Genealogy Report: Descendants of Richard Hall
Descendants of Richard Hall
4.Captain John2 Hall (Richard1) was born 15 Jun 1584 in Kent, England, and died 26 May 1673 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT.He married Esther Ann Willicke Abt. 1618 in Kent, England.She was born 1590 in Kent, England, and died 1637 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT.
Notes for Captain John Hall:
Individual History:
The earliest name of Hall came from De Halle, given to those who went to England from Halle in Saxony (Germany). John Hall's story begins when Queen Elizabeth was on the throne in England. This John was our emigrant ancestor about 1633 from England, of the Westpart. He emigrated with his family to Roxbury, Ma, in 1633. His name appears in the Elliott's Church record. He was made a freeman with John Walker, Wm. Brenton, Thomas Hubbard and John Baker in Boston, MA, on 14 May, 1634 (or) in 1635. He removed to Hartford, CT, in 1639 and in 1650 he went to Middletown, CT. He was one of the pioneers in the discovery of Connecticut and was instrumental in establishing settlements there.
John settled first in Cambridge when he arrived from Coventry or Meriden, Warwickshire, England in 1633 at Boston. Soon he removed to Roxbury where the prefix of respect, Mr. was accorded to him on the records of Mr. Eliot's church . This prefix was given to only a few persons and it indicated that they were entitled to great honor.
He was either part of the advance party that arrived in 1633 at Cambridge, or, he was with the Hartford founders (Thomas Hooker's group) in the fall of 1635. They came by way of Holland on the two ships, Griffin and Bird. They landed on 4 September 1633.Thomas Hooker was one of the foremost of colonial pastors and was considered more democratic in his thinking than most of the other religious leaders of Massachusetts Bay.
When he was made a freeman, John was with the advance settlers who went to Wethersfield in the fall of 1634, planting onions a few miles below the Dutch post with 10 others led by John Oldham. One thing is for sure, our John was in Hartford as one of the first Puritan settlers. His wife Esther was massacred by the Pequot while he was away on one of his exploration ventures. This is one of the reasons why he saw service in the Pequot War in May and June of that year with Captain John Mason and other Connecticut men. The Pequot War was bloody, vengeful and short, and the Pequot tribe never recovered from it. John Hall and the other Puritans felt justified because of the years of attacks, scalpings and other depredations that had been endured, including the massacre of John's wife. As a result of his war service, John received 6 acres of land "by courtesie of the towne" of Hartford. The land was on Lord's Hill, later called Asylum Hill, and was describe d in a 1902 account as being located south of Asylum Street and west of the railway. In 1650 the domain of the great Sachem Sowheag (Indian chief) at Mattabeseck was invaded by the English. He made the palefaces welcome, as he had done in the past, giving lands to Governor Haynes, even though he was powerful enough to destroy the few families that settled there.
Apparently some land was purchased from the Indian chief. Part of New Haven was purchased by the English from his son, Montawese. His fort or castle was on Indian Hill, away from the settlers. He had a whistle which he would use to call all his warriors together, as many as 500, whose wigwams were thick all along both sides of the Connecticut River.
In November 1653, the place was named Middletown. There were possibly 30 families living there by 1654. Twenty years later there were only 52 householders in the town. Captain John Hall was with his sons, John, Richard and Samuel Hall. It is said the Halls of Middleboro had in England a coat of arms with the motto, 'Fidelity'. This one word aptly describes the character of this family.
They were the first settlers in Long Hill, which began near 1675. They spread out from the First Society of Middletown, and soon others followed. The Halls were stout, strong, intellectual people. There is amongst the old papers in the family at Long Hill a deed of land from John Hall, Ensign, and wife to their son, John Hall. Also, a paper conferring on John Hall a Captain's commission signed by John Winthrop, Gov. of Connecticut. The settlers had a great deal of heavy work in clearing offthe stones, as the old moss-covered walls will show. Nearly enough stones to fence the land were found on its surface, and in some places were large boulders. These were cut and used for cellar walls.
The first vote of Middletown, of which any record was kept, was Feb. the 10th, 1652. It was agreed at a meeting at John Hall's house, to build a meeting house and to make it twenty foot square and ten foot between sills and plat, the heigt of it. I am glad to know that the meeting to plan for the first meetinghouse was held at John Hall's house. This fact throws light on his circumstances and standing in the little community. The earliest records of Middletown show that he was a man of distinction among his associates. The original deed from the Indians to the inhabitants of Middletown was witnessed by John Hall and entered by John Hall, Jr. in the old court book of records. The first meeting house stood near the entrance to the first graveyard, now called Riverside Cemetery. 150 acres were laid out for a parsonage, and a large piece of land for a 'common'.
The old land records show one of the first land deeds went to John Hall of Buck Point, bounded south and east by the Connecticut River. This point is opposite the city were the river turns toward the straits, and is now some distance inland owing to the accumulation around it of sand and debris brought down by the freshets year by year. He was in Middletown in 1650 and had a home lot of 5 acres located on the NE corner of Main and Washington streets. It extended down to the Great River and adjoined the homelot of his son-in-law, Thomas Whitmore (Sarah's husband). He was a carpenter by trade.
Notes for Esther Ann Willicke:
Massacred by the Pequot Indians in 1637 while her husband John was away exploring the wilderness.
More About John Hall and Esther Willicke:
Marriage: Abt. 1618, Kent, England
Children of John Hall and Esther Willicke are:
+ | 7 | i. | Jr. John3 Hall, Jr., born Aug 1619 in Cantebury, St Paul, Kent, England; died 22 Jan 1693/94 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT. | |
+ | 8 | ii. | Richard Hall, born Abt. 1620 in Cantebury, St Paul, Kent, England; died 27 Mar 1691 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT. | |
+ | 9 | iii. | Samuel Hall, born 03 Mar 1619/20 in Cantebury, St Paul, Kent, England; died 14 Mar 1689/90 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT. | |
10 | iv. | Sarah Hall, born 30 Dec 1622 in Cantebury, St Paul, Kent, England; died 07 Dec 1669 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT.She married Thomas Whitmore 11 Dec 1645 in Hartford, CT; born 1615 in Royden Essex, England; died 11 Dec 1681 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT. |
More About Thomas Whitmore and Sarah Hall: Marriage: 11 Dec 1645, Hartford, CT |