The Hales Newsletter

Motto: United Force is Stronger

NEW SERIES Spring 2000 Vol. 5. No. 1.

Membership

The Hales Chronicles on the internet

News and Views

email Correspondence

In Memoriam

Johnnie Franklin Hales

Keith Lockwood Hales

Marguerite Ruff Hales

Dewey Hales

William Hales of North Bradley, Wiltshire

Kent, England Parish Registers

Parish Register Extracts

This is on-line version of The HALES Newsletter. The HALES Newsletter is the Journal of the HALES Family. It is a quarterly publication of the HALES Family History Society and variant spellings, including HALES, HAILS, HAILES, HAYLS, and HAYLES. The information includes current events, historical sketches and genealogical information pertaining to the Hales family. The pictures can be viewed by clicking on words that are highlighted. It is published by Kenneth Glyn Hales, secretary of The Hales Genealogical Society from 1970 through 1981 and The Hales Family History Society since 1995.

The intent of the HALES Family History Society is to document all HALES, HAILS, HAILES, HAYLS, and HAYLES families wherever they are found in all parts of the world. This documentation is found in the multi-volume The Hales Chronicles. This information is provided as a service to the Hales Family.

The Hales Chronicles contains the genealogical information published by the Hales Family History Society. This database can be found on the Hales web-page at www.hales.org and can be found in book form at The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah; The Library of Congress at Washington, D.C.; The Library of The Society of Genealogists at London, England; and the Centre for Kentish Studies at Maidstone, Kent, England. The Hales Chronicles is also found on-line. Look here to verify your family information and to search for your ancestors.

The Hales Newsletter is provided to the above cited repositories and the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Allen County Public Library indexes our publication and provides articles through their Periodical Source Index (PERSI).

Printed copies of The Hales Newsletter are provided to members of The Hales Family History Society. If you desire to be come a member, refer to the membership section on our home-page. If you would like a printed copy of individual Hales Newsletters, reprints are available at a cost of $3.75 each.

This Hales Newsletter begins volume 5. With each previous volume having 4 issues, sixteen New Series Newsletters have been published. Enough information exists for several more years. The next issue is planned for the first quarter of the year 2000. Subscribers will receive four issues for their membership dues.

If you have not had a chance to look at the Hales Chronicles on the internet, please take the opportunity to look at your families and see if they need to be updated. If you do not have a computer, most public libraries can access the records – they will also help you to accomplish it. I update these records with additions and corrections weekly. Since the First Edition of The Hales Chronicles in 1995 there have been many additions, corrections, and other changes. I would appreciate any additional information or changes you can send me – they would benefit from your attention. You can access them at: http://www.hales.org/ or have the librarian do a search on: The Hales Family History Society. I plan to publish this on-line version of the Hales Chronicles near the end of the year and call it the Second Edition. I need your updated information.

Humor from the Estill County, Kentucky Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter. A Lewis County mother to her son.

Dear Son,

I’m writing this slow cause I know you can’t read fast. We don’t live where we did when you left. Your dad read in the paper where the most accidents happen within twenty miles of home, so we moved. I won’t be able to send you the address as the last Kentuckian family that lived here took the numbers with them for their new house, so they wouldn’t have to change their address.

This place has a washing machine. The first day I put four shirts in, I pulled the chain, and haven’t seen ‘em since. It only rained twice this week. Three days the first time and four days the second time. The coat you wanted me to send you, your aunt Sue said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with them heavy buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

We got a bill from the funeral home and they said if we didn’t make the last payment on grandma’s funeral bill, up she comes.

About your father – he has a lovely new job. He has over five hundred men under him. He is cutting the grass at the cemetery.

About your sister – she had a baby this morning. I haven’t found out yet if it’s a boy or a girl – so I don’t know if you are an aunt or an uncle.

Your uncle John fell in a whiskey vat. Some men tried to pull him out, but he fought them off playfully so he drowned. We cremated him and he burned for three days. Three of your friends went off of the bridge in a pickup. One was driving. The other two were in the back. The driver got out. He rolled down the window and swam to safety. The other two drowned. They couldn’t get the tailgate down.

Well, not much more news this time. Nothing much has really happened.

