William E. Hall

As printed in 1901

WILLIAM E. HALL.

Faithfulness to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a man's interests than wealth or advantageous circumstances. The successful men of the day are they who have planned their own advancement and have accomplished it in spite of many obstacles and with a certainty that could have been attained only through their own efforts. To-day William E. Hall stands as a representative of important agricultural and mining interests in southwestern Missouri, and his splendid business ability has won him continued prosperity until he is now accounted one of the wealthy residents of Carthage.

Mr. Hall was born upon a farm in Jasper county, March 14, 1845, and represents one of the old families of North Carolina. His grandfather, Harrison Hall, was a native of North Carolina, whence he removed to Illinois at an early day in its development and there spent the remainder of his life. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca East, was also a native of the old North state. Their son, Winston Hall, the father of our subject, was born in North Carolina in 1818 and in 1837 or 3 came to Jasper county. He afterward married Jane Roberson, a native of Stokes county, North Carolina, whence she removed with her parents to this county in 1840. Here the young couple were married and then located upon a tract of unimproved land. Their home was a comfortable hewed-log house, in which they lived for a number of years. Indians were still numerous in this portion of the country, but occasioned the settlers little trouble. Many hardships and trials incident to frontier life were to be borne, however, and the task of developing a new farm was an arduous one. Mr. Hall purchased from the government two hundred and forty acres of land, and made it his home until his death in 1863. His widow died in the Lone Star state in 1869.

William E. Hall, their son, spent his early boyhood days upon his father's

Tltc & farm in Jasper county, and during that period attended a private school and later a district school, pursuing" his studies through the winter months, while in the summer season he assisted in the labors of the farm. Owing to the death of his father the management and care of the farm devolved upon him as he was the eldest son. He assumed this heavy responsibility when only eighteen years of age, and well did he discharge his duties, giving evidence of the elemental strength of his character which has since been shown in the control of important and extensive business interests. At the age of eighteen years he cast his lot with the Confederate army, and served under Generals Shelby and Standwaite and later under General Cooper, being discharged in 1865 at the close of the war. He again went to Texas, where he resided with his mother until 1869. While living there he returned to his native county and was married to Margaret C. Glasscox, who died in Texas in April, 1870. In that year he returned to Jasper county, Missouri.

For some time Mr. Hall engaged in the stock industry, buying cattle in Texas and driving them north to Jasper county, where they were wintered. In this enterprise he was associated with John S. McBride, who was afterward elected sheriff of Jasper county. In the spring of 1871 Mr. Hall located near Webb City. On the 7th of May, 1871, Mr. Hall married, the lady being Miss Martha E. Webb, daughter of John C. Webb, of Webb City, the discoverer of zinc and lead in that locality. He found those minerals upon his farm and became the pioneer miner in the industry which has brought millions of dollars into Jasper county. After his marriage Mr. Hall took up his above upon a farm in Mineral township, adjoining the home farm of his father-inlaw, who resided there until 1879. While living upon the farm Mr. Hall was elected township assessor, serving in the years 1874-5-6. In 1878 he was elected to the office of county collector, and the following year removed to Carthage to take charge of the office, which he creditably filled for two years. On the expiration of his term he became interested in mining and farming, and to his business affairs he devoted his energies with marked success. He is the owner of a fine farm of eight hundred acres under a high state of cultivation, and part of it is underlaid with zinc and lead ore. In 1883 he took up his above on the farm, remaining until 1889, when he again came to Carthage, from which place he managed his important and extensive business interests. His farm is well stocked with cattle and horses, and he has bred some of the finest trotters and saddle horses in the state. A man of resourceful ability, his efforts have been by no means confined to one line, and his sound judgment and enterprise have been important factors in the successful conduct of many enterprises. He was one of the organizers and is still a stockholder in the Central National Bank, and was one of a company of ten reliable and prominent citizens who organized and conducted the business of the Jasper County Street Railway until all of the stockholders sold out.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hall has been blessed with the following children: John Winston, who died in his eighteenth year; Ruth, who became the wife of Harry A. Vanderford, of Nashville, Tennessee, and died in 1897; Thomas, who wedded Mary H. Hendrix, of Fayette, Missouri, and resides in Carthage; and Edward M., who is engaged in the stock business upon his father's farm. In his political affiliations Mr. Hall is a pronounced Democrat and warmly espouses the principles of the party, but has never been an aspirant for office, serving only in the local positions previously mentioned. Socially he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. He is a man of very strong convictions and his integrity stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. The business policy which he has always followed has been most commendable. He is methodical, careful and thorough, and his career is one which will bear the light of the closest investigation and scrutiny.

As printed in The biographical record of Jasper County, Missouri (1901). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.