Mary Parmalee and Philemon Hall

PHILEMON HALL, son of SARAH PAGE and PHILEMON HALL, was born October 3, 1769 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut,³²⁶⁴ and died May 12, 1851 in East Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York.³²⁶⁴

He married MARY PARMALEE in 1791 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut,³³³⁵ daughter of LYDIA GRISWOLD and REUBEN PARMALEE. She was born June 17, 1773 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut,^{3335, 4143} and died July 7, 1865 in Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York.³²⁶⁴

Census Records

Ancestor Report (Charles Gordon Charon)

Children of MARY PARMALEE and PHILEMON HALL:

JOEL HALL, b. April 5, 1793, Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut;⁷⁴⁴⁶ m. LYDIA EVARTS; d. 1875, East Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York.^{456, 3563}
HORACE HALL, b. January 20, 1798;^{456, 3347} m. LYDIA RATHBONE on April 26, 1818^{3337, 3347}; d. June 8, 1878.^{456, 3347}
AMOS HALL, b. July 19, 1805, New York;^{3263, 3337} m. EMILY PRINCE in 1841 in Jamestown, Chautauqua, New York⁴¹⁴³; d. March 13, 1878, Kansas.^{3263, 3337}
ERASTUS HALL, b. May 24, 1809, Bloomfield, Ontario, New York;^{3336, 3347} m. EMELINE RATHBONE on September 10, 1828 in Napoli, Cattaraugus, New York^{456, 3347}; d. May 5, 1895, East Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York.³⁶³⁹

Obituaries

Advocate and Family Guardian, August 16, 1865³³³⁵

REMARKS AT THE CLOSE OF MRS. HALL'S FUNERAL SERMON.

MOTHER HALL, as she has been familiarly called for the past quarter of a century or more, was born in Guilford, New Haven county, Conn., in 1773, and at the time of her death was 92 years of age. This was a long pilgramage for earth, far surpassing the ordinary age of man. She had advanced two years in the fourth generation, as human life is now reckoned in Christian nations. The companions of her childhood and youth have mainly, if not all, passed away, the most of them long since. Educated, as she was, under the sound system of Puritan religion, to study the scriptures and understand them, in her childhood; to attend church every Sabbath, when families in New England, living three, four or five miles away, were accustomed to be present in their sanctuaries every Lord's-day, irrespective of storms, and when it had not entered the heart of man that a church could or even needed to be warmed in the coldest Sabbaths of the winter; when religious principle was so strong that it would be a shame if that would not keep you comfortable during church service, it is not wonderful that she evinced such a remarkable character as she has, in her old age, down so late in the evening of life. It is but the ripe fruit of that tree righteousness which was planted ninety-two years since.

Her maiden name was Mary Parmalee. She was married to Philemon Hall, in 1791, at the age of seventeen years. Life's prospects were fair and sunny before them, as is the case with every young couple who start in life intelligently, uprightly, and with good moral and religious principles. Young and enterprising, full of the pioneer spirit of that age, their first residence was in Bloomfield, Ontario County, where they moved in 1793, when that town, now rich in wealth, flourishing with schools and churches, an intelligent and farming community surrounding an erterprising village, was covered with its native forests, excepting the spots where new settlers had made a beginning for their future homes. Active and enterprising as they were, a beneficent Providence smiled upon their industry, and blessed them in the accumulation of wealth, until they were in comfortable, if not easy circumstances in life. Thus life began, and passed on pleasantly to them for a series of years.

By what I have heard Mother Hall say, in frequent conversations with her, about those early times, sixty-five or seventy years since, in that new country, I know she took a deep interest in the formation of religious society in the place. She would often refer to the labors of Rev. Josiah Bushnell and Dr. Seth Williston, who were pioneer missionaries on the "Military Tract," as it was called, whose labors extended out upon the "Holland Purchase," in their younger days, and who have long since gone to their rest, honored and beloved by all who knew them. There were precious revivals of religion under the labors of these men, in which she took a deep interest, and in which also she received new and deeper measures of grace, that exhibited itself in after life. After these holy men had laid the foundations of society, that veteran missionary, Rev. David Bacon, father of Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, Conn., was her pastor for several years, whose memory and ministrations she cherished sacredly until her dying day. After him, the Rev. Dr. Fitch, former president of Williams' College, was her pastor until about the time she became a resident of Cattaraugus County.

It is not strange that a person of energay and enterprise like her, sitting under the ministry of such men at the beginning of active life, when the mind is all awake upon every subject, should develop a remarkable Christian character, all the way down to the lat evening of life, as she has done. Nay, it is what we should naturally look for and expect, because a pastor's life, whether his is true or false to the cause of his Master, will be seen in the lives of his parishioners, long years after he has passed to his rest.

