Muskogee & Okmulgee CO. OK - Hall family - Jim Crow laws Submitted by: William Holmes ========================================================== Subj: Halls Ostracized HOWELL COUNTY GAZETTE June 16, 1910 West Plains, Missouri Halls Ostracized A noted family Barred From White School An Oklahoma Damage Suit Similiar To One Brought By the Halls in Howell County in 1891. Down in Muscogee county, Oklahoma, damage suit for $10,000 for which the "Jim Crow" law of that state is responsible, has brought to memory among the older settlers of Howell county a suit of similiar nature that stirred up considerable strife in this county a number of years ago. The suit in Oklahoma is brought by more than one hundred persons. They comprise "the Halls" made up of a dozen families of the name of Hall, all related. They are suing a school board because the directors have refused to permit the Halls to take part in a literary society that meet each week at the school house. One of the family was met at the door by a director who told him that he could not be admitted because he was "part nigger." Then the ostracism was declared against the whole colony and they were barred from the white school. A similiar case came up in the southern part of Howell county in 1891 when W.H.Hall, on the part of " the Halls" who then resided in the district brought suit against the school board composed of F.L. McClain, M.H. Woodrell and John Bailey to force the director to permit the Hall children to attend the white school. All of the Hall children are of very dark complexion, and in Howell county the general understanding became current that they were of African descent. When the case came up in the Howell county circuit court a change of venue was taken to Texas county and the case was tried before C.C. Bland, H.D. Green, A.H.Livingstone and Colonel Wm. Monks were attorneys for the Halls. A great deal of testimony was introduced at the trial and over 100 members of the Hall tribe were in court. The testimony showed that the ancestors of the Halls came from Portugal. Henderson Hall, the nestor of the Howell county Halls came to Missouri from Tennessee. His father was from North Carolina and the ancestry was traced back to Portugal where the original Halls were found to be of a sea roving disposition and came to America soon after the discovery of the country by Columbus. Henderson Hall came to Howell county before the war and married a daughter of Fred Collier, of Howell county. Hall was look upon as a white man by the early settlers. Others of the family later moved to this county and they fast increased in numbers. It is a well known fact that all of the children have dark complexion and are almost all very tall and angular. Several of them who reside in Oklahoma are Baptist preachers. The Oklahoma Halls are principally from Howell county, but some of them came from Tennessee and are related to those who emigrated from here to Oklahoma. Jim Hall, a nephew of Henderson Hall, resides in West Plains. Jeff Hall, another nephew, makes his home in the southwestern part of the county. They have many descendants scattered throughout the southwestern part of the county. Ever since they won the suit tried in Texas county there has been no question here about their nationality and they are looked upon as whites of Portuguese descent. ========================================================== Subj: Are They Negroes? HOWELL COUNTY GAZETTE Aug. 23, 1906 West Plains, Missouri Are They Negroes? Questions About Henderson Hallâ^À^Ùs Descendants. In the Indian Territory Wesley Hallâ^À^Ùs Children Were Excluded from the White School. Wesley Hall, a former resident of Howell county, and one of the descendants of the late Henderson Hall, has come into prominence at Okmulgee, Ind. Ty., near which place he resides. Mr. Hall has brought suit for damages against the board of school directors in the district in which he resides for ejecting his children from the white schools. Last Friday depositions in the case were taken in West Plains. Mr. Hall was represented in the matter by Green & Green, while J.C. Stone, an attorney of Okmulgee, was here to appear for the school directors who are defendants in the damage suit. The reason Hallâ^À^Ùs children were ejected from the school is that the directors claim the children are negroes and not entitled to attend the white schools. In 1889 a suit similiar to this one was filed in circuit court here by Jeff Hall, a relative of Wesley Hall, because his children were refused admission to the Spring Creek school. The board of directors said the children looked so much like negroes that they must stay out. Hall brought suit to mandamus the directors to permit his children to attend the school. The case was taken to Texas county on a change of venue and H.D. Green, A.H. Livingston and Colonel Monks appeared for Hall. Judge C.C. Bland presided at the trial. All the Hall tribe in this county, and they number quite a few, were present and crowded the court room. The jury after hearing all the evidence decided that the Halls are not negroes and were entitled to attend the white schools. Henderson Hall, the ancestor of these people, came to Howell county from Tennessee before the war. He knew little of his folks only that they had resided in the United States for many years and that they came from Portugal. They were sea faring people and traveled a great deal. Henderson Hall married a daughter of Fred Colyer, a Howell county pioneer, who refused to speak to Hall after he married his daughter, for he believed that Hall was of negro descent. Many children were born of the marriage and from this family came the Hall tribe of Howel county. Henderson Hall died five years ago at the advanced age of 105 years. In the taking of depositions here Saturday all these facts were brought out. In addition it was shown that Jeff Hall has photographs and locks of hair of a number of his ancestors and he even introduced land titles which were given members of his family in Tennessee before the war showing conclusively that they were not negroes, for blacks could not own land in those days. Wherever they have gone the Halls have had difficulty with the school boards for refusing to permit their children to attend the white schools. In every instance they have won their case for they are able to prove that they are of Portuguese origin instead of having negro blood course through their veins, as many might believe from their appearances. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: William Holmes ====================================================================