STONES AND ^SS^^^SSSSSSfSS^ S^J^^JiJ^^^i^S^-^vSS^^^^S^^SS^^^^^SJ^i^sSS*;^^^^^ fi^i^q/^F^EJ if^WlfJ qvH.^ UCSB LIBRARY YSS3SO THE EATHERSTONES AND HALLS : GlEaning3 Ifoiti old Family IiEttEF^ aijd fflanu^cFipt^. BY MARGARET I RWIN PRINTED AT THE ORPHANS' PRINTING PRESS, BROAD STREET. eo my |Hot[)tr, Joljn gair^ 6rantitiattgl)ter, t\}x^ little cI)ronule x$ in^crtbeti. PKEFACE TN publishing this record of the lives of some of my -^ ancestors, I confess that my main object has been to perpetuate the memory of their self-sacrificing devo- tion in the hearts of their many descendants. For I cannot but think that the remembrance of the worth and work of those who have preceded us must stimulate us to live more worthily, that we may in no way bring dishonour upon their name. I venture to hope, however, that the letters from Stephen Grellet and others, whose names are held in high honour throughout our Church, may secure for the narrative a wider circulation than would be possible amongst members of the Hall family alone. All the letters and other manuscripts which I have availed myself of, now appear in print for the first time. For the loan of the originals, I am indebted to the kindness of C. Stansfield "Wilson, John Hall Shield, and especially John Hall of Carlisle. These letters were, of course, written without any VI. PREFACE. thought of publication, and the composition has never been in any way trimmed or revised. I have adhered as closely as possible to the original, preferring to sacri- fice grammatical and well-rounded forms of expression, rather than run any risk of losing the individuality of the writers. One valuable feature of the letters is, that the writers have not confined themselves to a history of their religious experiences ; we get glimpses also of their social and business relations, and therefore a more com- plete picture of their life as a whole. I\Iost of the information contained in the chapter en- titled "America Ninety Years Ago," has been obtained from a curious old book published in 1811, and entitled " Travels in some parts of America in the years 1804, 180;"), 1806." It is written by a Friend, a certain Robert Sutcliff, of Sheffield. Short and unpretending as this little chronicle is, I am conscious of its many imperfections, and should have been glad if the manipulation, of the materials for its- production had fallen to more skilful hands. It has, however, been a labour of love, and as such I submit it to the indulgent criticism of my readers. The Grange, Higher Crumpsall, February 19th, 1890. THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS (gUanings from olb J^amils ^ztitts nnh ^Anuscxifis. CHAPTER L The Featherstones of Featherstone. " Then to side with truth is noble when we share her wretched crust. Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just ; Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside. Doubting in liis abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified. And the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied. "Coimt me o'er earth's chosen heroes,— they were souls that stood alone, While the men they agonised for hurled the contumelious stone ; Stood serene, and do\ra the future saw the golden beam inchne To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine. By one man's plain truth to manhood, and to God's supreme design." The Present Crisis. J. R. Lowell. TEN years' imprisonment in Morpeth gaol ! A dreary prospect to look forward to, and yet Cuthbert Feather- stone, the prisoner for conscience' sake, conld, for the second time in his life, tear himself away from wife and children and face the fate that awaited him with a brave heart. How narrow and dark would the dungeon seem to one whose life had been spent on the wild Northumberland 2 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. moors. For Ciithbert Featlierstone was a native of Allen- dale, in the north country, a land of hills and valleys, taking- its name from the two rivers, the East and West Allen which traverse that district, on their way to the more important, but not more beautiful, Tyne. The hill country which these rivers intersect is full of natural beauties, and the interest thus excited is greatly enhanced by the historical associations which cluster around the ruined castles and various other remains of still earlier periods. Here is the site of a Celtic or Iberian camp, where chips of flint are still to be found in abundance, and well- formed arrowheads besides, by those who will not too soon weary of the search. Away to the north, along the outline of the hills, the Roman Wall of Severus still stands to guard from northern foes; no ''jerry building" there, but honest work meant to endure. On the slope of tlie hill, just within the wall, the boundary lines and other remains of a Roman Camp are also clearly indicated. Xearer at hand stands all that is left of the Castle of Staward-le-Peel, on a spot the most romantic ever chosen for a stronghold ; this, and other castles still well preserved, remind us of the struggles of later times. In all the conflicts which were constantly engaging the dif- ferent clans of Northumberland, both among themselves and with their implacable foes from beyond the Scottish border, the Featherstones were always ready to take a part. The old chronicles tell us that they held the Manor of Feather- stonhaugh in the parish of Haltwhistle in the reign of THE FEATHERSTONES OF FEATHERSTONE. 6 Henry III., and continued to hold it in unbroken succession for twelve generations, down to the end of the seventeenth century. And tlien, as regards one branch at least of the Featherstone family, that to which the prisoner Cuthbert belonged, the record of strife and conflict gives place to quite another story of actions none the less heroic. For in a distant county one Seeker after Truth had come to see how little the religious teachers of existing churches had to offer that would satisfy the hungering soul. Thrown back upon his Bible, and the teaching of the Holy Spirit in his own heart, he learnt, as by a revelation from God Himself, that no outward profession of religion will suffice to bring peace to the sin-burdened soul, that man's heart is designed to be the temple of the Holy Ghost, and that every act of life should be an act of worship prompted and directed by the Spirit of God. His mission was to proclaim these truths throughout the length and breadth of the land, and to seek to bring out the priest-trammelled people into the perfect liberty of the sons of God. Faithfully George Fox performed his life's work, in spite of all the discouragements thrown across his path, and all the persecution to which he was subjected; so that in many a crowded city and quiet village home his name became a household word, and many a weary heart found peace in listening to his teaching. Everywhere he went, as he journeyed from place to place, some were found will- ing to accept the simple faith he taught ; and so it came about that, at a very early period indeed in the 4 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. history of Quakerism, members of the Society of Friends were to be found in remote Allendale. First and fore- most among these were various members of the Feather- stone family. The earliest record preserved tells of the first persecution to which these adherents of the new faith were subjected. In the year 1660 Cuthbert Featherstone and twenty-three others were taken prisoners at a meeting at New Shield, and carried off to Hexham where they were put into a "stinking dungeon." The gaoler walled up the window, and would scarcely allow anything to be brought to them. Some, if not all the little company, were transferred to Morpeth gaol. They were all, however, freed at the Assizes by the King's proclamation, issued on the acces- sion of Charles II. By this proclamation seven hundred Friends in different parts of the country were released from prison. But