Tenny (Squires) Boyer, cousin of John A. Hogg, Jr., and granddaughter of
William and Minerva Hall.
William Hall, son of Patrick and Isabelle Hall, was born in Donegal County, Ireland, on January 9, 1811. William came to America at age 14, a "bound boy", apprentised to his uncle, John Floyd, a wealthy merchant living in Philadelphia, who owned several ships and warehouses.
In a letter written in the mid-1900s to Mrs. Tenny Boyer, his cousin, John A. Hogg, Jr. related a family story that might explain why William left Ireland so young. According to the letter, "Once I was told that in his teen years, he was very small of stature, and a superstition prevailed among the Irish that such a one of small growth had been bewitched, and that one day an old woman whose wrath had been stirred, shouted such an accusation at William, and that William, his Irish being stirred up, hurled a stone at the woman causing her demise. Due to this he was smuggled onto one of the Floyd’s vessels and thus he came to America. Which story accounted for the reason William never permitted himself to be photographed. Floyd was married and had one daughter, but the story is that one day he took our grandfather over his holdings, and told him that upon his death he was leaving his estate to both the daughter and our grandfather. But upon John Floyd’s death his auntie Floyd knew nothing about any such nonsense. Grandfather was then out on his own and proceeded to learn the carpentry and building trade."
Minerva Thompson, daughter of James and Sarah Thompson, was born on June 23, 1825. In another document, John Hogg tells Minerva's story of how she and William met. According to John, William was traveling by stage through Ohio, and they stopped at a tavern. At the watering trough, he met Minerva, who was fetching water for the tavern. John doesn't say how long they stayed there, perhaps they spent the night. In any case, John fell in love with Minerva and "told her he would be back when the girl [Minerva] reached 18 and he would marry her". (Perhaps this "tavern" was actually the boarding house kept by Minerva's parents.) William did come back, and they were married. They build a log cabin on a hilltop in Iowa, where their children were born:
| Margaret Hall | Born April 9, 1844. |
| John Floyd Hall | Born May 1, 1850. Married Caroline Nichols and they had 5 children: Clarence B. (married Alice Perkons), Roy Earl (married Mary Rosenglat), Ora, John Floyd, Jr. (married Lela Pennington), Arthur William (married Beatrice Ocheltree). Died January 12, 1921. |
| Matilda Hall | Born May 4, 1848. Married Thomas "Mose" Chapman and they had 9 children: Will (married Martha E. Unskey), Aggie (married Will Willoughby), George (married Bessie McKinney), Roy (Married Bessie McKinney), Irene (Married George Nichols), Lola (married Leonard Able), Minnie (married J. Preston Ryan), John Floyd, Jessie Chapman (married Louie Ogden). |
| James Thompson Hall | Born June 17, 1849. Married Mary Wilson and they had 5 children: Will (married Ida Owens), Maude (married Charles Cox), Sam, Harvey, Eddie, and Libbie. |
| William Hall | Born September 8, 1851. Married Lydia Anna Tresham and they had 7 children. |
| Sarah Hall | Born October 20, 1853. Married Frank B. Squiers. (Parents of Tenn (Squiers) Boyer) |
| Samuel Hall | Born June 13, 1856. Had a daughter Minerva (married ??? Tremane) |
| Robert Hall | Born March 22, 1859. Married Emma Boyer and they had 8 children: Edward (married ??? Roebeck), Jennie (married Ed Brush), George (married ??? Fenner), Margaret, Laura (married Harry McKeen), Lola (married Myron Cross), Bertha, and Robert. |
According to stories told by Mary Minerva Hogg, granddaughter of William and Minerva, Minerva also raised an illegitimate daughter of their "vagabond" son Sam. They gave her the name Minerva Hall.
Minerva died on Dec.13, 1906.
Tenny (Squires) Boyer, cousin of John A. Hogg, Jr., and granddaughter of
William and Minerva Hall.