Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Hall, Thomas J. 1839 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 14, 2015, 11:34 am

Source: See Below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

THOMAS J. HALL.
Industrial activity in Ottumwa finds a worthy representative in Thomas J. Hall,
a well known contractor and builder, who since the spring of 1866 has resided
continuously in this city. His acquaintance is naturally wide because of his
long residence here, and his business prominence and the many sterling traits of
his character have gained for him a creditable and enviable position in the
regard of his fellow townsmen. He was born on the 3d of October, 1839, in
Machias, Maine, a son of Thomas and Mary (Kinney) Hall. The father was a native
of Norfolk, England, and the mother of Machias, Maine. Her father, Captain
Kinney, was lost at sea. He came of a family of seafaring men, and Thomas Hall
was also a seafaring man, who acted as pilot on coasting vessels. Before coming
to the new world Thomas Hall served for eleven years and nine months in the
English army. He was engaged in military duty at the time of the battle of
Waterloo, but did not participate in that conflict. In 1822 he deserted and came
to the United States. He was married in Maine and in 1847 the family removed to
Hempstead, Long Island. The following year they became residents of Sing Sing,
New York, where they resided until 1857, when they went to Toledo, Ohio, where
their remaining days were passed. The father's death there occurred in 1872, and
the mother died a few years later. In their family were six children: Mrs.
Rebecca Sager, now of Toledo; Thomas J.; James, who served in the Twenty-fifth
Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1861 until 1866, having veteranized, and who for
twenty-eight years was a policeman of Toledo, where his death occurred in 1902;
Mrs. Lydia Sheldon, deceased; William, a resident of Olympia, Washington, and
Charley, who died in 1909.

Thomas J. Hall accompanied his parents on their various removals, but started
out in the business world on his own account, while in Sing Sing, where he
secured employment in a file factory, continuing in that position for four
years. When the family went to Toledo he became a sailor on the lakes and,
working his way upward in that connection, he reached the position of second
mate on a grain vessel. Following the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Hall
responded to the country's call for troops and enlisted on the 23d of August,
1862, as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served for two years and ten months, returning home July
14, 1865, with a most creditable military record. He took part in forty-one
battles and he had charge of the brigade pioneers. His duty was often of a most
arduous character, but he never faltered, whether on the firing line or on the
lonely picket line.

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Hall came to Ottumwa, where he has since resided, and
throughout the entire period he has conducted business as a contractor and
builder. Being an excellent workman and a thoroughly reliable business man,
important contracts have been awarded him and at different times he has employed
a large force. He erected the Ennis building, the Fraser Hotel and many other of
the best buildings of the city. For three years Mr. Hall was a partner in the
Ottumwa Screen Factory. He was also assistant superintendent and had charge of
the building of the Coal Palace, doing all of the interior work in that
structure. He has ever displayed notable skill and ability, and his own thorough
and practical knowledge of the work has enabled him to carefully direct the
labors of others.

On the 23d of August, 1859, Mr. Hall was united in marriage at Toledo, Ohio, to
Miss Mary A. Blair, who was born in Monroe county, Michigan, September 19, 1841,
a daughter of Joseph and Olive (Lane) Blair, the former a native of Quebec,
Canada, and the latter of Erie, Pennsylvania. Following their removal to the
west they made their home in Monroe county, Michigan, until their life's labors
were ended. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall was born a son, George Wesley, whose death,
which occurred on the 17th of March, 1863, when he was but two years and seven
months old, was perhaps the greatest sorrow that ever came to them. They adopted
a daughter, Emma C., who is now the wife of Robert Shannahan of Ottumwa.

Mr. Hall filled the office of city marshal in 1874. He is independent in
politics, voting as his judgment dictates, without regard to party ties. He
proudly wears the little bronze button that indicates him a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, his name being on the roll of Cloutman Post, No. 69, and
he has been commander of the post for three years. He was the representative of
the sixth district of the Grand Army of the Republic at San Francisco in 1903
and at Chattanooga in 913. He has practically been a lifelong member of the
Church of Christ, and for forty years has been one of the elders. Its teachings
have been the guiding spirit in his life and have made him a man honorable and
honored. He has now passed the seventy-fourth milestone on life's journey, and
he can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without
fear. For almost a half century he has lived in Ottumwa and is one of its best
known citizens. He has watched its growth and development through all these
years and has aided largely in many measures that have been of direct benefit to
the city.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914


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