, also known as herbalism or botanical medicine, is a medical system based on the use of plants or plant extracts that may be eaten or applied to the skin.” 

However, his headstone is engraved with the word “surgeon.”  I wonder if I can find out more about George’s medical training?  When did he become a surgeon?

This is page 58 from George’s file.  A deposition from Gilbert Constable in Jun 1882. He states he had known George for 24 years, which would mean both before and after the Civil War.  He says George was able to do a “farmer’s work” and worked for Gilbert’s brother-in-law.

 

The last piece of information, important to my research, is the U.S. Pension Agency letter stating that the pension has been dropped due to the death of George F. Hall on 14 May 1896.  This date matches what I had located on his FindAGrave memorial.

One of the best finds I had in this journey with George, is finding his memorial on FindAGrave.com #81670494.  The memorial contained a photo of George in his uniform.  Being a thorough researcher, I wanted to find out how the person who posted the photo, knew this was George F. Hall.  I sent a message to Brian White who added the picture of George to his memorial.  I got a response almost immediately, not only granting permission to use the photo, but sending me an image of the back of it.  AND…..he sent me the beautiful ambrotype framed photo displayed at the beginning of this blog post.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  My sincere thanks to Brian.

Always remember, it never hurts to ask.  I can’t tell you how many positive responses I’ve received over the years.

Here’s the picture of George in his uniform and the back of that same photo.

George F. Hall in his Union Army uniform - used with permission of Brian White, who owns the photo

Back of the photo of George in his uniform - used with permission of Brian White who owns the photo

As to George’s life after the war.  I find he and Sarah in the 1870 census, living in Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York (just like the statement in his pension record said).  There are no children listed with them.  He is 39 years old and his occupation is listed as “physician.”

In 1880 he and Sarah are in Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence, New York and living with them is a Florence E. Wilson, age 26.  Based on earlier census records, I believe Florence to be Sarah’s younger sister.  Again, George is listed as a Physician.

In the 1890 Veteran’s census schedule, George is listed as living in Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence, New York.  I’m always so grateful for the 1890 veteran’s schedule, because it can put our Civil War ancestors at a place in time.  With the loss of the majority of the 1890 U.S. Federal Population census to a fire, this can be very helpful.

George’s wife, Sarah died 20 Sep 1892.  I don’t have a death record for her.  If she died in New York, you know their records are difficult to obtain.  She is buried with George and you can find her memorial on FindAGrave #81670795.

George died 14 May 1896.  There is an obituary posted on his FindAGrave memorial.  I have looked long and hard on various newspaper sites and have not found this obituary.  I will continue to look for a copy of the actual newspaper article.  As with Sarah, I have not located a death record yet, either.

I do hope that George and Sarah lived a happy life together.  His obituary said he had “many friends, lived alone after Sarah’s death and lived an exemplary life with a Christian spirit.”

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, I’d love to hear from you.  Likewise, if you have any corrections or additions, please contact me.

FOR OTHER POSTS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR AND PENSION FILES YOU MAY VISIT

Civil War Pension Files and Other Info

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CHURCH RECORD SUNDAY ~ Susan Rosette–Presbyterian Church Record–New Jersey

Susan Boylston Rosette is my husband’s paternal 3rd great grandmother.  She married Dr. Abraham Rosette on 30 May 1804 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Using Legacy 9, I created a relationship chart that shows how my husband is connected to this couple.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)



I recently located a church record for Susan Rosette in the U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970.  The record lists her as the widow of Abr. and gives his death date, which coincides with my records.



Here is the Source Citation for this record:

Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1907; Accession Number: 11-0928 65D Box 54
Description
Year: 1825 - 1947
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Original data: Church Registers. Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Source Description
This collection includes baptism, marriage, death, burial, and other records from Presbyterian churches in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Church records can be valuable tools and provide a lot of information about our ancestors.  Especially given that vital records were not required or kept at a state or county level until the late 1800’s, in most jurisdictions.

If you’ve found information in church records, I’d love to hear about them.  Also, if you are related to either the Rosette or Boylston families, please get in touch with me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY - Abraham & Susan Rosette - died 1815 & 1847

WEDDING WEDNESDAY–Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette married March 11, 1834

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Rev. George Hall Victim of Yellow Fever - 1878

Rev. George Hall is my husband’s 2nd great grandfather.  He was born 4 Jun 1804 in Keene, New Hampshire to Cornleius Clark Hall & Elizabeth Conick.  He married Almira Rosette on 11 Mar. 1834 in Essex, New Jersey.   He married second, Mary A. Bolles on 6 Oct 1859 in Jersey City, New Jersey.

I had 5 children born to George & Almira, however, his obituary states there were 6 children born to the couple.

I had previously located information about Reverend Hall’s death in the Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian church 1861-1941, in the Necrological Report Alumni Association of Princeton Theological Seminary 1879 and in the Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.

I had also located reference to his death from Yellow Fever in a list of deaths of that disease in Port Gibson, Claiborne, Mississippi.




Here is my transcription of Rev. Hall’s obituary, which contains a LOT of genealogical information.