Cuthbert Featherstone's troubles did not end here. In 1663, he was taken by a writ for refusing to pay tithes, and again found himself a prisoner in Morpeth gaol, from which he was not released until 1673. Ten years' im- prisonment in such a loathsome dungeon would have quenched the zeal of most men ; not so Cuthbert Feather- stone, who inherited not only the name, but also the indomitable spirit of ancestors who knew not when they were beaten ; and so we find him giving his ''' Testimony concerning T3^th." " When I was convinced with God's Truth," he writes. THE FEATHERSTONES OF FEATHERSTONE. O '' I took a consideration about paying of tythes, and in the Light, I saw it to be the great uphold of that false Anti- Christian Ministry which keeps many from the teaching of God's Spirit, and I saw there was gTeat need to bear a faith- ful testimony against it. And the t;yi:hers demanding of me calf, wool, and lamb, I could not pay them any, but bare my testimony against it and all reckonings, and whatever I saw was demanded in that kind : whereupon they came and broak into my field and took away the best lamb of nine, and after, for bearing my testimony against it, I was put in prison, j'et I ever to this day have borne a faithful testimony against it. Wherefore in the year 1676 and in the year 1677 they have in a plundering manner taken fower lambs more. This I give under my hand the 28th day of the 10th month, 1677. — Cuthbert Featherstone." Once again, nearly twenty years later, we catch a passing glimpse of this venerable Apostle of Quakerism, when Thomas Story visited West Allendale in 1696. In his Journal he tells how amongst the little company gathered together to meet him, was ''our ancient and honourable Friend Cuthbert Featherstone ; " then he describes how, as they sat conversing together, their minds were drawn under the canopy of Divine silence, and he watched the tears trickle down the furrowed cheeks and long white beard of his ancient Friend. And Thomas Story adds : ''I was greatly affected with love towards him from the same cause, and had this hope and confidence that, as I then observed the Lord was as near His children in old age (who had 6 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. served him faithfully from the time of their visitation) as when He first revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ in their own hearts — so He would be with me also in advanced years if I proved faithful and true to the Lord, and attained that degree. This encouragement in the beginning of our journey, by that tender season in the presence of the Lord, is not to be forgotten, but had in lasting remembrance to the praise of the Lord our God." CHAPTER II. Alice Hall. And she that was so fair, I saw her lie, The smallest thing in God's great firmament, Till night was at the darkest, and on high Her sisters glittered, though her light was spent ; I strained to follow her, each aching eye, So swiftly at her Maker's will she went ; I looked again — I looked— the star was gone, And nothing marked in heaven the place where she had shone. " Gone 1 " said the poet — " and about to be Forgotten : oh, how sad a fate is hers ! " " How is it sad, my son ? " all reverently The old man answered ; " though she ministers No longer with her lamp to me and thee She has fulfilled her mission. God transfers Or dims her ray ; yet was she blest as bright, For all her life was spent in giving light." The Star's Monume7it. Jean Ingelow. OF the life of John, son of Cuthbert Featherstone, few details have been preserved. His early training and preparation for the battle of life must have fallen largely to his mother, for he was only two years old when in 1663 Cuthbert Featherstone was torn away from home and family, never to return for ten long years. "We know that in 1701 he married Isabel Summers. The old records describe him and his wife as '' religious Friends, who care- fully educated their children in the principles of truth ; " 8 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. and of this we have ample evidence in the after-history of their daughter Alice, who was born at Blackhouse in Allendale in the year 1708. Alice Featherstone was only twenty-two years of age when she became a minister of the Society of Friends. We read of no sudden conversion, nor of any definite period when her life was consecrated to the service of her Lord ; there was no need for this, for we are told " she was early favoured with Divine visitations, and being obedient thereto grew in a religious experience to a good degTee of stability and settlement therein ; and having received a gift of the Gospel ministry — in which, through an humble attention to the leading of the Good Shepherd, she became skilful and serviceable in the Church — she freely gave up to that ser- vice as she found her mind engaged and drawn thereto." Before her marriage she travelled extensively as a minis- ter, visiting most parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, and twice venturing across the channel to visit Friends in Ireland. In 1743 she was married to Isaac Hall, of Little Broughton, Cumberland. New cares and new surroundings in no degree diminished her interest in " best things " however, and not only was she a diligent attender of her own Meeting, but even contrived to pay frequent visits in the service of the Church, without neglecting her duty towards husband and children. Only four years after her marriage she found her way to Ireland for the third time ; a letter from her husband written during her absence from home on this journey, enables us ALICE HALL. 9 to realize in some measure the difficulties of locomotion in those days, and his anxiety on her behalf. The reference to the little children left at home reminds us of what Alice Hall on her part would have to suffer, in bracing herself up for this lengthened absence from them. Isabel, for whom the presents were intended, was a sister of Alice Hall, and was probably taking charge of the household whilst its mistress was away. The old spelling, which certainly adds to the interest of the original manuscripts, loses so much of its picturesque- ness when it appears in print, that I have concluded in this and following letters to abandon it for the more familiar form of spelling now in use. With reference to the ripening of the crops, it must be remembered that the new style of reckoning was not adopted in England until 1752 ; March was then the first month of the year. Isaac Hall to Alice Hall. "Broughton, ye 26th of ye 5th mo., 1747. " Dear and loving Wife, — These come with my dear love to thee, hoping they will find thee well as I am at present. Thou may know that after I received thy acceptable letter, to answer thy request I wrote another : and my friend Peter Nicholson is now come over, and he informs me that there was none come to hand but those which thou received at Ballinderry, which makes me think that they are miscarried, — and he tells me that he saw Richard Burton and his com- panion at Tymhor Meeting, and they told him that they 10 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. came out of the North along with thee. They gave him an account that thou was very well, and thy horse performed very well so far, which I am very glad to hear, for it is great satisfaction to me to hear of thy welfare ; I am very often thoughtful about thee. '' But I believe the Lord will be a strength and support unto thee ; thou will meet with many trials and exercises many ways — but thou will be helped over them all, and I hope thou will have the returns of peace in thy bosom at last. My dear, it is near ten weeks since thou left England. Hoping these will meet thee near Dublin, my dear, I would have thee to write and let me know when thou thinks to be at Dublin and how thou fares. Thy son John is grown a gTeat lad and he is very hearty ; he goes to the hayfield and works till he sweats, he is fresh-coloured, he is exceeding active, he is very strong. Thy daughter Sarah is hearty and fresh-coloured, and she can walk in John's hand unto her grandmothers' ; she has not got all her teeth yet. Sister Ann has her health very well. My mother is very well and helps us all that she can. We have had about two weeks very fine weather, and I have got all my hay [in] ex- cept Bradmoor and the little closes and some little among the corn, without hiring any but Mary Hudert two days and a half. I think to get it all this week, for I have got it so far without rain. * * * Our wheat will be pretty soon ripe, and I hope thou will be at home when the oats are ripe. So from thy dear and loving husband, Isaac Hall. " P.S.