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Francis Hall (abt. 1610 - 1690)

Francis Hall
Born about in Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1629 in Englandmap
Husband of — married Oct 1665 (to 1690) in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 80 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticutmap
Profile last modified | Created 13 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 3,437 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Francis Hall migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 147)
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

Contents

Biography

This profile is part of the Hall Name Study.

FRANCIS Hall was an original signer of the New Haven Covenant, 4 June, 1639. He brought his wife Elizabeth[1] and John and Thomas Whitehead from England, along with nephews of Thomas Alcott in "the Bay" [Mass.] and of Mr. Alcott of Roxbury.[2]

Francis bought land from Thomas Fugill which he sold to John Meigs in 1649, and to moved to Stratford. In 1657 he was admitted a freeman of Connecticut. He was Deputy of Stratford May 1661, May 1676, Oct. 1677, Oct, 1678, May and Oct. 1679, May and Oct. 1680 and May, 1685.[2] He purchased land in Fairfield in 1654 and in 1659 in Stratford. On April 12,1654, being then of Stratford, he purchased with his wife Elizabeth, land in Fairfield from Thomas Wheeler, yeoman. At Fairfield, he had a large estate.[2]

On Oct. 31,1665, he married Dorothy, widow of John Blackman/Blakeman, and daughter Rev. Henry Smith. Francis Hall died 5 Mar 1689/90 at Stratford.[1] Dorothy married 3rd Mark Sension of Norwalk, who d. 1693. She married fourth Deac. Isaac Moore of Farmington. [1]

Francis Hall died 5 Mar 1689/90 at Stratford.[1][2]

Will

The will of Francis "of Stratford," dated May 6, 1686, was proved March 14, 1689/90. It mentions his wife, referring to her last husband John Blackman; sons Isaac and Samuel; and daughters Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Hannah, children by his first wife Elizabeth.

Will dated 6 May, 1686: I ffrancis Hall of stratford, in ye Colloney of Conecticott, being yet of sound Mind & not knowing ye day of my death, being aged and Crazie, make this my last Will in maner & form following: It. I giue unto my wife al yt was left her by her last husband, John Blakeman of Stratford, decd, except what is disposed off already, which was not done without her Consent. Shee is to possess all lands and houseing during her natural life, & then to be to ye heirs of ye aforementioned John Blakeman, it being agreeing to ye Condishons shee made with mee at Marriage. Concerning my son Isaac, I giue to him & his wife & al my grand Children one shilling apeice, & haue & shall hereafter leaue further order about Isaac. I giue unto my son Samuel Hall & his heirs all yt part of my farm lands & tenements whatsoever, situate in ye Township of ffairfield, which I have already given by Deed. I make him my only heir, he to pay Debts, Legacies & Funeral Expenses; and if my son Samuel can have comfortable assurance from his Brother Isaack Hall yt he will for ye future live in peace and renounce all Causes of after contention from themselves & their heirs forever, then yt my son Samuel Hall make over to him and his heirs forever soe much of ye land as ye said Samuel see Cause. It. Concerning my three daughters, vizt, mary, elizabeth & rebeckah, I have already ingaged my son Samuel, when I made him a deed of guift of ye part of my farm, to giue unto my daughter mary 40 Shillings by ye yeare during her natural life, & to ye other two sisters œ10 apeice, to be paid unto them as they haue ociasion for it. I giue unto my daughter Hannah a horse or mare & a heifer or steere. It. Besides what is abouesaid, I giue to my wife a warming pan & my written books yt are legable, al yt are written in Carracters; shee may dispose as shee please. Since I begun this my Will I did agree with my son Isaac, as is exprest in my day booke, page 152: will more fully appeare, yt he should possess two years gratiss without paying for ye time, but his patience not holding out soo long, he began againe to be troublesome & broke ye peace, giuing some bad & threatning words very unComfortable to mee, though I used ye best words I could to him for peace my life time; but it's from ye good pleasure of him who doth all things well, & unto his hands I leaue him. I desire Mr. Chancey, Mr. Pittman, Mr. sherman Junr. and Josiah nicolls to be Ouerseers to advise my son Samuel, who is my heire and Executor. I subscribe my name with my owne hand, legable & in carrecters.ffrancis Hall.Witness: John Blakeman, Thomas Broddgate.Stratford, 9th July, 1689: Francis Hall presented this as his Last Will, & acknowledged it to be his Will and Testament. Before me, Joseph Hawley, Commissioner.

