The Hall Family

Orrin Hall in Commemorative Biographical Record, Ohio

The full biographical sketch as printed, transcribed from the public-domain book. Spelling and wording are the original author’s; a few scanning errors may remain.

ORRIN HALL, than whom there is no one better known or more highly respected in Lorain county, was born April 5, 1816, in Connecticut, a son of Avery Hall, also of the Nutmeg State, whose father's name was also Avery.

Avery Hall, father of subject, was reared on a farm, and when a young man took up the business of what was commonly known throughout the country as a "Yankee peddler," selling, in company with another, tinware and notions from their tin shop in Meriden, Conn., the first of the kind in the town. On December 27, 1801, he married Miss Sarah Foster, who bore him two chil- dren: Selden, boru September 19, 1802, and died in Wellington, whither he had removed from Brighton, and where he lived retired; and Alfred, born May 21, 1803, and died in 1890 in Perth Am boy, N. J., where he was in the terra cotta business. The mother of these dying, Mr. Hall mar- ried, September 1, 1805, for his second wife, Miss Lucy Bacon, the result of which union was children as follows, born in Connecticut: Erastus, born July 28, 1806, was a merchant, and died in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Sarah, born November 11, 1807, married Cyrus Miner, and died in Town- send, Huron Co., Ohio; Edwin, born April 9, 1809, lives in Elyria, Ohio; Avery, born February 28, 1812, a farmer, died in 1891 in Kansas; Lucy, born April 13, 1814, married Lorenzo Doty, and died in Brighton, Lorain county ; Orrin is the sub- ject of this memoir; Julia and Julius (twins), born April 19, 1818, of whom Julius died in infancy (Julia was first married to Alfred Lamb, and after his de- cease to William Cook; she died in Per- rysburg, Ohio); one born June 17, 1820, and died in infancy; and Theophilus, born May 15, 1821, lives retired in Wellington, Ohio.

In New England Avery Hall owned a farm, and also a sawmill located on Mnddy brook. About the year 1820 he came to Ohio in company with a man by the name of Comstock, the journey hither being beset with many hardships and much suffering. In Lorain county Avery selected 200 acres of wild land, and then returned to Connec- ticut, where for the Lorain land he traded what property he had to the State of Con- necticut. In the summer of 1822 he and

snch of his family as were then living, ex- cepting two sons — Selden and Alfred (who had already gone on, in order to prepare a cabin, walking the entire distance carrying their packs on their backs) — set out for their new Western home. The family, to- gether with their goods and chattels, came in two wagons drawn by a span of horses and a yoke of oxen, respectively, others of the farm stock, including a couple of cows, being led behind. After a tedious though somewhat uneventful journey of four weeks and four days, the party arrived in Lorain county, locating in what afterward became Brighton township. The county seat was then Medina, now of Medina county, Lo- rain county being organized about the year 1821, and the Hall family was the fifth to come into the township. (The county was organized the year before they came in, and the township the year after). On their arrival they found the cabin not quite com- pleted, consequently they stayed at the home of Calvin Rice for a time. While living in Brighton township three more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Avery Hall, to wit: John W., born August 26, 1823, of Wisconsin; William, born April 11, 1825, now a mechanic of Southampton, Mass.; and Clarissa, born August 22, 1829, who died when twelve years old. After a residence of some time here,Averv Hall attended a meeting which was called for the purpose of forming a township, and he there suggested for it the name of " Brighton," which was adopted. At that time there were only sufficient voters in the township to fill the several offices estab- lished by its formation. The whole country all around for many miles was in a thor- oughly wild state, not ten acres of cleared land to be found in the entire township, and bears, deer, wolves, grey foxes, wild turkeys, etc., were numerous; the Indians used to bring fresh meat to the Avery home, which they would trade for other things useful to themselves. In course of time Mr. Hall, as declining years came upon him, retired from active work, and

made his home in Brighton Center, where he died at an advanced age; his wife had preceded him to the grave, dying in No- vember, 1853, and they lie side by side in Brighton Cemetery. In religious faith she was a Congregationalist. Politically Mr. Avery Hall was a Democrat until the formation of the Republican party, when he united with it, continuing in the ranks thereof till the day of his death; he held the first offices in Brighton township, and was as highly respected as he was well known.

Orrin Hail, whose name introduces this sketch, was, as will be seen, six years old when the family came to Ohio, and as for nine years thereafter there were no school houses in Brighton township, his educa- tional advantages were necessarily some- what limited. For a time he found ample employment in assisting to clear up the land, and at the age of sixteen years he commenced to learn the trades of mason and bricklayer and plasterer, under A. Briggs. Having completed what might be termed his apprenticeship, he worked at these trades as a journeyman in twenty- eight States of the Union and in Upper Canada, traveling about as much to see the country as anything else. Immediately after his marriage he located on a portion of theold Kingsbury homestead in Brighton township, and in 1855 came to his present farm in Brighton township, comprising 115 acres of prime farm land. Since 1888 he has retired from active work, and is now enjoying with ease a well-earned com- petence.

On November 1, 1843, Mr. Hall was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Kings- bury, born November 16, 1823, a daughter of Austin and Altomira (Adams) Kings- bury, who in an early day came from Berk- shire county, Mass., to Lorain county. To this union children as follows were born: Charles M., who became amember of Company F, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, and was killed in 1803 at Mt. Sterling, Ky., where he was buried; Albert, of Cleveland; An-

drew, living at home; Mary, Mrs. Albert Pierrepont, of Wyoming; Jay, a teacher at Oberlin, Ohio; and Eva, of Wellington. Politically our subject was originally a Whig, now a Republican, and in religious faith he is a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Brighton Center, which he has attended for over sixty years, and has held every office in same.

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Source: Commemorative Biographical Record, Ohio. See the original pages at the Internet Archive.