— This is the fifth letter that I have sent, but I hope ALICE HALL. 11 to see thee myself before I need ^^'ite any more. * * * Thou must get Isabel as much bonnet plait as will be a bonnet, and we told Peter to buy a Httle basket and thou must pay him for it : it is for Isabel : and thou must tell Peter to buy her a Dublin handkerchief, such as he had on when he was now over, and thou must pay him for it." The Irish journey was safely accompHshed and Alice Hall resumed her place in the Broughton household. As years passed on, however, she again believed herself called to leave home, this time for religious service in America, and undaunted by the difficulties and hardships involved, she set her face to fulfil her mission. Her husband, though a minister, seems to have had no thought of accompanying her, he was indeed compelled to remain at home to provide for the needs of the family, and to extend as far as possible a mother's care over the children left behind. He says : — '' I found it my duty to give her up, though it was a ver}' close trial and exercise to me — her final parting with me and dear children was a time I hope never to be forgotten, having been drawn fervently to recommend us and herself to the protection of that Hand who is for ever sufficient." Full of energy and enthusiasm, and devotion to the cause she loved, she landed in America ''in y^ 10th mo., 1761," and diligently pursued her labours, visiting most of the settlements of the United States, with Ann Xelson as her companion. For nearly twelve months she continued her laborious 12 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. task. In spite of frequent attacks of illness her energetic spirit never failed, and though travelling in America- at that time must have been attended with very great difficulties and some danger, we find her accomplishing as much as fifty miles in one day. But at last the poor overtaxed body asserted itself ; she found she could hold out no longer, and hastened to Phila- delphia, to the house of her kind friend Isaac Zane, where she arrived " on y^ 22nd of y^ 9th mo. following, and two days before the Yearly Meeting." For fourteen days Isaac Zane's wife and daughter nursed her with tender solicitude, but, though the physicians were for a time hopeful that she would recover, she gradually sank, " and died about the 7th hour in the evening, the 6th of y^ 10th mo., 1762. On y« 8th her corpse was attended by a great number of Friends to the Meeting House in High Street, where after a suitable solemn pause together and several worthy testimonies borne to the edification of the living, she was accompanied by the great assembly to the grave, and decently interred in Friends' Burying Ground." And so she passed away, far from home and family, with none but comparative strangers to smooth her dying pillow, yet in perfect peace, " easy either to live or die, and being queried of if there was anything in her mind concerning her family, answered she was easy on that account." Isaac Zane, in sending the sad news of her death to her friends in England, writes : — "It is with sympathizing and heavy hearts that I and mine ALICE HALL. 13 have to salute you with much love and goodwill, and therein think it the least we can do to give an account of beloved Alice, whose deportment among us led us to consider the worth sucli a pattern was of in your femily, and indeed the light of her pious course of life must have sinned to many." Another kind letter of sympathy has been preserved from a Friend in Philadelphia, probably John Pemberton, but the signature has unfortunately been torn away. The fol- lowing extracts are from this letter :— " She could not have been in any place where greater ten- derness and diligent attendance could have been manifested, for she was beloved by the family and Friends in this city, and I believe by all who knew her. She lay mostly very quiet in her illness and said little, but from a few words she dropped to me I thought she had little or no prospect of getting through her illness. As she was prepared to die, the release is happy to her. She several times mentioned to me the promising prospect there appeared in her eldest son ; I wish he may, with the others, follow her pious example, and tread in the steps she walked in that her crown may be theirs. 'Sly dear love, and my dear mother joins me herein, is to thee and thine, and am with much affection and real sympathy." With brave strong heart and holy fearlessness Alice Hall had ventured forth alone across the broad Atlantic ; but it proved to be a journey from which there was no returning : her service of love in the Church, amongst her neighbours in the village of Broughton, and in the home circle was finished : exchanged for the higher service of the saints in Light. CHAPTER III. The Home at Broughton. "Peace to the just man's memory,— let it grow Greener with years, and blossom through the flight Of ages ; let the mimic canvas show His calm, Ijenevolent features ; let the light Stream on his deeds of love, that shunned the sight Of all l3ut heaven, and in the book of fame. The glorious record of his virtues write. And hold it up to men, and bid them claim A palm like his, and catch from him the hallowed flame." W. C. Bryant. THE unpretending little village of Broughton, whence the brightness of Alice Hall's gentle presence and wise counsel was so suddenly withdrawn, overlooks the river Derwent, about four miles westward from the market town of Cockermouth. Quite out of the track of tourists in the Lake District, it yet comes in for a share of tlie beauties which have made the Lake District famous — the surrounding country is un- dulating and varied, and distant views of the Cumberland mountains close in the landscape. During the long period of dissension and war between king and people which characterized the middle of the six- teenth century, tlie little town of Cockermouth was roused from its (piiet peaceful life by the news that Cromwell and his army had encamped at Broughton, four miles awa)% THE HOME AT BROUGHTO^^ 15 and had set themselves to destroy the castle which guarded the old town. The noble pile — built in William the Xorman's reign, and remaining in all Tts ancient pride a relic of Xorman power in the north — was not easily subdued, but those who defended it had little chance against the besieging forces, and eventually the fine old castle was overcome and became a heap of ruins. How Cromwell and his Ironsides fared after they had ac- complished this work of destruction does not concern us here, but there was one soldier in their ranks who claims from us more than a passing interest. Of Richard Hall's earlier history we know little, except that he had at one time been a trooper in the King's Guards ; this we learn from an inscription on the fly-leaf of his Bible, which survived the chances and changes of Revo- lutionary War and is now the treasured possession of one of his descendants. Probably a change in his religious opinions accounts for the Royalist becoming Roundhead, but a still further de- velopment both religious and political was the direct result of Richard Hall's presence in the army which besieged Cockermouth Castle. Very early indeed in the history of