Mom

Thank to the internet and the exposure it gives to many doing Hales research around the world, The Hales Chronicles have been able to assist many in finding their ancestral lines. In addition, information sent to me has helped to update some of our records and add information to our Hales Chronicles. A sample of the internet communications since the last Newsletter follows:

While in Kentucky I was able to access some information that I did not see in your material. I am sending it to you in case you want to add it. In the Locust Grove Cemetery, Keavy, Laurel County, I gathered the following information from the tombstones: ( The ones underlined are children of Wesley Marion Grant Hales)(Note: These have been added to the Hales Chronicles).

Subject: MARY HAILS married HUMPHREY PEERS - Further Information. My name is Joy Light and I live in Australia. Saw a posting about the HAILS family in MISSING LINKS. I have done a fair bit of Research on the Mary HAILS who married Humphrey PEERS in Bedford in 1848. They came to Australia in about 1851. They eventually had 12 children, 8 of them living to adulthood. If you like I can send you the details I have but if possible can I send it as an attachment as a GEDCOM file. The reason being is the cost of postage here from Australia for all those Family Data Sheets.

Thank you so much for all the work you have put into the "HALES" family tree. I don't know if you remember me or not, but I met you at your place of business when I was on an assignment in Tucson. I will try to get more info on my brothers family and send it to you. As for myself, I am Mark Douglas Hales the son of Richard Money Hales. My wife is Lorena Christiansen Hales, we have no children.

I have been trying to find what happened to the family after my James Hails died in 1856. I have found his widow - remarried in 1867 and died in 1897. After her death her new husband remarried and then died in 1915. Their headstone reads:

Handy, Benjamin 1829 – 1915 his wife Bell, 21 Nov 1855 - Mar 1932. I really don't know what religon these people were. I suspected that James Hails may have been buried by a Methodist Circuit minister but the United Church archives says that they did not cover that area during that time period. So I'm stuck again.

About two years ago I wrote asking you about Amanda Myrtetus who was married to Robert H. Hales and in your information on Hales you wrote that they had three sons: Howard Hales born Oct. 1877; Robert H. Hales born March 1880; and Eugene Hales born April 1882. I'm writing now to find out if you have any more information on the three sons and if they ever married and had children.

Refer to my letter of 26th November 1996, you may like to include in your records a second son born to John Simon George Hales and his wife, my daughter Sarah, on 11th February 1999, details as follows: Hector Guy deRougemont Hales, born 11th February1999 at Kent & Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, Kent; he was christened 6th June 1999 at All Saints Church, Petham, Kent.

Hi. I would like to compliment you on The HALES Chronicles. I have found it very helpful in researching my ancestors. Do you keep a record of where which statistics came from where? What I am wondering is how would I obtain birth & marriage certificates for my Hales? They are from Navenby, Lincolnshire. My Great-Great-Grandfather was Clarke Hales; christened 2 DEC 1817 at Navenby, Lincolnshire, England the son of Clark or Clarke HALES and Martha ...

I noticed your name on an article on Rootsweb and wondered if perhaps you would know anything on my Elizabeth Hales. She was married to Laban Holland who was born about 1725. They lived in Georgia and I don't know if they were born there or only lived there for a while. I would greatly appreciate it if you have any information you would be willing to share with me.

My name is Janet Tully we have spoke in the past. I submitted information a John Hales born 1826-7 England married Isabella Graham born 1826-7 Ireland. I have recently found a death notice for John Hales as being Apr.23.1894 This information was found in an old family bible along with Isabella Graham's death as May.21.1883, the info I submitted earlier was one I had taken on good faith – not always the best way. I have to trust the Old family Bible, especially when it lists a lot more of my family which makes the connection for me.

I have just received your latest Hales Newsletter and it reminds me to send you some corrections and "updated information" for the Chronicles. I hope my format isn't to difficult – I've tried to make them such that you can highlight and copy them directly to your originals. Others may follow as time permits (this winter?). Thanks and keep up the good work, Ken.

