The first known appearance of Martin Hall in public records occurred in 1844. The document is preserved in the probate records of Jefferson County, Ohio, Volume 6, pages 250-253. The specific item is a sale list from the Estate of Daniel Dunlevy, Cross Creek Township, Jefferson County, Ohio.
The Estate of Daniel Dunlevy, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1844
On February 10, 1844, notice was made that John Irvine and William B. Dunlevy had been appointed executors of the Estate of Daniel Dunlevy, deceased, and that all persons with claims against the estate were to present them within one year. Alexander Cunningham, William Daugherty and James Long appeared before J. D. Daton [Jerome D. Dayton], Justice of the Peace, on February 23, and were sworn to appraise the estate and property of Dunlevy.
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| Daniel Dunlevy Estate, p. 250 (image 518), Inventory of Estates, Volume 6, 1841-1847, Jefferson County, Ohio, Probate Records, Historical Records Collections, familysearch.org. |
The executors sold the appraised goods and chattels of Daniel Dunlevy at public vendue on February 27, 1844. A "Sale List" was made, noting each purchaser's name, the property purchased, and the price paid. Most of the articles on the list are farming implements and tools, such as "ploughs" and corn hoes, but a few personal items, including razors and a pair of spectacles were also sold.
Martin Hall's name is listed twice on the Sale List on page 252 of the probate volume. He would have been unmarried and a few months less than 23 years old at the time of the sale. His purchases were two pairs of gears. The first cost 75 cents, and the second $1.75.
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| Daniel Dunlevy Estate, p. 252 (image 520), Inventory of Estates, Volume 6, 1841-1847, Jefferson County, Ohio, Probate Records, Historical Records Collections, familysearch.org. |
Other men who made purchases at the Dunlevy estate sale, most of whom are listed in Jefferson County, and many in Cross Creek Township, on the 1840 census include: Alexander Scott, John White, David White, James Elliott, Robert Henderson, John Welday, John Riddle, William Thompson, William B. Dunlevy, Alexander Cunningham, George Touble, Hugh Scott, Lemuel Quillen, William Moore, William Dougherty, Alexander Young, Robert Hartford, Joseph McCoy, Newton Morrison, Isaac Phipps [Phillips?], James Quillen, Thomas Chambers, John Irvine, William Dickey, Moses Cole, James Long, James Maxwell, John Cunningham, Blackiston Sprucers, Stephen Brown, C. C. Lisle, Samuel Touble, Charles Dally, John Hames, James Mansfield, John Dwor [Devore?], Robert McIntire, Alexander Oliver, Roland Holmes, Samuel Smith, and John Hartup.
Daniel Dunlevy is listed on the 1840 Federal Census of Cross Creek Township, aged 70 and under 80, with a female in his household, also aged 70 and under 80. Listed next to him is William Dunlevy, aged 30 and under 40, along with a female, aged 20 and under 30. William Dunlevy, one of the estate's executors, is the son of Daniel Dunlevy.
According to A Genealogical History of the Dunlevy Family, by Gwendolyn Kelley Hack (1901), Daniel Dunlevy, son of Andrew Dunlevy and Mary Barton, came to America from Ireland about 1771 with his widowed mother. The family settled first in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Jefferson County, Ohio. Daniel Dunlevy married Jane ("Jennie") Maxwell in 1790, and the couple had seven children. Additional information and interesting stories about Daniel Dunlevy and his descendants may be found in the book on pages 146 - 160, at Google Books: http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Genealogical_History_of_the_Dunlevy_Fa.html?id=mTZKAAAAMAAJ
Three Hall families were living in Cross Creek Township in 1840: Thomas Hall (aged 20 and under 30), William Hall (probably aged 40 and under 50), and Clark Hall (aged 30 and under 40) in the town of Wintersville. The Halls living in nearby Wells Township, where Martin Hall lived in 1850, were: Benoni Hall (aged 20 and under 30), Elizabeth Hall (aged 60 and under 70), Jonathan Hall (aged 50 and under 60), William Hall (aged 20 and under 30), and Sewel Hall (probably aged 30 and under 40) in the town of LaGrange. These Halls will be examined further in subsequent posts. Due to their proximity to the Dunlevy estate sale in which Martin Hall participated, it is tempting to associate him with one or more of them.
What use would Martin Hall have had for the two pairs of gears he bought at the estate sale? There may be a possible connection to a purchase he made at another estate sale, two years later in 1846.
The Estate of Hugh Scott, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1846
Martin
Hall appears in the estate records of Hugh Scott in 1846. This document is in Jefferson County, Ohio, Probate Records, Inventory of Estates, Volume 6, pages 670 and 671.
On February 18, 1846, John Scott and Jackson Bartholomew appeared before J. D. Daton, Justice of the Peace, and were sworn as appraisers of the estate and property of Hugh Scott, deceased. Hugh Scott had been a resident of Cross Creek Township, and his wife was Martha Bucy. Appraiser Jackson Bartholomew is listed in Cross Creek Township in the 1840 Federal Census, and his wife was Margaret Scott, possibly a relative of Hugh's. (Several years later Jackson Bartholomew played a significant role in the life of Martin Hall.)
The estate inventory, as reported to executors Thomas Scott and Thomas D.Scott, included a "book account" for several individuals. One of them was Martin Hall for the amount of $106.14, the largest figure.
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| Hugh Scott Estate, p. 670 (image 678), Inventory of Estates, Volume 6, 1841-1847,
Jefferson County, Ohio, Probate Records, Historical Records Collections, familysearch.org.
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The occupation of Hugh Scott is not known, and his brief estate inventory is not revealing, so we do not know why these people owed him money. Martin Hall was married in 1845 and was starting a family by 1846. Why did he owe Hugh Scott $106.14?
Note that the last item on the inventory was one windmill appraised at $11.00. The next page, which contains the sale bill of the estate, shows that Martin Hall purchased the windmill for $8.00 on February 20, 1846. Gears are an important part of windmill operation. Might there be a connection?
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Hugh Scott Estate, p. 671 (image 679), Inventory of Estates, Volume 6, 1841-1847, Jefferson County, Ohio, Probate Records, Historical Records Collections, familysearch.org.
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Was Martin Hall associated in some way with these residents of Cross Creek Township? On the 1850 Federal Census, he is listed in Wells Township with the occupation of laborer. Could the gears and windmill purchased in the preceding decade have been connected to his work?