Captain Adno Hall was born in
Troy, N.Y., March 20, 1817, son of William P. and Sarah
(Dyer) Hall. His father was a native of Massachusetts,
his mother of New York. His grandfather was a soldier in
the Revolutionary War; his father in the war of 1812.
When sixteen years old, he was employed on a sailing
vessel on the Hudson River between Troy and New York
City. He afterward engaged as pilot on a steamer and
followed the river for many years. In the fall of 1857
was employed on the Boston Water-works, running a
stationary engine. From there he went to Maine, where he
had charge of the docks loading granite for the dry docks
of Brooklyn, where he remained two years. Previous to
going to Maine he married Julia Dexter, of Boston, who
died in 1855. He again married Sarah Smith (a widow of
John Lathrop), by whom she had one child-- Minerva, now
the wife of Wm. J. Simmons, of Philadelphia. In the
spring of 1866 Captain Hall came to Clayton County, where
he has remained since. He has traveled quite extensively
and has seen much of the rough side of life. In 1873 he
took charge of Clayton County poor-house, where he
remained seven years, after which he retired to private
life, living on the savings of former years. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa, 1882, p. 657-658 |