Have just visited your web site looking for information on Esther Longhurst Hales who married Samuel Frederick Mathew Bonner in Brighton, England on 12th February 1872. Samuel was a locomotive fireman & Esther a laundress, both resident at 31 St Martins Place, Brighton, England at time of marriage. Unfortunately nothing found on your web page but thought you may be interested in this additional Hales or possibly have information?

I have searched your pages for my Hales family and it does not appear to be present. I would like to add it, as some of my relatives have researched the family back to Quakers in the north of England, but would like to go further.

I appreciate The Hales Newsletter and the many hours you have spent in behalf of the Hales family. Are you currently accepting new memberships? I had understood from the summer edition that you were not and so we did not send money for renewal of my subscription. I have since heard that you are continuing to publish the newsletter. (Note: The Newsletter will continue to be published as long as there is sufficient information to publish).

We had a wonderful Henry William Hales family reunion this past summer in Deseret, Utah. It all got started when you reprinted the article about Matilda Hales. Distant relatives contacted me and we were able to get the reunion together. We had a great time and have another one planned for 2001. I'm sending you a copy of the obituary for Keith Lockwood Hales who recently died here in Salt Lake City. Keep up the good work.

Hi! My name is Michael Hales and I was just looking at your web site and can’t find any info on anyone in my branch of the tree. My details: John Michael Hales II; born 7 December 1979 at Greenville, Mississippi the son of Johnny Michael Hales and Deborah Reynolds. My grandparents were James E. and Frances Hales. My family originally came from around Mississippi but most of us live in Arkansas now.

We noticed your entry when searching the web. My surname is Hales and my father was born in Blymhill in 1879, his father John Hales and mother Jane Hales had seven children we think one being my father and we think another called Edith Jane Hales. John Hales was the headmaster of Blymhill school. I am trying to find out more about my family who were quite prolific in this area. Should my information be of interest to you or you can help me fill in some gaps please contact me.

Please make the following additions to the Hales Chronicles, my great-grandfather, great grandmother, and their children; Duncan Hales, origin unknown, 1814-1889; Mary Autry Hales, Sampson County N.C., 1835-1917; children: Louisa 1856; Mary Elizabeth 1858-1899; Raiford A. 1860-1930 (my grandfather); Ada Celestial 1864; Augustus Evan 1865-1944; Sarah 1868-1932. Mother and all children were born in Sampson County, North Carolina.

I haven't met you yet. My name is Kerry Petersen. I live in Palmer, Alaska. I am active in the LDS church and temple work. As a side note we provided and installed glasswork and floors at both the Seattle and Anchorage temples. We currently are attempting to do the same at the Nauvoo Temple. My Hales line backwards is myself, Jack Petersen/Irene DeLanskoy, Frank Petersen/Irene Hales, Charles Henry Hales/Sarah Stoker, Charles Henry Hales/Jemima Adair, Charles Henry Hales/Julia Ann Lockwood, and so forth. I am very active in research but for the last thirty years or so I've not concentrated on "Hales" due to the fine work you and others have done. I am now ready to add my efforts to yours and others if you will so permit.

I am going to marry a Hales in November this year, and am curious as to what my new name will mean. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

The back issues of the newsletters arrived today – its 10 above and snowing – your timing couldn't have been better. Re James Hails and Susan Nicol file update: Susannah Nicol was born in August 1819 in Lanarkshire Scotland. James and Susan got married on January 10, 1840, in York Township Ontario, as recorded by a Baptist minister James Mitchell. This from the "District Marriage Register" Home District. MS 248 Reel 2.

My name is Chris Hayles and I live in Eastleigh Hampshire England. On searching for my family roots I was directed to your site, where I found quite a few references to my grandfather and his brothers and sisters. My family details follow.

Came across your page and noticed you don't have very much info on Dewey Hales - but you do have him listed. He married into one of my affiliated families, and I happen to have his obituary. Hopefully someone will find it useful!

I am interested what part of Kent the Hales were from. I am going there in the spring and would like to know if you know what church they might have attended or where I could find any records there. My immigrant ancestor was Robert Hale, who was born in Kent 1609 and emigrated to Boston MA in 1632. His father was Richard Hales/Hale and I know the family had lived in Kent for many years, but I don't know where.

