It seems as if the possession of that thing known as "business
ability" fits a man for a successful career in almost any line of work. Henry R.
Hall, the prominent lumberman and banker of Sandoval, Illinois, is generously
endowed with this gift, and he has been in enough businesses for a half dozen
men, winning some degree of success from each attempt, ranging in dignity from
that of a shoemaker to that of a bank president. Perhaps a large measure of his
success came to him through hard work, for he was early left fatherless, with
the support of his mother and sister devolving upon him, and he early learned
the meaning of toil. His early years were one constant struggle, he had little
time for recreation of any sort, for during the time when he might have been
free from work he was not free from worry. He had the problem of the care of two
women, mother and sister, when the funds at his disposal were not much more than
enough for one. In some way though he managed to save a little money, and as
soon as he had this small capital to build on he began to rise. The story of his
life is one of persevering effort and a determination to conquer no matter what
the odds.
Henry R. Hall was born in Monroe county, Georgia, on the 1st
of May, 1842. His parents were of Northern and Southern birth, his father being
Charles Hall and claiming Vermont for his birthplace. His mother was Mary
(Swift) Hall, and she was a native of South Carolina. During the thirties they
were married in Forsyth, Monroe county, Georgia, where they lived until 1851.
From 1851 to 1856 they made their home in Dalton, Georgia, at the end of this
time removing to Tennessee. Here the father died in October, 1856, and the
widow, finding herself alone and among strangers, took her little family back to
Dalton. Charles Hall was a shoemaker by trade, and had never been able to do
more than to keep his family in comfortable circumstances. Although they had
always been poor, affairs were now blacker than ever, but in 1857 they came to
Marion county, Illinois, and here young Henry secured work and life began to
take on a brighter hue. Henry Hall's paternal grandfather was a native of
Vermont, and had come west in 1818, settling in Portage county, Ohio. Here he
became a farmer, and continued in that occupation until his death. The maternal
grandfather of Henry Hall was likewise a farmer. He was born in South Carolina
and moved to Columbus, Georgia, where he settled on a farm near the now city.
Here he spent the remainder of his life.
With such an ancestry it is not
surprising that young Henry, thrown upon his own resources, should turn
instinctively to farming. His education had been obtained in the common schools
of Georgia and Tennessee, arid since he was only fourteen years old when his
father died he had not had the opportunity to learn a trade, so he turned to
farming. He worked on a farm for five years, and then he learned the shoemaker's
trade. He worked at this for two years, after serving three years as an
apprentice, and with the aid of his mother and sister succeeded in scraping
together enough to enter the business field in a modest way. At Kinmundy,
Illinois, where he then lived, he engaged in the grocery business, gradually
working up a good patronage. As his business grew his popularity and good
reputation kept pace with it, and in 1872 the people showed their confidence in
him by electing him sheriff of Marion county. He served in this capacity for two
terms, and then served two terms as circuit clerk. He lived at this time in the
county seat, Salem, and he remained here until 1886, when he came to Sandoval to
manage a coal mine near-by. While living in Salem he had been elected mayor of
the town, and was one of its most prominent citizens.
He was connected
with the coal mining business in Sandoval until 1897, and then he sold out and
went into the lumber business. This business has become one of the largest
enterprises in Marion county, and it is all due to the force of character and
good business methods of the owner. Since entering this field he has branched
out into other parts of the county. He now has a lumber yard at Vernon and one
at Junction City. All of these various branches are under one firm name, H. R.
Hall and Company. Recognition of his abilities as a financier and as a man with
a good head for the management of large enterprises came to him with his
election to the presidency of the First National Bank of Sandoval. He also holds
the same relation to the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Vernon, Illinois. In the
political world he has always been active, giving his allegiance to the
Democratic party. Although interested in national politics, he believes in
keeping one's own "back yard clean," consequently gives all the time that he has
to spare for politics in endeavoring to better local conditions. He has been
mayor of Sandoval, and during his term of office much was done towards improving
civic conditions.
Mr. Hall was married on the 2nd of October, 1865, to
Eliza J. Wolfe, a daughter of Joshua and Martha Wolfe. The latter was born in
Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Hall was born in Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have five
children, all of whom are married. Carrie married Charles D. Merritt; Nellie is
the wife of D. E. Tracy; May married Adis Bryan, a cousin of W. J. Bryan; Martha
became the wife of Robert Bellemy; and Charles W. Hall married Elizabeth
Edwards, of Sandoval. Charles W. Hall was educated in Eureka College, where he
spent three years, later attending Bryant and Stratton's Business College in St.
Louis, Missouri. He is now in business with his father, and promises to grow
into a man of as fine a character and as good business sense as his father. He
is the father of two girls and one boy, Henry R. Hall, Jr.
Extracted 07 Nov 2017 by Norma Hass from History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, published in 1912, volume 3, pages 1319-1320.