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The family of William and Mary Hall of Belfast, Ireland.

William Hall (ca. 1805-1885)
William was the son of William and Mary Hall of Belfast Ireland and the brother of Robert Hall (1814-1888). We do not yet know when or where his parent were born.

The Hall family most likely emigrated from Scotland to Belfast although one recollection passed down in the family was that the Halls might have been Swedish. As none of us has any Swedish ethnicity in our DNA tests, that's probably not true. We do however have a tiny bit of Norweigan DNA, about 2 - 4% but we don't know which family is was passed down from. It is possible they mixed up Swedish and Norweigan and many Norweigan's live in Sweden so the family may have come from there and later on just assumed that was their heritage. Not important, just a curious mention to have been passed down in the family. 

William Hall was born about. 1805 based on his death record, which indicates he was 80 in 1885. He was married to Elizabeth Smith. We think Elizabeth came from the Renfrewshire, Scotland area. We have many ties to that area. Smith is of course a nearly impossible name to trace back with so little information to go on. There are lots of Dorans in Renfrewshire, in particular at Paisley Abbey. 

In the 1852 Directory of Belfast, William Hall was listed at 30 William's Row "in pork store". 

William and Elizabeth's children included Samuel, Hugh, Catherine, William John, and James. At least two of their children emigrated to the United States. Our ancestor, William John Hall, remained in Belfast. An injury, possibly a work accident, limited William John's mobility, the grandchildren's recollection was that he worked at home, from his chair. Perhaps this is the reason he and his family did not emigrate to the U.S. with his two brothers. ​

Next generation

​Samuel Hall (about 1828-1901)
Samuel Hall's birth year is estimated based on the United States Census of 1880. Samuel did emigrate to the US, settling with his family in Hyde Park, Wabasha County, Minnesota. We match on AncestryDNA with several of his descendants. 


Hugh Hall (1828-1912)
Hugh Hall was christened on March 16, 1828 at St. Anne's Church of Ireland.  

Hugh was married at St. Anne's Church of Ireland, Belfast, Shankill, on February 11, 1851 to Mary McKee, daughter of Michael McKee, labourer. Their witnesses were Samuel and Margaret Fields. Hugh's father is recorded as William Hall, pork cutter. Rev. C. Allen. His date of birth/baptism as noted above. His mother's maiden name is Elizabeth Smith. [Source: Ulster Historical Foundation marriage records.]

​Hugh and Mary Hall were witnesses at the marriage of his brother William John Hall to Sarah Tierney in 1861, which also took place at St Anne's Church of Ireland, Belfast.

Hugh's wife Mary died in 1863. Hugh left Ireland the following year, sailing from Glasgow, Scotland taking his family with him. The date of arrival in New York was May 28, 1864. The children who came with him were William John, William, George, Margaret Ann, Samuel, Eliza, and Thomas. His occupation on the passenger record was farmer. He lived the first few years after immigration in Granger, Allegheny County, New York. By 1870, according to the census record, he was living in Hyde Park, Wabasha County, Minnesota. 

On December 3, 1875, Hugh married again. His spouse was Margaret Sweeney. She was born approximately 1826. 

Hugh Hall was 83 when he died. 

Catherine Hall (1831-?)
Not much know about her. 

William John Hall (1837-1881)
William John Hall's occupation was listed in several sources as "baker". While his wife Sarah Tierney was a devout Roman Catholic, as were her daughters and granddaughters, William John remained a Protestant throughout his lifetime. baptism records. 

William John's wife Sarah worked in the cotton mill, and her great-grandaughter recalled being told by her mother that Sarah worked as hard as any man. She further stated that William John took care of the house and the children so he likely worked as a baker from home. According to what his daughter said, their father brushed the girls hair every morning before they left for the day. Based on that I think he was a gentle man. 

Sarah’s father. James Tierney, was from Monaghan. We match up through Ancestry.DNA with many of the Tierney descendants from that family.  James Tierney worked in a pork store as did William Hall so that might have been the connection that led to the meeting and marriage of William John and Sarah. They were married in the Church of Ireland. 

The oldest children were not baptized in the Roman Catholic church until they were several years old, which had led to some confusion about their ages. Noted on their baptism records are their ages at the time of their baptism and the fact that their father was a Protestant. 

Their daughter Mary Hall married Bernard Doran in 1884.

James Hall (1838-1894)
​to be continued.