John Hall (1784 - 1854)

Born 24 Oct 1784 in Wayne, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Died 22 May 1854 at age 69 in Quaker City, Millwood Township, Guernsey, Ohio, United States

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Biography

John was born in 1804. He was the son of Isaac Hall and Ann White. He passed away in 1854.

Sources

• Find a grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35164733/john-hall

Family Search Early Settlers and Their Descendants (Elizabeth J Hall Hartley) 1958 Encyclopedia of American Genealogy.

John Hall the Pioneer Quaker- Traveling westward alone, a young Quaker came into what is now Millwood township on August 4, 1806. He was carrying a sack of corn meal , a loaf of bread, a flitch of bacon, a knife and a fork, a pewter plate and some cooking utensils. His name was John Hall and he was twenty two years of age. A year before this he had come with his father from North Carolina to Belmont county. Having become of age, he wanted to be free to work his own way; hence this journey in quest of a place to settle. Liking the appearance of the northeast quarter of Section 13, he decided to enter it and establish a home there. All about him was a dense forest. Near a spring he selected a spot for a cabin. At the foot of a big oak tree he slept the first few nights; then, as a protection form wild beasts, he slept on a scaffold that he erected under the trees. He split a buckeye log in two and one of the halves he hewed out an oblong tray which was about twenty inches across the short way. This, when covered, made a safe protection for his provisions. Wild turkeys were plentiful and easily captured. For many day she lived on their meat and food he had brought from his fathers' home. In the meantime he was engaged in building a cabin for a home. The Williams family five miles down the Leatherwood valley were his nearest neighbors, but of their presence there John Hall may have had no knowledge. A few weeks later two strangers appeared at his cabin, announcing that they were John Webster and Henry Sidwell from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; that they were Quakers seeking a place to locate. Hall pointed out a suitable tract just west of the one he had entered, and Webster decided to purchase 800 acres from the government, eighty acres for each of his ten children. The cost was $1.25 an acre. Sidwell, who was a brother-in-law of Webster, chose a half section of land east of Hall's place. They then returned to Pennsylvania for their families. A Quaker Romance- When John Webster reached home and reported the result of their trip, the character of his land and his purchase in the wilderness, one of his daughters, Phebe, protested against leaving civilization for a home far away in an unbroken forest. "Never do thee mind, Phebe," said her uncle, "we found a lad out there who will make thee a good husband." Whether or not this was an inducement, Phebe came with the others, and the next spring she became the wife of the identical lad of whom her uncle had spoken. The wedding took place at a Quaker Church in Belmont county. John and Phebe Hall made their home in the cabin he had built. Later they erected a large brick residence near the cabin. Their family consisted of eight children, six sons and two daughters. All were buried in the Friends Cemetery at Quaker City, as were many of their descendants.