Family

Children by first wife.[1]

Isaac
Samuel
Mary
Elizabeth
Rebecca
Hannah m. Joseph Blakeman, or Blackman as noted in wills

Research Notes

Parentage and Origins

One book suggests that Francis Hall was the brother of William Hall, and son of Gilbert Hall, who lived in county of Kent, in the southeast part of England - possibly in the town Rolvendue (no records found here for father or son). The book states that Francis came to New Haven with his brother William, from Milford, county of Surrey, along wih emigrants from Kent and Surrey, in the same ship with Rev. Henry Whitefield.[3] The book provides no citations for the information on Francis Hall's birth, or his possible relationship with either Gilbert or William Hall.

Robert Charles Anderson in The Great Migration Directory, says that Francis Hall came to New England in 1640, from Bulkington, Warwickshire, England. He resided in New Haven, Fairfield, and Stratford, Connecticut. He was accompanied to New England by two wards, John and Thomas Whitehead. Anderson does not state any relationship between Francis and William Hall.[4] Anderson reports that William Hall (purported to be the brother of Francis Hall as stated in The Halls of New England) arrived in New England from a unknown place, and resided in Guilford, Connecticut. He states no connection between Willam and Francis Hall. [5]

Conflicting unsourced birth details:
April 17, 1608 in Milford, Surrey, England
January 1, 1608 Milford Surrey England
Feb 1613 Bulkington, Warwickshire, England

Marriage

Unsourced Marriage: 15 Apr 1634 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom

Imigration

There is a biographical profile of Francis Hall as one of the early settlers of Stratford, in Wilcoxson's (1939) History of Stratford, Connecticut (p. 116).
According to Wilcoxson, Francis Hall was in New Haven by 1639 where he appears on a list of proprietors and in Stratford in 1650 after "purchasing considerable land in Fairfield." Francis Hall's wife, Elizabeth, died in July 1665. After, Francis Hall married Dorothy, the widow of John Blakeman (son of Rev. Adam Blakeman). [6]
Secondary sources such as Wilcoxson (1939) and others typically say Francis Hall arrived in New Haven in 1639 and that he appears on a list of New Haven proprietors that year. Some sources also have Francis Hall arriving in Boston in 1637 or 1638 [7]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Vol. 1 by Donald Lines Jacobus, page 251
  3. Hall, David Brainard. The Halls of New England: Genealogical and Biographical. (Albany, 1883): Reference pages 72-73 via Internet Archive.
  4. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England 1620-1640: A Concise Compendium, published 2015, page 147. For Francis Hall's entry, Anderson cites [NHCR 1:92; Aspinwall 101-2; FOOF 1:249-56; NGSQ 85:195-218; CA 51:23-35; NHCR 1:60, 365; NEHGR 55:180-84
  5. Anderson, Great Migration Directory... page 148, citing for William Hall [Guilford Hist 25; TAG 13:99; Hall-Baldwin 93-94]
  6. Wm. Howard Wilcoxson, The History of Stratford Connecticut 1639-1939, (1939). Available online at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/010524231
  7. BOYER, CARL, 3RD, editor Ship Passenger Lists, National and New England (1600-1825). Newhall, CA: the editor, 1977. 270p. 4th pr. 1985. Reprint. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1992.




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Comments: 15

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I see from the information above that Anderson says he came from Bulkington. In "Connecticut Ancestry" (2008) Vol. 51, Page 26, there is an article that agrees with this, and gives his parents.

According to the article, the key to finding his parents was the medical journal of Dr. John Winthrop, Jr., son of the Massachusetts governor. The journal entry for 24 Mar 1656 says that his daughter Mary was 18 years old. From this information they were able to find Mary's baptism record in Bulkington, and additional family information.

The article concludes that his parents are Edward and Elizabeth (Kimberly) Hall. His first wife's name is Elizabeth Pick baptized St. Martins, Birmingham, 27 Nov 1614, daughter of John and Margaret (Leather) Pick. They were married Shackerstone, Leicestershire, 15 Apr 1634.

I haven't found any of this information available for free online.