Quakerism, there were some in Cockermouth and the surrounding villages who joined its ranks, and held meetings regularly either in their own houses or in the open air. In some way or other Richard Hall came under the in- 16 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. Hiieiice of these Friends, their view of tlie Truth commended itself to him, and he straightway withdrew from the Parlia- mentary Army, settled at Broughton, and became a member of the New Society. He testified his zeal for the cause which he had espoused by presenting Friends there with land on which to build a Meeting House ; the original deeds are in existence and the Meeting House is still in use, though many alterations and additions have been made during the centuries that have passed since it was built. Richard Hall's death in 167.3 was followed nineteen years later by that of his wife Jane Hall. All that we know of her is contained in a paragraph in Thomas Story's Journal. After describing a visit to Broughton Meeting in 1691 — • the first Friends' Meeting he had ever attended — he says : — " The meeting being ended, the Peace of God which passeth all the understanding of natural men and is inexpressible by any language but itself alone, remained as a holy canopy over my mind, in a silence out of the reach of all words, and where no idea but the Word Himself can be conceived. But being invited, together with the ministering Friend to the house of the ancient Widow Hall, I went willingly with them ; but the sweet silence connnanded in me by Michael the Prince, Captain General of the Hosts of Heaven still re- maining, I had nothing to say to any of them till he was pleased to draw the curtain, and veil his presence ; and then I found my mind pure and in a well bounded liberty of innocent conversation with them." THE HOME AT BROUGHTOX. 17 One of Richard Hall's daughters — Jane — married a cer- tain Peter Fearon, of Great Broughton. A strange story is told of an adventure which she met with in compan)^ with another Cumberland minister, James Dickinson. They had been on a religious visit into Scotland, and were re- turning home together on horseback, when they were benighted, and had to take lodgings at a small wayside inn. But the behaviour of the innkeeper and his wife aroused their suspicions, and they dare not retire to rest. Other circumstances occurred, which increased their fears that if they remained there, they were in danger of being robbed and perhaps murdered. To spend the night in the open air would be better than this, so they contrived to get their horses out of the stable unobserved, and made their escape. Tradition has handed down this story em- bellished with various thrilling details, but it is impossible to say at this distance of time how much is true, and how much has been added for the sake of effect. There is little doubt that some such incident did occur, and that the travellers really believed their lives were in danger. Thomas, the third son of Richard and Jane Hall, was born in 1647, and died in 1692, leaving three children. The eldest of these — John, born in 1687 — was the father of Isaac Hall, whose brave wife, Alice, sacrificed her life to her sense of religious duty. Three children were left motherless by her death — • John, Sarah, and Hannah. Sarah Hall became the wife of John Stead, an engineer employed at the collieries 18 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. at Workington ; they afterwards removed to Birmingham. Hannah, the youngest of the tliree, married Jonathan Sergeant, of Little Broughton ; and John Hall (of whom his father wrote when he was only three years old, " He goes to the hayfield and works till he sweats ") inherited the little estate at Broughton. But he inherited, in addition to this, the energy with which his ancestors a century earlier had applied them- selves to the political struggles and internecine wars of their time, and a very real appreciation of the religious faith for which his forefathers had suffered. The blood of the Featherstones and Halls combined to lay the founda- tion of a character, which, under the moulding hand of Divine gTace, must have grown up to be one of singular beauty and strength. Clothed with humility, this very qualification enabled him to take his place unostentatiously as a leader in the little congregation of Friends in Brough- ton, and incidental references in his wife's letters, written during his absence from home, show how greatly his ser- vices as a minister were valued by his own people. He was married in 1769 to Hannah Wigham, of Coan- Avood, Xorthumberland ; a clever managing wife she was, and well for him that it was so, for a fiimily of ten children (besides two who died young) taxed to the utmost the resources of the farm, even when augmented by wliat could be derived from weaving and bacon-curing. John Hall was about twenty-eight years of age when he first appeared as a minister, but for several years he THE HOME AT BROUGHTON. 19 travelled little in the service of the Church, with the ex- oeption of occasional tours through parts of Scotland. In 1786, on one such journey, he had the satisfaction of travelling with John Pemberton, of Philadelphia, all the way from Edinborough to Old Meldrum, holding meetings as they passed along. After an absence of near six weeks, he returned home from "that land of bondage," only to become a prisoner himself (in another sense), held captive by a sharp attack of gout. The autumn of the same year was a time of much sick- ness in the family : various members were attacked by measles and fever, and one boy, "my much beloved son William," died after an illness of three weeks. The following letters, written by John Hall to his sister in Birmingham in 1791 and 1795, give us glimpses into the family and social life at that period. In the first letter, he is evidently making an-angements to travel up to London to the Yearly Meeting ; a gTeat undertaking in those days. "Broughton, 4th mo. 21st, 1791. " Dear Sister, — Am just going to Cockermouth this after- noon ; have but time to tell thee that I have received thy letter, and for intelligence respecting coach from Kendal intend to write I. Crewdson, as John Robinson and myself have concluded to go by coach, and the other Friends by a chaise and on horseback. I could like to be at Birmingham on a First-day if it do not take up too much time, and John Robinson be willing to take my time ; we are to meet 20 THE FEATHERSTOXES AND HALLS. again to fix our time in setting out. Daughters returned from Kendal last Sixth-day evening, where Alice met with AUie's kind letter and present, etc. Alice offers her inten- tions of marriage next Third-day, and if thou can venture Ally to come with me [so] as to be a bridesmaid on the wedding day, it will be pleasing to us all. '' Thy beef and bacon I expect will be at Birmingham this week, and I shall forward E. Dearman her hams and a flitch of bacon as soon as opportunity serves. * * * I note what thou says about John Sargeant being bound an apprentice under thy husband's care, and thou or he to receive his wages towards board, clothes, etc., all which I am very wilHng to, but I decline to be under any tie my- self in making up any deficiency on his behalf ; and have wrote John Hipsley to send John Sargeant to Brim (Bir- mingham) when his year is up at Ackworth. '' My wife returned home some time since, and left her dear mother very weak, though rather better, and have not since heard anything further from her ; am expecting a letter every day. I understand the meeting at Kendal was in some degree satisfactory ; time will not permit me to enlarge at present. Conclude in dear love, in which my wife and children join. Thy loving brother, John Hall." "Broughton, 7th mo. 2nd, 1795. " Dear Sister, — I was pleased to hear by thy last letter of your welfare, and that Hannah was getting better. This may inform thee that through mercy my health seems THE HOME AT BROUGHTON. 