Can't tell you how very pleasantly surprised I was, while doing a search on Stephen Hales, to come up with 'Hales.org' as one of the results. Needless to say, I headed straight there and began to read, read, read. I have only recently begun the hunt for my roots (seriously, anyway), but am determined to discover them, and I'm having a great deal of fun in the process.

Subject: Please join the Hales Family Community intranet. David Hales and I invite you to join us at this new HALES FAMILY COMMUNITY, in which we focus upon communication between HALES family members, list a LINKED PEDIGREE, and are working toward more accurate temple ordinance data. An intranet is like a private website – only people who join can see what's there. We can use the site to share files, pictures, and links, coordinate events, and keep everyone up-to-date on important group announcements. You don't need anything special to connect to the site; just a web browser and an Internet connection. But you do need to sign up to become a member. Please contact me to find out how to join.

I have information (birth and death dates from family bible) about African American, Peter Hales, that you have listed in web page. I am willing to submit the information, but would also like to know where you got the info you listed, for I am desperate in my family research. Any sources that you had may aid me in my research. Please get in touch with me, and I will prepare to send you more information about the descendants of Peter Hales. I'm also considering joining your association.

I hope you don't mind these periodic small updates. This time I have found a female who I hope will turn out to be my James Hails's sister. She was married about a year after him by the same minister in the same area: Christiana Hails married Benjamin Heylor on February 7, 1841. By Banns. The film is rather faint but the marriage was performed by James Mitchell a minister of the Baptist church. Address is given as the Township of York, Ontario Canada. Witnesses are Moses Deadman and Elizabeth Heylor.

Returning to Georgia after the war, he married Bobbie Jean Fuller at Atlanta. She predeceased him. From this marriage he is the father of two surviving children: Lewis Kim Hales of Milner, Georgia and Jan Alice Hales (Scott) Pierce. Johnny later married Faye Townsend who survives him. He is also survived by a step-daughter, Lisa Cash; four sisters: Eunice, Hattie May, Nanny Sue, and Florence. Three brothers predeceased him: Joseph, Cammie, and Walter Sam.

Johnny bought and sold real estate and was very successful. He also owned the Euclid Watch Repair, a jewelry and watch repair business for over 40 years. He was regarded by those in his profession as one of the best master watch makers in Georgia. He treated all of his customers honestly, fairly, with respect, and even though he firmly believed that the customer was not always right, had the social skills of a diplomat. He enjoyed interacting with people from a variety of economic, cultural, and social backgrounds.

His interests were animal documentaries, the Hales family genealogy, going to church, restoring old cars, and being outdoors.

His son, Lewis Kim, clearly remembers that as a young boy at dad’s store that on occasion a homeless person would come in and ask for money to buy food. His father would send him to a restaurant across the street where he arranged for him to be given a meal. He also once bought a jacket for a man who didn’t have a winter coat, and clothing for some children of tenants who were having a difficult time financially.

Johnny was raised a Baptist and was a member of the Luxomni Baptist Church, located at Lilburn, Georgia.

He retired from his business on December 30, 1998 due to failing health, and after several years of fighting prostate cancer and its complications, he died peacefully. He was buried at the Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, next to his brothers Cammie and Walter Sam Hales.

Our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, Keith Lockwood Hales, passed away peacefully November 23, 1999, in Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by his family.

Keith was born July 30, 1933 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Wilford Lockwood Hales, Jr. and Doris Claire Jackson Hales. He married Jerrie Lorena Jensen on May 1, 1959, in the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Jerrie preceded him in death on July 14, 1996. Keith married Ruth Ladene Cook on July 26, 1997, in the Jordan River LDS Temple.

Keith graduated from Granite High School in 1951. He later graduated from Utah Technical College in Salt Lake City with a Technical Degree in Electricity. He owned and operated the Keith L. Hales Electric and was a Master Electrician. He was an active member of the LDS Church serving in many positions. He currently served with his wife Ruth in a Salt Lake inner city service mission. He loved to play the organ and to watch Perry Mason. We love you and will miss you.

