William James Hall (bef. 1805 - bef. 1834)

Husband of Elmina (Easton) Reed — married 21 Apr 1825 in Jefferson, West Virginia, United States

Descendants

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Biography

8. Elminah… (Easton or McCormick?)

The Hall tradition, as described by both Edwin Hall and Homer E. Hall, moves from an earlier time that is dominated by demonstrably false traditions of kinship to both the Wesley family and the inventor, Cyrus McCormick, to a later time where almost every detail is both accurate and more comprehensive than in most families. A serious family historian has to ask at what point, presumably somewhere in the middle, does the tradition become authentic. The Hall tradition maintains that James William Hall was born Dec. 29 1827 in Harper’s Ferry, VA, and the son of William James Hall. The birth date and state of birth is consistent with both census records and the tombstone inscription found in Balltown Cemetery. But what about the exact place? Harper’s Ferry is located today in Jefferson Co., WV. One might suspect, with the tendency in this tradition to seek connections to the famous, that Harper’s Ferry became James W. Hall’s reputed birthplace because Harper’s Ferry is also the location of the historically prominent Hall Rifle works. Harper’s Ferry became famous in 1859, when abolitionist John Brown’s launched an unsuccessful raid into Virginia. So we have to ask ourselves:

1. Was the reported birthplace of James W. Hall near Harper’s Ferry, VA fabricated or factual?

2. Was the reported identity of James W. Hall’s father as William James Hall fabricated or factual?

The possibility existed that both were fabricated, both were factual, or one may have been fabricated and the other factual. Bearing this in mind, I looked at the records of Jefferson Co., WV. I was on the lookout for any trace of a man named William J. Hall, especially one with a wife named Elminah. Was I ever surprised!

The marriage records of Jefferson Co., WV show that on April 25, 1825, a man named William J. Hall married a woman named Elmina Easton (image to right).

They were married only 2 and a half years before the birth of James W. Hall. There were no other marriages for anyone named William J. Hall. This moved both the reported birthplace of James W. Hall and the reported paternity of James W. Hall into the realm of the factual.

But what became of the name McCormick? Either someone made an error in the marriage transcriptions, or something else convinced descendants that Elminah was a McCormick.

William was born before 1805. He passed away before 1836.

Sources

• family notes
• Jefferson Co., WV marriages