21 pretty much restored. My wife, and rest, keep pretty well, save Isaac is now mnch tried with the rheumatism, and Hannah gone to Gilsland Wells to try the waters. She went last week from Hesket. I have not heard what effect the waters may have ; doctor seemed to recommend them. " I may now inform thee that I am setting out to-morrow on a very trying journey into the west parts of Scotland, and perhaps some of the Isles, I suppose towards Arran, first in company of our friend Samuel Blundell, from Cornwall, who arrived here on Third-day evening. * * * It seems an arduous task to me. Our Elders have been consulted, and give me full liberty to go, by minute signed by a number of them, and a certificate to be sent after me from our next Monthly Meeting. How long I may be from home I cannot say. * * * John Ross, of Greysouthen, has given up to go along with us. We expect to be at Dum- fries on First-day. I should be glad to hear from thee, but cannot give thee any information how to direct to me. I have only just time to scribble these few lines to thee to give thee this information. Must conclude, in dear love to self, husband, and children, in which my wife joins me. Thy affectionate brother, John Hall." In 1799, John Hall believed himself called to visit Friends in America, which would involve an absence of two years from home. Xotwithstanding the long anxious ocean voyage and the difficulties of overland travelling, there seems to have been a constant stream of ministers passing between 22 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. tke continent of America and the British Isles at that time. But to one in his position, such an undertaking was a very serious matter ; to tear himself away from his family, and from the quiet home life, must have been a difficult task, hut liis simple faith and willing obedience were equal to the strain, and he went forth. Kind letters of encour- agement from valued friends, cheered him in the prospect. Thomas Scattergood to John Hall. " Dear John Hall, — Thy salutation of love sent in a letter to E. Coggeshall was pleasant to my taste, and the little prospect thou seemed to have of a field yet opening before me in this land I hope to stand resigned to, if so it is to be ordered by an all-wise Providence. At present I seem like one going again as into the prison-house, and yet thankful I am that my state of late has resembled that of a debtor being released from close confinement and suffered to walk the prison-yard. Pray for me, my dear friend, that my faith and patience fail not, and if through Divine mercy this is granted, there is a secret hope revives [that] I may be yet sweetly comforted in thy company and concern in my native land. The Lord grant, if His will, it may be in my long-absented habitation. '' The same prayer that so spontaneously arose in my heart for dear Sarah whilst writing her, does towards thee for your safe conduction over the great deep, and may thy labours be sanctified and crowned with sweet enriching peace. ^ly love very affectionately to thy wife, and through THE HOME AT BROUGHTON. 23 her to thy dear children, though unknown. And when thou art favoured to be in Philadelphia visit my family and encourage them what thou canst, with my dear love ; also to dear R. Jones, my sympathizing elder sister. Farewell, dear friend : I trust sweet balance to thy exercised mind will be thy portion. It is the desire, it is the prayer of thy affectionate sympathizing friend and brother, T. SCATTERGOOD." Deborah Darby to John Hall. "C. Dale,* 3rd mo. 6th, 1799. " My dear Friend,— It is grateful to my dear companion and self to hear, through the medium of thy pen, of your welfare in which we have a near interest ; and it is no sur- prise to us to find which way thy prospects are opened, having a secret sense of this being the case when in thy company ; and our spirits unite in most sincerely wishing thee God-speed, not doubting but that He tliat putteth forth will go before thee, cover thy head in the day of battle, and enable thee to set up thy Ebenezer, and say from one time to another, ' Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.' So that though thou may go forth weeping bearing precious seed, there will be a returning rejoicing, with sheaves of peace in thy bosom. So, dear John, lift up thy head in hope, thank God and take courage, remembering that tlie work is not thine, and that He that has called thee unto it is abundantl)" able to qualify for all that He re- " Coalbrook Dale. 24 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. quires. * * - I feel nearly with thee in the prospect of separation from so affectionate and worthy a companion, and dutiful children ; but are not all these binding ties to faithfulness? Doth it not lead to the enquiry of, 'Who made me to differ from another, or what have I that I have not received ? ' " Please to tell thy dear wife that she feels very near to us, that we have no doubt but the eternal God wdll be her refuge, and that underneath will be the everlasting arms. I should be glad, if she could see her way, to meet her with thee in London if I should get to the Yearly Meeting, which, for anything we see at present, may be the case with btoth of us. I trust I need not tell you that we retain a ^•rateful sense of the kindness of Friends in your parts, not only in caring for our comfortable accommodation as to the body, but making way for our relief of mind. We should be glad if our love might be conveyed to our kind helpers as thou may see them, thy own family fully in- cluded, whose growth and establishment in the Truth we .sincerely desire. * * * Thou wilt most probably have heard ere this that William Cutch and David Dent have proposed to Friends a prospect similar to thine, so that thou will be likely to have company. Sarah Harrison is also waiting to return to her native land, but at present is poorly in bed at the house of Mary Alexander, Xeedham, Suffolk. " I have one son with me at present learning the iron business, and I expect the other from London soon after our THE HOME AT BROUGHTON. 25 Yearly Meeting ; so that there is reason to expect they will both settle at the Dale, which is pleasant to me. Having but two of them, it is natural for me to wish their company when permitted to enjoy a little rest. I need not make an apology to such parents as you for bringing my little tiock into your view and asking your prayers for their preserva- tion, as mine have often been for yours. * * * Your affectionate friend, D. Darby." CHAPTER IV. America Ninety Years Ago. "The whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." Tennyson. BEFORE recounting John Hall's experiences in the United States, it will be interesting to take a rapid survey of the country and social life of the people who had so recently shaken themselves loose from the mother country, and secured their independence. At the beginning of the century, Washington, the future seat of Government was not yet built : the site of the cit)" was chosen indeed, but there were no buildings except public offices and houses for the accommodation of clerks employed in the various departments of the State, together with a few inns and taverns. The Capitol, beautifully situated on a commanding eminence, was still unfinished, and the regularly planned streets and handsome buildings of the future metropolis of the States existed only on paper. Philadelphia, however, which less than one hundred years before was a small town with one ironmonger's shop, and whose shipping industry was limited to one vessel sailing to and from London, had increased so rapidly that at the time under consideration it contained one hundred and six thousand inhabitants. The streets all ran parallel AMERICA XIXETY YEARS AGO. 27 and at right angles, as the}' had been originally planned by William Penn, and many were planted with trees, where the incessant chirping of the tree-frogs