Survivors include his wife Ruth of Salt Lake city, one son and three daughters, Brady K. (Tina) Hales, Rena (Jan) Porter, Jeannie (Marcelo) DelRio, Darcy (Kevin) Nash; seven grandchildren; brothers and sisters, James (Evelyn) Hales, Inez (Richard) Tanner, Aleen (Jay) Rockwood, Helen Taysom, Dale (Maureen) Hales; father-in-law, Lester A. Taylor; mother-in-law, Maurine S. Cook. Preceded in death by parents and son-in-law, Barry J. Shouten.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, November 30, 1999 at the Valley View Ward Chapel, 3900 South 2000 East and interment was in the Larkin sunset Gardens.

Marguerite Ruff Hales, 88, passed away November 17, 1999 at the Art City Care and Rehabilitation Center in Springville, Utah. Marguerite was born December 13, 1910 at Scofield, Carbon, Utah the daughter of William Edward and Margaret Ann Morgan Ruff . She grew up in the Spring Canyon and Price areas of Carbon County and had many wonderful memories of her youth and teenage years.

She married Ferron Hales on April 5, 1934. Their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple January 19, 1935. They lived in the Salt Lake City area before moving to Springville in 1945.

Marguerite faithfully served in many callings in the LDS Church. She served as Relief Society President in the Springville 4^th Ward from 1959 - 1963. She served as a counselor in the Stake Relief Society and also served in the Primary and MIA. She was a visiting teacher for more than 60 years. She served as a temple worker for 14 years in the Provo Temple.

Marguerite worked in the Beehive Clothing store in Springville and Provo for many years. She had a strong testimony of the gospel and enjoyed serving her Father in Heaven throughout her life. She also enjoyed doing genealogy, quilting, crocheting, and is remembered for her excellent baking skills.

She is survived by four sons: Blaine (Annette) of Marietta, Georgia; Lynn (Shari) of Las Vegas, Nevada; Marvin (Robin) of Henderson, Nevada; and Roger (Jolene) of Springville, Utah; 13 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one sister, Elva (Glenn) Tipton of Springville, Utah. Also many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband on December 12, 1958; two brothers; three sisters and her parents.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, November 20, 1999 at the Spring Creek South 4^th Ward Chapel. Bishop Michael Nance conducted and Interment was in the Springville Evergreen Cemetery.

Dewey Hales - age 71, died June 11, 1970 in the Rose Lane Christian Home following an extended illness. He was born at New Somerset, Ohio, and has been a resident of Canton since 1924.

Dewey was a former employee of the United Engineering & Foundry Company retiring in 1965. He was a member of the First Christian Church.

He is survived by his wife Ada Hackathorn Hales; and a daughter, Mrs. Clarence L. (Audrey) Guest of Canton.

Burial was in Sunset Hills Burial Park in Canton, Ohio.

A family history is more than mere dates or a biography of a person. It includes the environment in which a person lived, a sense of the time and the place, a part of the history of the time. What was going on in the country and the world shaped where one lived and what one did, just as we are shaped by our time and place in history.

We have collected some information about the time that our immigrant ancestor, William Hales, lived, which may be helpful in understanding his life.

William Hales life spanned most of the 19^th Century as he was born in 1804 and died in 1892. Benjamin Disraeli was born in that same year. Other people who lived at approximately the same time were: Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865), Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864), Robert E. Lee (1807 – 1870), John Greenleaf Whittier (1809 – 1892), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882), Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 – 1894), and Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862). Others include: Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886), Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886), Herman Melville (1819 – 1891), Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870), Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901), Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892), and Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 – 1896).

Some of the events that occurred during William Hales early years included the Napoleonic wars; the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the Lewis and Clark exploration of the northwest territory from 1804 – 1806; and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The War of 1812, which lasted two years, established shipbuilding along Lake Erie. The Erie Canal opened in 1825. After the War of 1812, thousands began to move west to acquire land on which to settle. Many immigrants came from Great Britain and Germany.

Other events or inventions occurred during William Hales life. The Alamo was besieged in 1836. Telegraph lines were established in 1844. Emigrant wagon trains to California began after gold was discovered there in 1848. The Homestead Act of 1862 granted free farmland to settlers.

Conditions in England and the promise of a better life in the new world reached Wiltshire, where William Hales was born and spent his early years. It wasn’t until seven years after he immigrated to the United States in 1825, that the 1832 Reform Bill was passed in England – its government had finally responded to demands for better social conditions.

