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As a spin off from my question What was occupation of Skipper in 1855 New York State Census?, I know (or at least it appears) that Moody M. Hale (or Hall?) was a U.S. land owner and voter in 1855 living in Albany, New York.

With him living in the household of Hugh Sellars rather than his own I am assuming that his land may have been anywhere in the U.S.

On 19 Jun 1845 a Moody M. Hall arrived in New York from London aboard the Prinz Albert and, although the image is hard to read, it appears to say that he was a 48 yo Farmer from New Hampshire, so if this is him perhaps New Hampshire is where I should start looking for his land.

Are there any indexes to US Voters and/or Land Owners in 1855 (or at least that era) that can be used as a shortcut to finding where Moody M. Hale/Hall owned land and/or was registered to vote?

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PolyGeo
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  • Remember that people lived in the same household for convenience or necessity. Moody's property may have been an income property (rented out). As (presumably) newly married couple, Moody and Elizabeth hadn't set up their own household yet. BTW, the large age difference between 54 yr old Moody and 18yr old Elizabeth is suspicious. – bgwiehle Mar 15 '15 at 13:43
  • Census does not necessarily equal permanent residence. – Jan Murphy Mar 15 '15 at 15:24
  • Also, historical maps can have the names of landowners. – Jan Murphy Mar 15 '15 at 15:50
  • @bgwiehle I think Elizabeth may have been Moody's daughter rather than wife for the same reason (http://genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/7977/interpreting-relationships-to-head-of-household-in-1855-new-york-state-census). – PolyGeo Mar 15 '15 at 22:11
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    @JanMurphy I suspect that I will never find time to look at enough historical maps to spot his name unless I can refine my target first :-( – PolyGeo Mar 15 '15 at 22:13
  • @PolyGeo However the relationships to the head of household for both Moody and Elizabeth would seem to indicate that Elizabeth was Hugh's daughter (or stepdaughter). That she was born in England and had been resident in Albany the same length of time as Hugh & Mary also fit that hypothesis. The age difference is not impossible, but would prompt me consider potential records with later birthdates for Moody. – bgwiehle Mar 15 '15 at 22:35
  • @bgwiehle I think you have just put me onto something. I just searched for Moody Hale born 1825+/-10 years in Ancestry.com and found a 30yo Farmer of that name in Year: 1850; Census Place: Rindge, Cheshire, New Hampshire; Roll: M432_428; Page: 259B; Image: 178. He does not appear to be in the 1860 or 1870 census so I will check death records now. – PolyGeo Mar 15 '15 at 22:52
  • That Moody Hale died 28 Apr 1860 at Rindge, Cheshire, New Hampshire Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. He had a wife who died in 1847. It could be him but I'll see what else I can find to try and establish or disprove identity. – PolyGeo Mar 15 '15 at 22:59
  • I have been finding lots out about the second Moody Hale (1820-1860) and it is making me think that he is not the same person as Moody Hale (born around 1800), and so far not closely related but the latter seems to also come from New Hampshire so maybe there is a more distant relationship. I'll try and write a partial answer based on my findings about Moody (1820-1860). – PolyGeo Mar 16 '15 at 22:42

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To try and identify the Moody M Hale from the question I have looked for other men with the same name.

NOT HIM

So far I have found only one other Moody Hale for who the timeline seems to be:

  • born 17 Apr 1820 at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
  • married Charlotte S Keyes on 6 Jan 1844 at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
    • born 20 Apr 1824 at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
    • died 3 Feb 1847 at Jaffrey, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
  • in the 1850 Federal Census he is a 30yo Farmer living at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA with Emerson Hale 67, Jemima F Hale 63, Harris Hale 36, Jemima F Hale 27 and George Phillips 15.
  • married Sarah E Wright in 1853 at Fitzwilliam, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
    • born 27 Mar 1827 at Enosburg, Franklin County, Vermont, USA
    • died 11 Jun 1859 at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA
  • died 28 Apr 1860 at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA

This Moody Hale seems to be about 20 years too young for the Moody Hale who was living in Albany for the 1855 Census.

NOT HIM

Then there is a Moody Hall who married Mary Estabrook on 6 Jun 1810 at Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, but about him I know little, but he seems to be just a little too young to marry if the Moody M Hale/Hall we are looking for was born around 1797-1801.

THIS APPEARS TO BE HIM

However, I have now found Moody March Hall who seems to be the most likely candidate.

  • born 29 Apr 1794 at Cornish, Cheshire, New Hampshire, United States
  • married Martha Joslyn Chase on 21 Oct 1816 at Cornish, Sullivan, New Hampshire, USA
    • born on 04 Dec 1791 at Cornish, Sullivan, New Hampshire, USA
    • died on 07 Dec 1869 in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA
  • in the 1820 Federal Census in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA, Moody M Hall heads a household where the oldest Free White Male Person is aged 16 thru 25 and the oldest Free White Female Person is aged 26 thru 44
  • in the 1830 Federal Census in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA, Moody M Hall heads a household where the oldest Free White Male Person is aged 30 thru 39 and the oldest Free White Female Person is aged 30 thru 39
  • in Q1 1838 Moody March Hall of Cornich (Cornish?), United States received a patent "for a revolving cylinder, applicable to cannon and fire-arms of all kinds" from the French Government. I think this means that he must have visited Europe at least once and could help tie him to the 1845 voyage from London to New York aboard the Prinz Albert.

enter image description here

  • in the 1840 Federal Census in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA, Moody M Hall heads a household where the oldest Free White Male Person is aged 40 thru 49 and the oldest Free White Female Person is aged 40 thru 49
  • in the 1850 Federal Census he has not been found but wife Martha J Hall 59 and daughters Martha A Hall 30 and Lucy L Hall 20 are living in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA
  • he has not been found in any later census - unless that is him in the 1855 New York State Census
  • in the 1860 Federal Census he has not been found but wife Martha J Hall is living in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA
  • on Ancestry.com there is an intriguing but unsourced record of his death on 22 Jul 1866 at New York, New York, USA. That same unsourced record says that he had four children: Daniel Chase Hall (1818-?), Martha Amanda Hall (1820-1871), Lucy Louisa Hall (1829-1903) and Mary Isabella Hall (1833-1846). Other records have been found for each of these children.
PolyGeo
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    This week Family Search's British Team is offering the Scotland Intermediate Research Series of online webinars. During the Scottish Emigration class, Phillip Dunn said that during the 1800's one third of the skilled tradesmen that came to the USA went back to Scotland. Downloads for many of the webinars are available and recordings should be available soon -- reviewing the websites and sources demoed in these classes might help you find new things to search or ways to search. – Jan Murphy May 18 '15 at 20:14