after sniiset en- livened the stillness of evening. There were many evidences of thrift and success. Firm well-made waggons, covered ^N-ith stout canvas and drawn by four or more fine horses, were to be seen travelling up the roads bj^ hundreds to attend the Philadelphia market, many coming a distance of three hundred miles, bringing their farm produce to this thriving centre. The busy city of Xew York, too, could boast not only comforts but luxuries. Her public-spirited citizens had provided spacious baths, some of white marble, supplied with hot and cold water, and furnished with every con- venience. It was a common practice in hot weather for bathers to resort here, taking books with them to read whilst indulging in the bath. The town of Albany further north, with its narrow ir- regular streets and old houses, was less unlike our older English towns ; but the glittering rooting of tin plates instead of slates or tiles, would soon remind the traveller that he was far away from England. The most important inland town in the United States at that time was Lancaster in South Carolina. Here were established large works for the manufacture of locks, latches, and rifles, all of which were considered in America to be superior in quality to any that could be imported from England. c 28 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. There were other thriving towns : Richmond, with its coal-pits, the pleasant city of Burlington on the Delaware, the old town of Newcastle, and lastly Baltimore, which within sixty years had come into existence, and gathered within her environs thirty thousand souls. Very fair to look upon were some of these American cities, but lurking in hidden corners, ready to break out with devastation at every favourable opportunity, the dreaded yellow fever seemed to defy every attempt to stamp it out, and periodically coming forth from its hiding place, caused all to fly before it. Then the streets of the busiest cities were quiet almost as a city of the dead ; the markets stood idle, the hotels were empty. At such times the business of the stricken towns was removed to some outlying village, where temporary buildings were erected for the accommodation of banks, public offices, and merchants. The well-arranged and productive farms testified to the fertility of the country districts. Fields of Indian corn, with stalks rising ten or twelve feet high, beautiful tufted heads waving in the breeze, and long elegant blades branch- ing from the stems, charmed the eye by their luxuriance, and suggested abundance and prosperity. Occasionally an estate would be planted with hedges of the English or American thorn ; but American farmers then, as now, preferred wooden fences t(3 our more ornamental hedges, alleging these latter harboured birds and vermin of different kinds, which were likely to injure the crops. Numerous turnpike roads connected the principal towns, AMERICA ^'INETY YEARS AGO. 29 l^iit in the back settlements, where the popuLation was thinly scattered, if rivers were available these were reiinired to do duty instead of roads. The Ohio river, for instance, was navigated by vessels supplied with everything the settlers upon its banks could require, and fitted up with f sweet peace was thy cheering companion. I have always viewed it as an awful scene to be tossing to and fro upon the trackless ocean, and could never conceive how the mind of man could be at rest when exposed to those uncertain elements, without reposing his confidence and trust in Al- mighty power. But as His protection was thy defence, well might thou be at peace, and most sincerely do we con- gratulate thee on thy safe arrival on thy native shore. ^ * - '' Well might those who had been the objects of thy tender concern and arduous labours on this side the Atlan- tic, who enjoyed the privilege of the Gospel call through thy mission, feel deeply interested in thy being succoured 86 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. still by the fostering arm of Divine Goodness. * ^- * It has been our portion to drink many draughts of the bitter cup since tliou wast resident with us. * * * I delivered thy affectionate love to brother John, ti:» whom it was very grateful. He was much reached by thy communications and tender concern for him. Oh, that he was more hum- bled beneath the forming Hand of infinite love and kind- ness ; I believe he might become an useful instrument therein. He feelingly desired his love to thee whenever I wrote. I suppose thou has fretpient letters from our mutual good little friend Stephen Grellet, and thereby art informed much more extensively than is in my power, of the proceedings of thy American Friends. E. Coggeshall is still in Xew York, * * * her husband is at home, and Friends have interested themselves in settling him in the ship-chandlering business in that city, where it is thought he will do very well. * * * " And now my dear friend, having written as much per- haps as thou will be willing to read, I hasten to a conclu- sion. Thy precious letter was a feast to me, every line seemed to be fraught with life and virtue, which was truly refreshing and encouraging to my weak mind. My dear little Mary often talks very affectionately of thee, and desires me to convey her love, as do the other children. Please to present mine to thy worthy wife and children, to my aunts and other relations ; when convenient, a little information from them would be very acceptable. My husband desires thou will accept the affectionate saluta- THE AFTERMATH. 87 tion of his love, with that of thy well-wishing friend and cousin, Mary Williams. "Newport, 30th of 3rd mo., 1803." Hannah Jackson to John Hall " Westbury, Long Islands, "y« 9th of ye 12th mo., 1803. " Dear Friend, John Hall, — I received thy truly accept- able letter, bearing date 14th of 8th mo., by the hand of dear Stephen Grellet, at the time of our Quarterly Meeting at Flushing, 26th of y^ 10th mo. He looks bravely, and appears more fleshy than when thou was here. There is not the least occasion for thee to apologise with respect of having nothing to communicate worth the expense of a letter ; was it no more than that thou had seen my dear husband, he pretty well, and to hear from thee, thy wife, and children, I would gladly pay the expense, as thou was made very near to us — that is, me and my husband — from our first seeing thee, and still remains so. "Comfortable, indeed, is the account thou gives of my precious husband, that he, in the course of his religious travel on that side the water had been at tliy house and rested a little there, appeared pretty well in health, and looks as if he served a good Master. A treat I believe it was to him to meet with a brother, a fellow-labourer in the (xospel, whose face he had seen at his own house in his native land. * * - Thine is the latest account of or from my dear husband, which is near four months ; the time 88 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. seems long that I don't hear from him, not doubting but he has wrote : a line from thee or any other Friend will be acceptable. ''Thy remarks respecting David Sands correspond ex- actly with my thoughts and fears on his account ; there is much anxiety and enquiry about him whether we hear from him and if coming home or not. Some are almost ready to give him over, and C(jnclude he never will come ; [so] that we should be truly glad to hear of his release and setting his face homeward. His poor wife I feel much for : hope his friends there will tenderly care for him. * * * The yellow fever was prevalent in the city of Xew York last summer, of which mau}^ died, though not altogether so mortal as at some other times ; but few Friends. John Murray and many other Friends removed out of the city upon York Island, AVestchester, and many other places. « * v> ^jy [iged father has been very ill with what is called St. Anthony's Fire, an iniiannnatory disorder ; his recovery for a time doubtful, but now much recovered. I conclude, with dear love to thee, thy wife, and children. —Hannah Jackson. " Dear John, since folding of thy letter have heard that Stephen Grellet has passed the Monthly Meeting in order for marriage with Rebecca Collins, daughter of Isaac Collins in New York. I have also just received a letter from my dear husband, bearing date Kendal, 8th of 10th mo., by which I find he wrote me from Glasgow, which is not yet come to hand. From thy friend, Hannah Jackson." THE AFTERMATH. 