The Reform Bill gave middle-class men the right to vote, and reduced the control of Parliament by the great land-holders. Laws forbidding trade unions were abolished. Factories were forbidden to employ children under nine, and those under 18 were limited to a 12-hour workday.

Wiltshire is also the county of Stonehenge, Avebury Ring and the Salisbury Plain, and is rich in prehistoric remains which perhaps our ancestors visited or explored. In addition there are archaeological sites of old Roman villas, historic buildings and picturesque villages such as Castle Combe and Lacock.

There are twelve "white horses" or hill figures found in Wiltshire where a figure is cut out of grass on a steep green hillside, and the excavated design of chalk white can be clearly seen from far away. The Westbury Horse is best known. Local tradition maintains that it was cut as a memorial to one of King Alfred’s victories over the Danes in 878 A.D.

It seems likely that William Hales’ parents and grandparents saw this same figure. Originally it was cut in connection with a festival of Westbury, where William’s father was baptized and lived in the late 1700s. Westbury is only about two miles from North Bradley, the birthplace of William Hales. Today the Westbury Horse is 182 feet long and 108 feet high. These hill figures may have been way markers or simply decorative.

The North Bradley Parish Register has the record of William’s christening on October 21, 1804 when he was aged nine months. His parents were Elizabeth and John Hales. Apparently the parents waited to christen their two older daughters with their first son as they had three children christened on that same date. Their daughters were Ann, aged four years and nine months; and Ruth, aged two years and nine months.

Another listing for five additional children was found on July 16, 1826. The five children, ages not listed, were Mary, John, Joseph, Simeon and Sarah Hales. On this record the father’s occupation was listed as shoemaker and their abode was North Bradley.

The marriage record for William Hales’ parents show: Elizabeth Roberts, of this parish and John Hales of the parish of Westbury were married September 30, 1798 in the North Bradley church by banns. John Hales signed the record, but Elizabeth’s "mark" was made. The marriage was witnessed by James Roberts and John Lusk.

In the parish registers of Westbury we find that John Hales was christened October 27, 1779 the son of Edward and Elizabeth Hales.

The North Bradley land map of 1841 shows that John and Joseph Hales occupied a house and garden on Church Lane, identified as parcel #977. The 1880 map did not show any dwelling on the property. The 1851 census indicates that John was still living on Church Lane and was 75 years old. He was widowed, the head of the household, born in Westbury, Wiltshire, and his occupation was cordwainer (shoemaker). He was living with his son, Joseph Hales, and Joseph’s eight year old daughter, Leah Hales. We could not find a record of John Hales’ death, although it must have been before 1861 as he was not listed in that census.

The Family grouping constructed from this story and included in the Hales Chronicles for this John Hales is as follows:

Christened 27 OCT 1779 at Westbury, Wiltshire, England the son of Edward HALES and Elizabeth ... Married 30 SEP 1798 Elizabeth ROBERTS at North Bradley, Wiltshire, England. She was born about 1782 of North Bradley, Wiltshire, England. John HALES died between 1851 and 1861.

John’s son, William, emigrated to the United States when he was 21 years old in about 1825.

The following obituary, entitled "Pioneer Gone," was printed on the front page of the Lorain County Reporter, published in Elyria, Ohio, on Saturday, May 14, 1892.

"The following sketch of the life of William Hales, who died May 5, 1892, aged 88 years, may be of interest to those who knew him during his residence of more than sixty years in this county. He was born January 11, 1804, in North Bradley, County of Wiltshire, England.

"At the age of 13 years, he was apprenticed to a weaver, and after serving his time, continued to work for his employer until he could save enough money to bring him to America. He emigrated, landing in New York in 1825.

"After a short residence in Philadelphia, he went to Northern New York and settled. Finding that section too cold and the snow too deep, he started for a western location. This start was made with a horse and farmer-made sled. Traveling to Eastern Ohio, he was obliged to leave the sled and proceed on horseback.