“Rev. George Hall - A few weeks ago we announced the death by yellow fever, of Rev. Geo. Hall of Port Gibson, Miss.  A recent number of the Christian Observer, published at Louisville, Ky., has the following notice of the deceased;
Rev. George Hall departed this life on the morning of September 4th, 1878, in Port Gibson, Miss. of yellow fever.  His illness was short and painful.  He was of English ancestry.  His father was a descendant of the original settlers of Keene, N.H.  He was born in that town June 4th, 1804.  His mother was of Scotch-Irish descent.  Both parents being pious, trained their children to fear God and keep his commandments, and had the joy of seeing their only son in the ministry and their three daughters hopefully converted. His literary course was at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, N.H., and at Dartmouth College in Hanover, in the graduating class of 1833.  His theological training was partly in Princeton, N.J. under Dr. Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller and Charles Hodge, and partly in New York City under Drs. Erskine, Mason and Henry White a committee appointed by the Third Presbytery of New York, for the purpose of giving instruction to the candidates for the ministry.  That committee was the nucleus of the present Union Theological Seminary of New York.  He was licensed to preach by the Third Presbytery of New York in October 1835.  He was ordained and installed as the pastor of Weston church, Conn., in 1837.  He afterward supplied churches in New York until 1860, then he came South.  Thirteen years he was in Jefferson and Claiborne counties, Miss.  He had charge of the Presbyterian church at Fayetteville, Lincoln county, Tenn., from 1874-1876.  He then returned to his old presbytery in Mississippi, and resided in Port Gibson until his death.
His first wife was Almira Rosette, of Elizabethtown, N. J.  She was of the family of John Quincy Adams.  She left six children. His second wife was Mary A. Bolles, daughter of Abiel Bolles, Esq., of Charleston, S.C. to whom he was married October 6th, 1859, who is still living in Port Gibson, Miss.

I’ve included the hyperlinks to the sources I’ve used for Rev. George Hall.  I hope that you might find them helpful if you have Presbyterian Ministers in your family.

NOTE:  This was the first time I had ever read a reference to Almira Rosette being somehow related to John Quincy Adams.  You’ll get a laugh out of this.  Since this is my non-genealogy husband’s family, I mentioned the connection to him.  He says “oh yeah, my Dad told me about that when I was a boy.”  WHAT?!  And you never mentioned it, I said.  His response “you never asked.”  Oh brother!  Off I go to do some research and find out if this is actually true.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette 1834 

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY - John Conick & Abigail Hartshom Conick

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY–Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette married March 11, 1834

Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette

Married 11 March 1834 in Essex County, New Jersey

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

THEIR MARRIAGE APPEARS ON THE PAGE ON THE RIGHT

CLOSE UP OF THEIR NAMES IN THE RECORD

Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette are the 2nd great grandparents of my husband.

Almira was the daughter of Abraham Rosette & Susan Boylston.

See this post from yesterday TOMBSTONE TUESDAY - Abraham & Susan Rosette - died 1815 & 1847

The Rev. George Hall was the son of Cornelius Clark Hall & Elizabeth Conick.  He was the only son born to the couple.  He had 4 sisters.  I bet he had fun growing up in that household.

Here is an excerpt from the Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the Unites States of America, page 289.

  "Rev. George Hall was born at Keene, NH June 4th 1804; was a student at Dartmouth College; pursued his theological studies at Princeton Seminary, and under the direction of Rev. Drs. Erskine Mason and Henry White, in New York city, and was licensed by the Third Presbytery of New York, October 12th 1835.  After being pastor of the Congregational Church at Weston, Conn., from 1837 to 1841, he seems to have been without any settlement until 1860, but temporaily supplied various churches in Connecticut and New York.  He was state supply to Fayette and Ebenezer churches, Miss., from 1860 to 1871, and to Port Gibson Church from 1872 to 1874.  He then became stated supply of the Church in Fayetteville, Tenn., from 1874 to 1876.  In the latter year he returned to Port Gibson, Miss. where he died, September 4th, 1878.  Mr. Hall was a truly faithful and good man.  He was eminently devoted to the work of saving souls.  His memory is warmly cherished in the churches he served in Mississippi and Tennessee, and by all who knew him."

The Rev. George Hall was the Pastor of the Peterboro Church in Smithfield, New York in about 1850.  This church was the site of the first complete meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society in 1835.  The building is now on the New York State and National Historic Registers.  In 2004 it was named as one of 24 sites on the New York State Underground Railroad Heritage Trail.  The site became home of the National Abolition Hall of Fame in 2005. Source: Donna Burdick, Smithfield Town Historian

George & Almira’s children were

George F. Hall born 1836, New Jersey

Cornelia B. R. Hall born 1838, New Jersey

Charles A. B. Hall born 1842, New York

Thomas Cornelius Hall 1845-1897, married Cora E. Brown and are my husband’s great grandparents

Susan C. Hall born 1846, New York, married John H. Griffing

I learned a lot about the Rev. George Hall from various reports printed by church associations.  One of those was the Necrological Report presented to the Alumni Association of Princeton Theological Seminary at it’s Annual Meeting 29 Apr 1879.  Here are the pages from that report:

Sadly the report above tells us that Almira died in Sep 1858 in West Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York, at age 52.  I haven’t yet located her death record or burial.  Having at least 3 children still at home, the Reverend remarried on 6 Oct 1859 to Mary A. Bolles.

Rev. Hall died during the Yellow Fever plague of 1878.  Here is a link to a book about this plague:  https://archive.org/details/65030600R.nlm.nih.gov 

And here is a link to the Rootsweb site about Claiborne County, Mississippi and the list of deaths from Yellow Fever: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~msclaib3/yellow1878.html

Here is a link to Rev. Hall’s memorial on FindAGrave  #56354940

Headstone for Rev. George Hall courtesy of William Sanders - used with permission

I’ve enjoyed sharing this story with you.

 

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CHURCH RECORDS - How they can help you with your research

 WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Things are not always what they seem...or what they say

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

HALL FAMILY - WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

HALL HISTORY