89 The last letter from which I propose to make extracts is written by Sarah Harrison, John Hall's fellow-traveller for eight stormy weeks during the voyage to America in 1799. A very warm friendship had sprung np between them, and he always made her house his home when in Philadelphia. Her husband, Thomas Harrison, was an active supporter of the Anti-Shivery movement, and was always ready to assist in tlie escape of runaway slaves. The letter reveals to us something of the every-day life of these men and women of high spiritual attainments. How vividly, in a few words, does the lady minister describe herself and her friend enjopng a tete-a-tete at her own fireside. John Hall was a wise man to withhold the name of the Friend of whom he had been dreaming, though probably he did so merely to tantalize his correspondent by rousing her curiosity. tiarah Harrlsoa and Ann Mifflin to John Hall. Philadelphia, 9th mo. 3rd, 1806. " My dear Friend, — Thy acceptable letter dated Man- chester was put into my hands yesterday, just after I had gone upstairs with a full determination to address thee once more with a few lines ; as thou hast been brought so fresh to my mind for some time past, and particularly that day, that it seemed almost as if thou was sitting in thy corner smoking thy pipe, and I in mine taking snuff, con- 90 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. versing pleasantly as we used to do : and at that instant who should come up but my husband with thy letter in his hand, 'My dear,' said he, 'here is a letter from our dear friend John Hall, thou may well now write. ! ' And I trust thou will believe me when I say I was struck with astonish- ment at the power of sympathy, how it reacheth over sea and land ; and I am renewedly persuaded that every mem- ber of the Mystical Body, if tliey keep in their proper places, are as epistles written in one another's hearts, so that though separated in body they are yet present in spirit. * * * " On reading the moving account of the indisposition of several branches of thy family, particularly that relating to thy very valuable wife — -the joy and comfort of thy life — my mind was dipped into near sympathy with thee, believ- ing that thy loss would be irreparable indeed, and thou would feel thyself like a dove having lost its mate. Yet, nevertheless, on taking a retrospective view of the many years that you have been permitted to live together, your love and affection for each other hath been preserved through the various vicissitudes of time, and being thus united in the bonds of peace you have been enabled har- moniously to labour together for the honour of Truth. * * * So may thou and thine be encouraged to cast your care upon Him, in full assurance of faith that He will sustain you. I would willingly give thee some account of my own situation, if I knew how or what to say respecting myself but think I am safe in saying I am a woman of sori'ow and THE AFTERMATH. 91 acquainted with grief, and my habitation is in the parched places of the wilderness, or at least for the most part. Once in a while I think I feel that which will bear me out in saying that ' I know that my Redeemer liveth,' and because He Hveth I live also. * * * R. Jones enjoys pretty good health for one of her years : I have not had oppor- tunity yet of delivering thy message of love, or I should have something in return for thee. " I perceive thou art of the tribe of Joseph as well as myself ; we find he was a dreamer and so art thou, and so was I once in my day, though it is not so much the case now. I should like to know on whom the mark was set, for I am afraid thou hast neither stumbled in judgment nor eiTed in vision. If thou felt fi-eedom to say whether they were male or female, and the two first letters of the name, it would be relieving to my mind. Please to remember my love to Jane Pearson, and to all whom thou knows I love. My very dear love to all thy family as if named, in which my husband unites, and take a large share thyself. In near s)anpathy, I remain thy friend, S. Harrison. " " Our dear Sarah allowing me the perusal of thine and this reply, I have asked leave to return the ofter of love myself ; and desire permission to second her request in the application to know the initials of the one alluded to, for some particular reasons ; not that there is any desire to lay too much stress on dreams, though sometimes they are permitted I believe even as directors, or rather confirming hints. But this I can assure thee of, that Sarah is cautious G 92 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. about letting that part of thy letter be seen, but by some individuals of what is termed the hoard of green cloth, that I believe thee will be safe in further confidence. My dear mother, now near eighty-six, strong I think yet in her mental faculties and measurably so in her bodily powers, though often suffering much affliction by rheumatism, unites with me in love, in which I conclude, thy friend, Ann Mifflin." CHAPTER VII. Evening Time. " Glad words, ' There shall be light at evening,' — Words true in nature, true In life ; The sunless mist -shroud, shadeless shining Are blent at evening, gone their stiife. * •» * * Then in the hallowed light of evening, Shall we behold God's perfect love To gleam athwart the parting shadows. And upward to the hills above ; Where into glory shadeless ever, Will Jesus blend life's joy and pain, And by the brightness of His presence. Will give ' clear shining after rain.' " Mary E. Barlow. FOR four years after his return from America John Hall enjoyed the peaceful home life, and the companion- ship of his brave s}Tnpathetic wife. Then came sickness, and the lives of Hannah Hall and their youngest daughter hung in the balance. In a letter to his niece, Hannah Stead, he writes : — " The complaint was a slow nervous fever, but, through mercy, they both recovered that complaint ; but since that we have had the scarlet fever in our family ; all of us have had it except myself. It first seized one and then another. 94 THE ^EATHEK.STU^'ES AND HALLS. and daughter Ann is now confined to bed with this sore distemper, which has held hard towards her especially, and it came on so soon after she had recovered from her former illness ; she is now in a hopeful way of recovery. My son Isaac's little daughter died in it a few weeks ago ; she was about sixteen months old. * * * " I note what thou says about thy prospect of giving away thy name to Caleb Wilson, and being joined in marriage with him. He is almost an entire stranger to me, I do not know I ever saw him that I remember ; but I hope thou has given it that weight and consideration in thy own mind that the importance of the subject claims from thee. It is a matter of the greatest moment of any- thing we undertake, and when proceeded in and under best wisdom which is profitable to direct and join in one hand and mind, I can tell thee that such a marriage state is the most happy one in this state of time. '' I take thy information and invitation kind, but the distance is such as will not suit me at this time ; but I sincerely wish thee well, not only in thy present, but every undertaking in life, and that thou may witness the Divine arm of everlasting mercy and strength to be with thee, and bear up thy head under every trial and every difficulty that may await thee ; yea, the language of Boaz formerly to his beloved Ruth comes in my mind to salute thee with : ' The Lord recompense thy work, a full reward be given thee from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust ' (or to this import). This is my prayer for EVENING TIME. 95 tliee, my dear niece, for whom I feel much love and affec- tion. My dear love to thy sisters and brother when oppor- tunity offers, and tell them although I am a slow writer they are still under my thoughts and regards. With the salutation of dear love, in which my wife joins me, I re- main, thy affectionate John Hall. " X.B.