Whether she made a public profession of religion in Connecticut, or not until she emigrated to western New York, I am not informed. From 1793 to 1824 she resided in Bloomfield, surrounded by pious, intelligent friends and neighbors, with whome she used to visit the sanctuary with Christian pleasure and delight. But although life had its pleasures and its prosperity, as we have said, it also had its adversity and sorrows. She was the mother of sixteen children, twelve of whom died in infancy or childhood. So many deaths and blighted hopes must have been terrible to a mother's ardent affections. I have heard her speak of the stunning and overwhelming effect of the suddent death of a sweet little daughter, five years of age, who left home pleasantly and happy, at the proper hour in the morning, for school, and was brought home a corpse before 12 at noon of the same day. By mistake she had eaten of the poisonous sienta root, which threw her into spasms, and terminated her brief life in less than three hours. Thrust into affliction so suddenly, at first the shock was overwhelming. It seemed that she could not endure it; but soon the comforting scripture came to her mind—"Be still, and know that I am God," and all was calm. Still the blow was one which struck deep into her soul. It was God saying to her, "With loving kindness have I drawn thee." This great affliction drew her nearer to His bosom of infinite love.

Aside from these afflictions, others occurred, in the loss of property. In the providence of God, their house took fire and was consumed, with much of their personal effects. This was the occasion of the emigration of the family, to Randolph, Cattaraugus County, N. Y. It was thought best to gather together what property was left to them, and go where land was cheaper and commence the world anew. Hence, in 1824, she became a resident of this town (41 years since), where her life has been spent until a few months past. To try pioneer life again at fifty-one years of age, must have been a great trial to any person who had gone through the hardships which she had endured. But she submitted to it cheerfully, as the best thing which could be done for the family, with their shattered fortunes.

At that time, and for several years subsequently, the roads were new, rough and bad. For the wolves to serenade the settlers as they prowled along the hill-sides in the night, was an occurrence so frequent, that it ceased to attract attention. But rough and bad as the roads were, it did not prevent her from attending church regularly, four miles away, at Napoli Centre, every Sabbath, where a few Christians the year previous, had been organized into a Presbyterian church. When I became acquainted with her, a little more than thirty-four years since, she had the reputation of being always in her place with her family in the old log church every Sabbath, which representation I found to be literally true after she became one of my parishioners. In the mud of spring and fall, and snow of winter, or heat of summer, I do not recollect an instance of her being absent—her seat upon the Sabbath was never vacant. As a teacher in the Sabbath-school, she came up to sixty years and passed on to seventy, she was ever in her place, faithful and true. Let it be remembered that in all these years she uniformly had a large family of workmen to provide meals for, which she did herself without the aid of hired help. Let it be said further, that in these years she had no easy carriage in which to ride to church, but it was on horse-back, after attending to the wants of her numerous family, she would ride these four miles to church, and always be there in good season. Nor did the attend to sleep a quiet nap, as laborious persons often do, but her keen eye would ever be fixed upon the face of her pastor in time of service.

I shall never forget how deeply she felt during the revivals of 1831 and 1837 for the conversion of her children and grandchildren, who had reached the years of understanding. It has been a pleasing fact for me to remember that when I organized the first Juvenile Temperance Society which was ever formed in this county, she walked to the log church with nine of her grandchildren, that they might unite with it and grow up temperance men and women. I also remember how vexed and angry a wicked man became, who met her upon the way, to think she would train up her grandchildren in the "old blue superstitious way," as he comtemptuously called it.

As it respects her personal religious views, she was always very distrustful of her own good estate before God. The depravity of the heart was so great and so deceitful, she had always a godly jealousy over herself, but her doubts and fears are now all happily ended, as we confidently trust and hope. It is not strange that a person of her deep devotional religious views, should love to do good to the poor and needy. Benevolence would become greatly enlarged, in any such person's character, when they had been sixty or seventy years in the school of Chirst; they would love to do good even to denying themselves of many of the comforts of life (as was her wont), for its own sake. Hence it was the natural fruit of her religion, that in these later years, she has carried the subject of preparing bedquilts for the children at the Home for the Friendless, to such an extreme, as it appeared to those whose religious experience differed from hers. It was a source of unfeigned happiness to her, when she had worked up every thing she could fine in her own house for this benevolent object, to go to the stores and among her neighbors and friends, and after begging materials, sit down Dorcas-like, in her own house and make them up for those poor, friendless children.

Once she called upon her pastor in a neighboring village and he took her basket and soon had it filled by kind friends, much to her delight and joy. Although she never probably thought of it, this was a beautiful fulfillment of the Scripture, "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up," and David's description of the righteous, who shall be "like a tree planted in the house of the Lord, they shall bring forth fruits in their old age, their leaf shall be green and not wither."

I dare not mention how many scores of quilts she made and forwarded to the Home, although she informed me of the number three years since.

Her work is done and well done—her prayers and tears are all ended, but we hope are not yet fully answered. She has left to survive her, besides her four sons, twenty-five grandchildren and twenty-seven great-grandchilren—fifty-six in all. The last few days of her life were passed in a sort of stupor or sleep, being occasionally awakened to received refreshment from the hands of kind grandchilren, who ministered to her wants.

She slept in Jesus upon the morning of the 7th of July, 1865, and was buried upon the following Sabbath.

Census Records

Date	Location	Enumerated Names
July 15, 1850³²⁷²	Cold Spring, Cattaraugus, New York	Amos Hall Emily Prince Emma R. Hall Ruth Ann Hall Mary Elizabeth Hall Mary Parmalee
July 18, 1860³²⁸⁵	Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York	Amos Hall Emily Prince Clare Elnora Hall Emma R. Hall Ruth Ann Hall Mary Elizabeth Hall Frances Hall Mary Parmalee