The Halls of Hillsborough - a Brick Wall Unbroken

I began this blog post over a year ago and have only written the first paragraph for the simple reason that I can't figure these people out. I truly love unraveling a genealogical mystery and even engaged a professional genealogist peer to review my work. No luck. He landed in the same place I did with no additional facts brought to the table to answer the question:

Who are the parents of Joel Hall and his wife, Phebe Butterfield, of Hillsboro, New Hampshire?

Both Joel Hall and his wife, Phebe Butterfield, left few traces of their lineage. Residents of Hancock, NH where Joel died in a poor house in 1868, Phebe had predeceased him but no records are found for her death or any other vital events.

Like most New England towns, Hillsboro kept meticulous vital records of the births, deaths, and marriages of its residents. Colonial migratory patterns were typically short, as is the case with the Hall family. When plotted on a map, town boundaries were more flexible than this family's residency, but they still managed to evade having the names of their parents captured in any primary sources.

Here's what we do know:

Joel Hall was born in Brookline, New Hampshire, in a section of town formerly known as Raby in about 1791. Specifically, one record placed his date of birth in January of that year through calculation. He was somewhere between 21 and 23 when he enlisted in the army in 1814 although his age varies on early records. They report him as having blue eyes, light skin, and light hair. He served in the Battle of Plattsburg (War of 1812) in 1815 and in several different regiments prior to discharge. Other Halls from the vicinity of Brookline also served with him. They've been set aside as potential brothers and cousins.

Somewhere around 1820, he married Phebe Butterfield. Her birth location is unknown. Census records, vital records, and other sources all list her birth place in variable locations such as Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

The History of Hancock, NH lists their children as Uriah, Joel, Stephen, Horace, Lucy Ann, Benjamin, and twins Lurinda and Lucinda. However, no vital records have been located for Uriah. Another Uriah Hall has been located in a nearby town, but his parents are distinguishable from Joel and Phebe.

There are four men's names to hold in memory when researching this family: Uriah, Stephen, Benjamin, and William. They recur in patterns and are almost always grouped together as brothers.

Each Hall child with a discernible birth record (either birth itself or a death/marriage record with place of birth listed) was born in Hancock, NH.

Joel died on 31 Oct 1868 in the poor house. His son-in-law, William P Hall (husband of Lucy Ann) was later reimbursed for his boarding. A few other men of Hancock were also reimbursed for his care, including the town doctor. None of them display a discernible relationship.

As for Phebe, she died after 1860 and prior to Joel since he is listed as a widower.

There are several Butterfield families in nearby Amesbury, Massachusetts. There are several Phebes of that town as well. There were few Butterfields living in Hancock during this Phebe's lifetime.

My current hypothesis hovers around Benjamin Hall, son of William Hall and Mercy Fletcher as a potential candidate for Joel's father. In addition to Benjamin, William had sons Uriah and Stephen, leaning toward a naming pattern.

And - that's it. How sad, right? After digging through military records, multiple censuses, driving my ass all the way to New Hampshire to see if there were any gravestones near the few I could locate for this family...nothing. I bought a pretty charcuterie board from a local business. It's about nine feet long and is taking up half of my garage.

Thank you, Greg, for the board. Thank you, Joel and Phebe, for hiding from whatever authorities came to collect info in your day. How both of you evaded having your parents' names recorded is beyond me.