— Thy cousins Hall have their best love to thee. My dear love to thy intended husband. — J. H." For one short year his wife was restored to him, and then came the terrible shock of her death in the spring of 1!^07. The end came very suddenly, "she was removed by a violent disorder" after twenty-four hours' illness. Her meek and quiet spirit had attached her to a large circle of Friends, and her services as a minister, to which she was called in her twenty-seventh year, were acceptable to the Church to which she belonged. " Slie expressed an unshaken assurance that a place of rest would be her allotment when the pains and conflicts of time should pass away ; " and her last words were words of prayer. Kind letters from relatives came to express their sym- pathy with the bereaved one. His niece Alice Stead, wlio was then employed as governess to the children of Edward Pease at Darhngton, ™tes : — " I think I see thee, my dear uncle, sometimes sitting solitary, reflecting on thy lonely condition now when de- prived of a beloved companion ; but I also view thee as 96 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. one that can obtain consolation from the best source, whence the truest comfort springs." His brotlier-in-law, John Wigham, of Edinburgh, refers to the sad event in the following letter : — ''Edinburgh, 5th mo. 9th, 1807. "Dear Brother, — By thy dear William's letter to my John, I have received information of the sudden removal of my dear sister, which to thee no doubt is a sore trial ; my mind is dipped into an inexpressible sympathy with thee in particular, and all the dear children, who will also feel the loss of so endeared a parent. * * * Though I feel as a brother who dearly loved his sister, and feel much sym- pathy with thee, yet I have been for a long time so sensible how desirable a thing it is to get a safe landing from this sea of trouble and uncertainty, that I cannot mourn for those I most dearly love when I am satisfied that is the case. My wife and I are much in our usual way, going fast down the hill ; my wife feels much for thee. * * * In dear love and much sympathy, in which my Elizabeth unites, to thee and thine, I remain, thy affectionate brother, John Wigham." The loneliness, however, was not to last very long : it was but three years after his wife was taken from his side, and just as summer was beginning to deck the fields and hedgerows with the flowers of June — ^just as the hay on his own land was ripening for the ingathering, and the air was EVENING TIME. 97 filled with the songs of birds and the brightness of the sunshine — John Hall passed away to that better land, that has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it, because "the Lamb is the light thereof." A letter to his nephew, ^vl■itten by his friend John Fletcher, gives some details of his last illness : — " Greysouthen, 10th of 6th mo., 1810. "Beloved Friend, Caleb Wilson, — I am desired by thy relations at Little Broughton (I suppose thy cousins), the children of John Hall, to inform thee of the great and irreparable loss they have sustained by the decease of their truly valuable and worthy parent ; this affecting circum- stance took place on the 2nd inst. Since the commence- ment of the present year he has been in a very poor state of health. He had about that time a violent bleeding at the nose, by which he was considerably weakened. About two months ago he was somewhat better, and took a little exercise on horseback. Dropsical symptoms about this period began to make their appearance, and notwithstand- ing the best medical assistance the malady awfully ad- vanced, and has terminated the existence of a truly honourable and useful member of our Religious Society. Our Monthly and Quarterly Meeting will sensibly feel the loss. The conflict he had to undergo in his descent to the grave was, I believe, a very trying one. His mind was, however, mercifully preserved in much quietude and resig- nation. He felt a consoling evidence that he had not 98 THE FEATHERSTONES AND HALLS. followed cunningly devised fables, but the pure living and substantial light of the Gospel. This, as an arm under- neath, supported in the needful time, and enabled him to triumph over death and the grave. After suffering much bodily affliction, he was favoured with an easy translation from Time to Eternity, and I am fully persuaded that an entrance has been mercifully vouchsafed into the joy of his Lord, and into his Master's rest. " His children were all about him ; they have been ex- ceeding dutiful and attentive to their dear father, for which they will doubtless have their reward. They are all pretty well, and are a very promising family. * * * I am, thy affectionate friend, John Fletcher." And so he passed away, giving expression on his death- bed to many thoughts which showed (as one of his American correspondents expressed it) that he served a good Master, and that he was not forsaken in his passage through the dark valley. At one time of great suffering, he said : — " How small my sufferings are compared with those of our dear Lord when He died upon the cross ; if these afflic- tions are designed for my purification and preparation for a better kingdom, I accept them with thankfulness at Thy hand Lord." And again, he desired those about him to take notice that he died in the Christian faith, and said, ''I die at peace with God and man." He evinced much love and regard for his children and friends, praying that his cliil- EVENING TIME. 99 dreii might be blessed, saying, " In blessing the Lord \vill bless you : oh that my children may be doorkeepers in the Lord's house, and that they may dwell in the tents of Thy kingdom ! " To one of his daughters, he said, "I see a guarding angel," and a friend coming in, he added, " I have seen the angel of the Lord's Presence, who is come to guard my soul to mansions of eternal happiness, and glorious was the appearance." The night before he died, when asked if he could take anything, he answered, '' Nothing at all, I am going to heaven." These were his last words ; the following day, having served his generation according to the will of God, John Hall passed away without sigh or struggle, aged sixty-six years. ''ffll)etl)er xue liue, rac line unto i\}t %oxh, anti xDl)etl)er roe bie, toe Die unto tl)e Xorti ; rDl)etI)er roe line tl)erefore or t)ie, roe are tl)e Xorb'^.'' — |.iom. .xib. S. -Y. I Isabella, I I I William, Alice, William, (died young.) mar. mar. J. Allason. • S. Brantingliam. A.ugusta Orme. I I Thomas, Ann, mar. mar. (1) M. Whinney. J. Satterthwaite. (2) J. Gumersall. GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HALL FAMILY. I John, 1744, mar. Hannah Wigham. Richard Hall, died 1673. Married Jane , who died 1692. II Thomas Hall, born 1647, and other children. John Hall, born 1687, and other children. II Isaac Hall, born 1720. Married Alice Featherstone. Sarah, 1745, mar. Jno. Stead. I Jonathan, 1747, (died young). Hannah, 1748, mar. Jonathan Seiigeant. I Isabella, 1757. I I I I William, Alice, Hannah, Isaac, (died young.) mar. mar. (died young.) J. Allason. J. Pearson. John, Isaac, mar. mar. J. Reeves. A. Richardson. Ill I I I Rachel. Sarah, Jane, William, Thomas, Ann, mar. mar. mar. mar. mar. T.Pearson. J.Watson. (1) S. Brantingham. (1)M. Whmney. J. Satterthwaite. (2) Augusta Orme. (2) J. Gumersall. UCS8 LIBRARY UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 609 934 5