KSGenWeb Digital Library Biographical Sketch of Durand C. Hall Atchison County, Kansas

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The following transcription is from a 750 page book titled "Genealogical and Biographical Record of North-Eastern Kansas, dated 1900.  These have been diligently transcribed and generously contributed by Penny R. Harrell, please give her a very big Thank You for her hard work!

Durand C. Hall.

A wealthy and representative citizen of Atchison county was Durand C. Hall, deceased, who was the proprietor of Orchard Hill farm, which beyond question is one of the most attractive and valuable homesteads in the county or state.  Mr. Hall made his home in this locality for over thirty years, was active and zealous in its up building and advancement and was looked up to and consulted in all important affairs pertaining to the welfare of the community.

He located on his farm in Center township in the spring of 1869.  At a very early day in the history of Ohio, seven brothers by the name of Hall became permanent residents of Portage county, going there from their former home in Vermont.  One of the number was Benjamin, the grandfather of Durand C. Hall.  In the Buckeye state occurred the birth of William Hall, the father of our subject.  He was engaged in agricultural pursuits until late in life, and attained the ripe old age of eighty-seven years.  During the stormy years prior to and including the civil war period, he was a strong abolitionist.  Religiously he was a Congregationalist.

Four children were born to himself and his first wife, whose maiden name was Maria Law. James P., the eldest, now resides in San Diego, California; Eliza, who received an excellent education at Oberlin College, and for some was successfully engaged in teaching in the Chicago public schools, is deceased; and Lucy, who is the wife of I. P. Griswold, of Lexington, Nebraska, a soldier of the late civil war.

After the death of his first wife, William Hall married Bethia Palmer, of Catskill, New York, and their only son, Newton H., now living in Ohio, was in the Union service during the war of the Rebellion. Helen M., the eldest daughter, became the wife of Henry Wilcox, now of Saratoga, New York; and Anna, the younger, is the wife of Benjamin Shurart, of Oberlin, Ohio.

Durand C. Hall was born in Portage county, Ohio, June 17, 1834, and early learned the lessons of industry and thrift, which are the essentials to success in any vocation.  Reverses, came to him, as to everyone, but he never faltered in his course and at length his persistence and well applied business methods brought to him the prosperity which he had justly earned.  He became the owner of one of the largest and best equipped farms in Atchison county, comprising 675 acres, all in one tract, and situated near the town of Farmington.

On the place stands a substantial barn which is reputed to be the largest one in the county, as it is 80 x 64 feet in dimensions, has a basement affording accommodations for one hundred and fifty head of live stock, and a capacity of two hundred tons of hay and grain.  For several years Mr. Hall was especially successful as a stock raiser, keeping a high grade of Hereford cattle, among other varieties.

Mr. Hall was twice married. March 11, 1858, he married Ellen M. Underwood, who was born in Portage county, Ohio April 21, 1835, and she died September 9, 1871, in Atchison county.  She was the daughter of Albert, who was a personal and warm friend of James A. Garfield and aided in nominating and electing him to the legislature, and her mother came from the well known Moulton family, of Ohio.

Mr. Hall's first wife was a lady of good education, educated at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, and had an acquaintance with Garfield, who attended with her this college.  Mr. Hall's first wife bore him the following children: Inez M., who married B. C. Achenbach, of Clinton county, Penn.; Albert S., single; John H., deceased; Herbert D., of Atchison county; and Mary E., who married Edward R. Stacey, of Atchison county.  The son, Albert S., is now at the old homestead.

On the 29th of May, 1873, the marriage of D. C. Hall and Susan, a daughter of Salmon and Manerva (Rice) Merriam, was solemnized. Mrs. Hall, who was born at Meriden, Connecticut, had seven brothers and sisters, namely: Sylvia M., of Durham, Connecticut; Ezekiel, who served in the Union army during the civil war and now resides at Hartford, Connecticut; Lydia, the wife of Ira Doolittle, of Harper county, Kansas; Sarah, the deceased wife of W. Pritchard; Harriet, the wife of H. L. Whitaker, of Lancaster township, Atchison county; Mary, the wife of R. Higley of Pardee; and Asaph, of South Acton, Massachusetts. Salmon Merriam departed this life when in his fifty-eighth year, and his wife died at the age of sixty-two.  They were members of the Congregational Church. 

By Mr. Hall's second marriage but one child was born, namely, Susa E., the wife of Frank M. Linscott, of Holton, Kansas.  In 1877 Mr. Hall constructed a comfortable residence, provided with the comforts and accessories of a model home.  Fraternally he was a Mason, having joined that order in Ohio when a young man.  Courteous and kindly to every one he readily made friends and his honorable course in life commends itself to the emulation of the young. His death occurred May 27, 1900.

Last update: Monday, January 09, 2006 00:57:14

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