Jun 032016
A new update of the website is available for your review. This has been a hard update covering more of the extended Hall families of Yarmouth Massachusetts, but research for the Halls of Yarmouth is by no means done.
I would like to share one of the more difficult problems and what is surprising is that most of the issues were 19th century and not the real early years. If anyone is so inclined, please feel free to study this problem and maybe you can answer soem of the remaining problems.
The problems centered around Captain Elisha Hall (c.1770-1841).
Elisha Hall is most likely a son of Seth Hall and Elizabeth Burgess of Harwich, and he was identified as such in the Halls of New England book. However, I have not found any record of either his birth or death dates or places. If you look at the online trees, you will find his birth date usually given as about 1756 in Harwich with a death date in 1847 in Sandwich. I could find no basis for either of those dates.
However, when you examine the 1790-1840 census, you can estimate a birth date of about 1770. Using the new Ancestry Probate data I was able to find a copy of his Will:
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Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991
Barnstable – Admin Bonds; Executor Bonds; Guardian Bonds; Wills, Vol 57-60, 1826-1860, p. 193
Whereas I Elisha Hall of Barnstable in the County of Barnstable and State of Massachusetts being of sound and disposing mind and memory do make this my last will and testament in manner and form as follows viz,
I give and bequeath to my oldest son Elisha the sum of one dollar, also my second son Benjamin one dollar, also to my daughter Eliza one dollar, and to my son John Savage the sum of twenty dollars, also to my Grandchildren, children of Luke Chase one dollar each, also to my son Lemuel Simmons one dollar and also to the two younger children now living one dollar each and to each child who may be born after this one dollar each to all of then the above legacies and their heirs forever — And the remainder of my property (after the payment of the above legacies, and my lawful debts and all incidental charges, both real and personal, household furnitures and utensils, farming tools, wearing apparel, &c. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Polly, for her use and disposal, and whom with Lemuel B Simmons I constitute administrators of this my last will and testament, signed and sealed this seventh day of January, AD one thousand Eight hundred and forty.
Elisha Hall (Seal)
In the presence of Oliver Forse, Temperance Simmons, Susan Simmons
Proved June 12th 1841 – Recorded by T. Head Regr.
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I am recording it as it is an amazingly interesting document for sorting out this family, but leaving enough mystery to keep me busy for hours. Without this Will, I would not know that he died in 1841 not would I ultimately know who his last wife was.
Elisha married Sarah Kelley of the O’Killey clan of Cape Cod (daughter of Eleazer O’Killey, Jr., and Hannah Baker. She was also born about 1770 so they both married quite young.
They had a still unidentified daughter about 1789 – she likely died without heirs as I can find no hint of her in the Will; then Luther (1792-1831); Sally (1795-1826) md. Luke Chase; Rev. Elisha Hall, Jr. (1798-1877) – he had left Cape Cod before the 1820 census; Captain Benjamin Kelley Hall (1802-?); Eliza Hall (1805-?); Seth Hall (c. 1808-1810); John Savage Hall (18-1854) – his wife is recorded as Eliza Burce of Harwich – I suspect she might be a Bearse.
Sarah died in 1834 and Elisha remarried. I have not found a marriage record but they entered an intent to marry in April 1834 just one month after his wife Sarah died! The intent and subsequent marriage announcement named his second wife as Mrs. Polly B Lewis. Several online trees gave her maiden name as Baker. However, that proved wrong as I shall share later.
With Polly, he had daughter Sarah in 1835 who died young; Lemuel S. in 1837, Seth in 1838 and Temperance S. in 1840. In his will, he indicates that there were two younger children; these were Lemuel and Seth as Temperance was yet to be born.
But who is Lemuel B Simmons and why is he considered a son? Understanding Lemuel was a key to unraveling the family. Lemuel was born in 1802, a son of Silvanus Simmons (1769-1856) and Hannah Bassett (1767-1863). He had an older sister Polly Baker Simmons who was born in 1800. She married Levis Lewis (1797-c. 1830) in 1819 and had Frederick in 1825 and Carolyn S. Lewis in 1829. She then married Elisha in 1834!. Lemuel married Temperance Lewis (I have not discovered a connection between Levi and Temperance yet!) in 1822 and had Susan who married in 1843 Luke B Chase, a son of Luke Chase and Elisha’s daughter Sally Hall.
Temperance died in 1841 and Lemuel married Mrs. Eliza A (Crowell) Bearse (1816-1889), widow of Isaac H. Bearse.
Now it starts to get more confusing. So confusing that most everywhere else, they trees have it wrong.
After Elisha died, Polly Baker (Simmons) (Lewis) Hall, married in 1843 Joseph Hinkley (1804-1875). Joseph in 1826 married Rebecca Lewis (1808-1837) (no known relationship to the other Lewis ‘s). They had 5 known children. After she died, Joseph married in 1838 to Lucy T. Shiverick (1810 – Feb 1843) of Garner, Maine. The Shiverick family were known as ship builders on Cape Cod in this period. They had 3 known children. Then Joseph married Polly in April 1843. They had one daughter who died young.
And here is where is gets really strange and the details are fuzzy. You wonder if the picture of Joseph on his FindaGrave memorial matches what you are about to read.
Polly, as Polly Hinckley, is listed in the 1850 census in Barnstable twice. Once as the wife as the wife of Joseph Hinckley and all of his children by his first two wives; then separately as herself as head of household next door to Lemuel Simmons and Luke B Chase, with her two Lewis children and her 3 surviving Hall children. Polly lives as head of House in 1860 but in 1880 census she is living with her widowed daughter Caroline S (Lewis) Hinckley, widow of Gustavus Hinckley, s/o Walter. (I have not looked for any connection… She dies in 1883 and her death record shows that Silvanus and Hannah were her parents.
Joseph removed to Freehold, NJ, by 1852 where a son Ezra (or was it daughter Eliza?) was born to yet another wife Elizabeth/Betsey (Childs) Bearse (1824-1901). Betsey Childs married Lemuel Bearse (1819-1863) (again relation to other Bearses not known) in 1842 and had son Osmond W. in 1845. Betsey and Lemuel are listed in the family of Lemuel’s father Isaac in 1850 census with son Ausmond.
HOWEVER, Joseph and Betsey had a son Thomas Childs Hinckley in 1848 (who died in Indiana in 1933) who was listed with Joseph in 1860 census in Freehold as age 12. BUT is no where to be found in 1850 census. And I have found no birth record for him. I also have found no marriage record for Joseph and Betsey who had at least 6 children together after they left Cape Code and went to NJ.
I hope that a couple of divorces took place or else Joseph and Betsey skedaddled to NJ to avoid folks knowing what was going on. I do not think Polly was actually living with Joseph in 1850 and I do not think that Betsey was living with Lemuel in 1850. I suspect that she was living out of state with her son Thomas until Joseph and she could marry, then they lived in NJ then later Indiana.
If you wish to follow this, look at the web site and navigate around and see the documentation.
If every family were this complicated, genealogy would be impossible. I think one of the challenges with Cape Cod genealogy is that so many of the men were mariners and away for extended periods. Captain Elisha Hall was, as far as I could determine, a sea captain. It is a pity that we do not know more about his life.
Thanks for listening
john.
In my research I have come across some interesting things. This was a great read and informative.
Thanks,
Susan Kaye Hall