"Arriving in Cleveland (then a small port of a few straggling log houses, with no bridge across the Cayahoga River and no means of crossing it other than a rude flatboat). Land on Euclid Avenue was offered him at $4.00 per acre. At that time it was considered too light soil for farming purposes and this was the only value land had there in the eyes of settlers.

"He arrived in what is now Lorain County, Ohio in 1831 and settled in Henrietta. This township was then an unbroken forest of heavy timber, the Indians being the principal inhabitants, although a few white settlers had come in. He built himself a small log cabin and worked at clearing his land and farming. Through his industry and ability, his holdings of land increased until he became the owner, at one time, of about six hundred acres of land.

"On June 10, 1835 he was married to Laura Blackman, daughter of Ansel and Sarah Blackman. He was the father of eleven children, six girls and five boys, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. ... His wife died in 1862, and for his second wife he married Mary A. Bemis, widow of the Reverend Varanes Bemis.

"He was a resident of Lorain County for more than sixty years, spending forty years of this time on various farms in Henrietta Township. In 1878 he removed to North Amherst, where he resided until the time of his death. In early manhood he became a Christian, uniting with the Baptist Church at Henrietta, being one of the pioneer members of that church, and during his whole life presenting a bright example of a true Christian life, having that faith in God and implicit trust in Jesus which no vicissitudes of life ever managed to disturb. He never permitted any other duties to interfere with family worship in his home or any Christian obligations, and during his last illness he calmly awaited the end, knowing it to be but the entrance to the mansion of the blessed."

William married Laura Blackman in Henrietta, Lorain, Ohio on June 10, 1835 when he was 31 years old and she was only 17. Laura was born February 2, 1818 in Ohio to Ansel Blackman and Sarah Higgins Blackman. When she died at the age of 44 on June 16, 1862, Laura and William had been married 27 years.

William and Laura Hales had eleven children. All grew to adulthood except Leah and Sarah who died before their father.

Six months after the death of his wife, William Hales married Mary Bemis on December 4, 1862. She was the widow of the Reverend Varanes Bemis and was the mother of four sons. This must have been a practical and sensible act for William with his young children. According to the 1870 census records, Mary was 10 years younger than William, and was born in Massachusetts. Her sons were not listed in the household so they must have been adults and living elsewhere. We don’t know Mary’s maiden name. Also listed in the 1870 census records for the household was Aetna Shepherd, a female born in Massachusetts, who may have been a relative of Mary’s. William and Mary Hales had been married thirty years when William died in 1892.

The Family grouping constructed from this story and included in the Hales Chronicles for William Hales is as follows:

Born 11 JAN 1804 and christened 21 OCT 1804 at North Bradley, Wiltshire, England the son of John HALES and Elizabeth ROBERTS. Married (1) 10 JUN 1835 Laura BLACKMAN in Henrietta Township, Lorain, Ohio. She was born 2 FEB 1818 in Ohio the daughter of Ansel BLACKMAN and Sarah HIGGINS. She died 16 JUN 1862, aged 44 years.

William HALES married (2) 4 DEC 1862 Mary BEMIS the widow of Reverend Varanes BEMIS. She was born about 1814 in Massachusetts. William HALES died 5 MAY 1892 of North Amherst, Ohio and was buried in the old cemetery on Sanders Hill, Henrietta Township, Ohio.

A brief biographical sketch of William Hales was written in the History of Lorain County, Ohio, published in 1879.

"William Hales moved into the township at about this time [1831], and located on the farm now owned by Adam Hensner, [actually Heusner] on lot eighty-eight. He subsequently changed his location to the hill, purchasing the farm now owned by his son Ansel. He resided here until 1872, when he removed to North Amherst, where he now lives in his seventy-sixth year. He is the father of eleven children, all of whom are living, four in this township, three in Amherst, and one in Brownhelm."

William died May 5, 1892 of "old age" when he was "89 years old," according to the Lorain County Death Records, 1890-1908, which also show that he was born in England, had been a farmer, resided in North Amherst, and was married. The death was reported by Richard Kelch.

Carl Hales said that his grandfather, William Hales, "raised vegetables, fruits and tomatoes for a cannery located on his farm, or to take into Cleveland."

