My Old Ohio Home

Included in the Gratton family files collected by Wilfred Harrison (1905 - 1992), of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, a descendant of James Gratton, was the following letter from Henry Hall to William Hall regarding the death of their brother Tom Hall in Warminster, Wiltshire. Following the letter is a transcription and some notes regarding the people mentioned.

Transcription

Market Place
Warminster
Oct 24th, 1873

Dear Brother,

I write to inform you that the interment of Bro Tom will take place at the Parish Church Warminster on Wednesday next. It was his wish to be buried there. Should you think of coming to the funeral, you could come either Monday or Tuesday next as most convenient. If you come, book through to Bath then change stations to the Great Western line. The railway fare is 15/2'/2 to Warminster. As regards the settlement of Tom's affairs, I will inform thee when I get home should thou not be disposed to come. From thy affectionate bro, Henry

The Halls

Henry, William, and Tom Hall were all born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the sons of Henry Hall, a joiner and cabinet maker, and Anne White.

• Henry was born in 1832, married Mary Ann Wilkinson in Chesterfield in the last quarter of 1862, and died in the second quarter of 1890 in Warminster, Wiltshire.
• William was born in 1840, married Emily Gratton September 26, 1861, at St Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Sheffield, Yorkshire, and died in the fourth quarter of 1908 in Chesterfield. Findagrave says he died 18 Nov 1908.
• Tom, the youngest child, was born in 1847, never married, and died October 23, 1873, in Warminster.

Tom Hall's death, burial, and estate

I was curious how Tom died at the age of 26, so I requested the image of Tom Hall's death record from the GRO and it says the following:

23 October 1873 Warminster Tom Hall 26, ironmonger's assistant, cause of death: [top of word cut off], duration 8 months, and phthisis pulmonalis, duration 4 months, medically certified. informant: Jno Hall of Market Place, Warminster, present at death.

Phthisis pulmonalis is another name for tuberculosis, and the best guess on rootschat for the secondary cause of Tom's death was enteritis. Tom was buried October 29, 1873, at the parish church of St Denys with St Lawrence, Warminster. Henry's letter said it was a Wednesday, and so it was:

Ancestry had information for Tom Hall's estate from the National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) for England & Wales. It included the information that the sole executor was "John Hall of Warminster, Ironmonger, the Brother." A search found this newspaper legal notice mentioning John:

Warminster Herald, May 23, 1874
notice re: estate of Tom Hall

John Hall

John Hall was the oldest child of Henry and Anne (White) Hall. He was baptized July 1, 1830, in the parish church in Chesterfield and was in Warminster by 1861 when he is listed as an iron merchant on the 1861 Census. He married Sarah Whittock Harris on April 11, 1864, in the parish church of Warminster, and died May 26, 1909. His information in the National Probate Calendar said he had been a wholesale ironmonger.

Concluding thoughts

1. Notice that the letter is edged in black, indicating that it announces a death.

2. Without the letter, I think I would have made the same mistake a number of people on ancestry.com have made regarding Henry Hall, namely thinking that he died in 1894 in Derbyshire. The letter implies that he was writing from Warminster, so I looked for his records there. There is a death of a Mary Anne Hall, age 38, in Wesbury, Wiltshire, in the third quarter of 1877, that could be his wife. Also, he is on the 1881 Census of Warminster, working as an accountant for an iron monger, most likely his brother John. Finally, as mentioned, he died in Warminster in 1890, and is buried at the parish church.

For a few more details on the Hall family, see the Pennsylvania Families tree on this website.