(The article also states that he arrived in Boston 26 Jun 1637 with the Davenport party. However, he returned to England that same year. It was in 1639 that he again arrived in New England with his family and the Whitehead boys.)

posted by Rick Pierpont
edited by Rick Pierpont
Thanks, Rick. It would be helpful if you added the citations that Connecticut Ancestry cites for this information.

It appears, that based on the Connecticut Ancestry article, his father is Edward Hall (bef.1590-), and mother Elizabeth (Kimberley) Hall (bef.1592-)

posted by S (Hill) Willson
It is a 7-page article, with an additional 5-page Appendix that describes the sources used. The article was written by Howard J. Hall. There also is a footnote that says "The search in England was coordinated by Sarah Talbutt." (I've removed the email for these two people, but they are included in the article.)
posted by Rick Pierpont
I have moved information on Francis' possible relationship with Gilbert Hall (possible father) and William Hall (possible brother) to Research Notes. Anderson's Great Migration Directory... (2015) did not show any relationship between the brothers Francis and William Hall. The book The Halls of New England... did not cite any sources with evidence of a relationship between them.
posted by S (Hill) Willson
If no one objects, I'm going to reformat the narrative--move things to research notes; move will from source list to narrative.--Gene
posted by GeneJ X
According to Family Search (and the sources they linked to) his father could be this one: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hall-9703

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/M8ZJ-66H

I didn't want to do it as I wasn't certain and need more experience before getting into old profiles like these, but please have a look. Thanks.

posted by Ken Tremblay
Hi Ken,

Thank you.

Without reference or further explanation, David Brainerd Hall in The Halls of New England ... (1883) claimed that the immigrant Francis Hall was "the son of Gilbert Hall." See the chapter, "Halls of Fairfield, Conn." This association (father-son) seems pinned to the author's assumption that Francis was the brother of another immigrant, William Hall. The latter association (brother-brother), seems also unsupported.

I have not researched Francis, but there are many unexplained conflicted in the referenced FamilySearch FamilyTree profile you pointed to.

First, Francis' birth is there reported as 1602, but the life sketch opens, "Born: about 1610 ..."

The FSFT linked father, Gilbert is actually "Gilbert Edward Hall " (Possibly because collaborators have combined sources about someone named Gilbert with someone named Edward). The sources attached to his profile , show a number of English birth/baptismal records, but none that are a good fit for the immigrant Francis. (According to jacobus in History and genealogy of the families of old Fairfield, 1(,3):250, his second child, Mary, was born about 1635.)

There is an interesting paper linked as a source to Francis Hall's FSFT profile. See Danny Hall, "Solving the Mystery Surrounding the Origins and Ancestry of Francis Hall of New Haven and Stratford, Connecticut" (opens as PDF). On page 8, author mentions Gilbert Hall's will of 1653, proved 1654, in which he calls out son William "in Newe England." This is an abstract, but there is nothing there shown about a son Francis.

Danny describes Francis' link to Gilbert has been disproven, but he proposes other associations. I did not study his lengthy paper, but Danny exhibits an interest in sourced materials, and his paper seems worthy of a good review.

Hope this helps.

posted by GeneJ X
edited by GeneJ X
The transcription of the will of Francis Hall dated 6 May 1686 identifies six children: Isaac, Samuel, Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Hannah. The profile of Isaac Hall [Hall-733] should be linked to his father's.
posted by Regie Stites
I think that should happen automatically when the merge is completed
posted by M Cole
Hall-43537 and Hall-569 appear to represent the same person because: Some conflicting birth info, but death date and spouses match.
posted by M Cole
Posted a G2G question regarding wives and children:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/875597/pgm-francis-hall-origins-wife-children

posted by M Cole
Your bio lists 6 children, and I do not see [Hall-9117|Bathsuah], [Hall-9122|Isabelle] listed in Jacobus as children here. Also, there are two Hannah Halls. I think [Hall-598|Hannah Hall Blackman] is the wrong generation. Husband should be linked to one born 20 years earlier. I'm unlinking these. If you have evidence I'm wrong, please relink and give source. Thanks.
posted by Marnie Hall
Hall-9119 and Hall-569 appear to represent the same person because: Same death date and name, married two times to these wives.
posted by Anne B
Hall-9850 and Hall-569 appear to represent the same person because: Same death date & place, He married twice once to each of wives
posted by Anne B