William and Laura Hales are buried in the old cemetery on Sanders Hill, Henrietta, Ohio, which is located behind a hedge on the north side of Highway 113 between Baumhart and Gifford Roads. There is a large rectangular family plot with five small white headstones in a row. A large pink granite monument in the southwest corner of the plot has "Hales" chiseled on one side and "Bemis" is on the other side. The inscription reads: "William Hales 1804-1892; Laura Blackman, wife of William Hales, died Jun 16, 1862, aged 44 years." The opposite side of the monument lists: "Leah Hales, wife of George A. Bemis, who died January 31, 1884, aged 28 years."

The five headstones from left to right read: "Leah, John Chandler, Mother, Sarah, Charley." Leah Hales Bemis and Sarah are children of Laura and William. Charley may have been the infant Charles, son of George Elon Hales and Dasalina Rosa Hales who was born and died in 1880. We do not know who John Chandler was, but he is listed as a member of the household in the 1850 census records. He was born in England, had no occupation and was 75 years old at that time. Since Mary Bemis Hales survived her second husband, she is probably buried elsewhere with her first husband and father of her four sons.

The earliest date on a gravestone in the Sanders Hill Cemetery is 1817 and the last is about 1912. The soil conditions were such that no more burials could be made. In March, 1853, Moses and Laura Fuller received $26.50 from the trustees of the East Cemetery Association for 0.55 acres of land in lot #90. The trustees were William Hales, Monroe Kniffen, Henry Dunham, Nathan Bristol and Philemon Shepard.

Charles Rosa of Mentor, Ohio, obtained a one page listing of information on the Hales family from the archivist of Oberlin College, Ohio. It stated that William Hales "owned a farm at Henrietta, Ohio, the colonial house being originally a stagecoach inn. When he retired at 65, he bought a small place on the outskirts of North Amherst." His wife was a "daughter of Ansel Blackman, a pioneer who bought a large tract of land from the Connecticut Land company; his farm was bought in 1866 by John Heusner."

This list is my master control list and contains all parish churches that I am aware of in Kent County or Kent Shire, England. It includes the dates that I have searched for Hales names and extracted them for our Hales Chronicles.

It takes from 3 to 5 hours to go through one of these Parish Registers – the problem being deciphering the ancient scripts. The number of parishes are numerous and I am only one person.

The progress may seem slow, but I cover as much as time allows.

If you are also extracting Hales names from parish registers, or other sources, please send me a copy of your findings.

Keys to the master control chart:

1. Parish – the parish churches by name in Kent, England.
2. Available – the dates of known extant Parish Registers, Bishops Transcripts or Archdeacons Transcripts. Some are in the Kent Record Office, some are at the Society of Genealogists, some are at other locations, and some can be ordered through the Family History Library microfilm circulation program.
3. Y/N – This is an indicator of whether Hales individuals or families have been found in this parish during the time period searched.
4. Hales Chronicles – This is the dates of the parish that have been extracted and which are included in the Hales Newsletter or Hales Chronicles. The extractions appear first in the Hales Newsletter before they are added to the Hales Chronicles.

Blackmanstone Blean 1558-1966 Y 1558-1812

The following are Parish Registers that I have extracted all Hales and variant spellings of that name from since the last Newsletter. If anyone else is working on Parish Registers please extract all of these names and send me a copy of your findings. Make sure to include the name of the Parish and the dates you have looked at (from and to dates).

Bethersden, Kent, England (1563-1812)

14 APR 1723 John son of Jacob and Catherine Hales

7 MAR 1724 Jacob son of Jacob and Catherine Hales

9 MAY 1728 Edward son of Jacob and Catherine Hales

7 DEC 1725 John Hales of Halden and Sarah Wathers of Boughton Maleherb

30 SEP 1736 Elizabeth Hales of this parish and John Pemble of Cranbrook

15 MAR 1564 Annes Hyells

31 AUG 1630 Margrat wife of John Healls

28 FEB 1734 Mary daughter of Jacob and Catherine Hales

16 MAR 1734 Edward son of Jacob and Catherine Hales

2 MAR 1735 Jacob Hales

1 MAY 1807 James Hale

Betteshanger (1569-1812)

16 MAR 1762 Henry Hale