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1907 Past and Present Biographies
Obediah M. HallMr. Hall was born in Linn county, Iowa, on the 8th of September, 1862, and is the second in order of birth in a family of five children, whose parents were James D. and Elizabeth (Miller) Hall, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in 1832, while the latter’s birth occurred in Westmoreland county in 1829. During his minority James D. Hall went to Linn county with his parents and was there married to Miss Miller, after which he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits. Purchasing a tract of land, he took up his abode upon that place and improved the same. He then sold out, and coming to Greene county took up the active work of tilling the soil but never bought land in this county. Here his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1885, while his wife passed away in 1881, at the age of fifty. The members of their household were: H. E. Hall, who is now living in Greene county; Obediah M.; Mrs. Ellen Sexon, whose home is in Lincoln, Nebraska; S. M., a resident of Scranton, Iowa; and A. J., who has a farm in Minnesota. The public schools afforded Obediah M. Hall the educational privileges which he enjoyed and which qualified him for life’s practical and responsible duties. When not busy with his text-books he was largely occupied with the work of the farm and continued to assist his father in this way until eighteen years of age, when he began working as a farm hand for others in Linn county. It was in 1877 that he came to Greene county, where he was employed until 1892, when, with the capital he had acquired through his labor and economy, he purchased forty acres on section 16, Kendrick township. This was the first property he ever owned. For a year he lived in Scranton, where he was engaged in business, but selling out there he bought forty acres in Bristol township, which he owned for a year. Then disposing of that property he removed to his present farm in 1902, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of land, which was the old farm homestead of his wife’s parents, it having been given to Mrs. Hall. Here he has industriously and energetically carried on the farm work and has been quite successful in his undertakings but on Easter Sunday of 1907, when all of the family were away from home, his house caught fire and burned, with all its contents. This necessitated the erection of a new residence which he has recently completed. The present home has been built in attractive style of architecture and is a commodious, modern dwelling, forming one of the pleasing features of the landscape. In the rear are good barns and outbuildings and these in turn are surrounded by well kept fences, which indicate the practical methods of the owner. He practices the rotation of crops, using the best means to enrich his lands, and annually gathers good harvests. On the 16th of March, 1882, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Clara A. Yates, a daughter of William Yates, who was born in Stokes county, North Carolina, on the 24th of December, 1818, and died in 1900, in his eightieth year. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Louisa Brock and was born in Tennessee in 1825, died in 1902. William Yates was a youth of thirteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal from the south to Rush county, Indiaria. There he lived for five years and at the age of eighteen went with the family to Boone county, Indiana, where he lived for about seventeen years. He was there married on the 6th of June, 1844, and continued to reside in Boone county until 1854, when he came to this state, traveling across the country with two teams, after the primitive manner of the times. His destination was Greene county and he located in Kendrick township, where he entered eighty acres of land from the government. It was wild and uncultivated but he resolutely took up the task of breaking the sod and placing the farm under the plow. His first home was a log cabin, in which the family experienced many of the hardships and privations of pioneer life but as the years passed by Mr. Yates prospered in his undertakings, becoming a successful man. thus providing his family with all of the comforts of life. He was one of the worthy and honored pioneer settlers of the county and had intimate knowledge of many of the events which shaped its history and molded its policy. Unto him and his wife were born nine children but only four are now living, the sisters of Mrs. Hall being: Mrs. Sarah L. Hurley, who resides in Clay county; Nancy E., who is living in Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Anna M. Haney, whose home is in Franklin county, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall have been born seven children: Othella, the wife of Clarence R. Dreher, a resident farmer of Kendrick township, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume; William O., Claude, Rosco I., Bernice A., Harold and Allen O., all yet at home. Mr. Hall exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the political situation of the country but has never sought or desired oflice, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which, under his careful guidance, have brought him the measure of success that he is now enjoying, making him one of the representative agriculturists of his community. |
Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead," by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver, Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.  Site Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer |