Abraham Hall

Advertisement in The Nicodemus Cyclone, April 6, 1888

The Nicodemus Cyclone

Quick Facts

Significance:

Kansas homesteader, Civil War Veteran, Nicodemus store owner

Place of Birth:

Kentucky

Date of Birth:

1841

Place of Death:

Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas

Date of Death:

September 12, 1917

Place of Burial:

Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas

Cemetery Name:

Sunset Cemetery

Abraham Hall was a Civil War veteran, railroad porter, Nicodemus homesteader, and business owner. 

Hall was born in Kentucky in 1841, likely into slavery. He enlisted into the Union Army on July 15, 1864 in Covington, Kentucky. He served in the 117th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry, Company B for three years, mustering out as a Corporal on August 10, 1867.

He lived in Chicago working as a porter for the Pullman Palace Car Company before deciding to take a chance out west by filing for a homestead claim. 

On August 19, 1885, Abraham Hall completed homestead entry #21239 and submitted his application at the Kirwin, Kansas Land Office. His claim was for the east half of the NW quarter, the NE quarter of the SW quarter, and the NW quarter of the SE quarter, section 10 of township 8 south of range 22 west of the 6th Principal Meridian, in Graham County, Kansas. 

He built a sod house on the land in December 1885 and moved in a month later. For the next two years, Hall went to great lengths to improve his land, cultivating 14 acres of farmland and building a sod house, sod stables, a chicken coop, and a well. In April 1887 a prairie fire destroyed most of the hay, corn, and stables in the area including at Hall’s homestead.

As a soldier, he did not have to live on his land five years before proving up. An 1872 amendment to the Homestead Act allowed people who served during the Civil War for at least 90 days to apply their time served in the military (up to four years) to the residency requirement.

Since he had served for three years, Hall only had to live on his homestead for two years before proving up. On October 1, 1887, his neighbors, Edward Jones and John Lane, testified as witnesses to Hall’s proof. His patent, #10534, was later issued on January 12, 1889. 

Hall decided to stake his claim in the business world too and bought a successful mercantile store in Nicodemus, Kansas. The store was run for four years by Harvey Samuel (H.S.) Henrie, a former pastor and his future brother-in-law. 

The Nicodemus Cyclone discussed Hall’s store in their December 2, 1887 issue where they vouched for the popularity of the store, stating “…people flock to Hall’s store, but then, it isn’t much of a puzzle either, when you take into consideration, how cheap he sells those nice dress goods, underwear, notions, boots shoes, felts, sandals, groceries and provisions which he constantly has on hand and sells at bedrock prices, strictly for cash.”  

With Hall's success he decided to give back to the community. Throughout 1888, Hall posted newspaper advertisements proclaiming that for every 50 dollars a customer would spend, he would donate one dollar to help pay for a public library in Nicodemus. He and other generous donors helped fund the Nicodemus Public Library, which opened in mid-January 1893. 

Hall lived alone for most of his life, keeping his homestead and his business afloat by himself. That changed in February 1888 when he married Jennie Henrie, older sister to H. S. Henrie. Jennie was also a homesteader; she had proved up on her homestead in Phillips County in 1881. Most of Jennie’s family had homesteaded in the area including her mother Miranda, sister Sarah, and five brothers: Sanford, William, John, Melvin, and Harvey.

From 1887 to 1889, Abraham Hall was a part of a court case regarding his mercantile store. H. S. Henrie, Emma T. Henrie, Abraham Hall, Jennie Hall, George W. Howell, and A. L. McPherson were the defendants as all six had a claim to the property. J. M. Grubs representing the Saginaw Lumber Company filed a case against said defendants. He argued that they had not paid for the lumber and other supplies used to build and make improvements upon the store that Hall owned. The defendants owed $301.44 at a rate of 12% per year beginning on December 1, 1889. This action led to the court placing the property up for public sale on August 31, 1889, selling to the highest bidder. 

Following the resolution of this case, the Halls moved out of Graham County to Kansas City where Abraham worked once again as a railroad porter. They had two children, Daisy Arminta Hall and Abraham McDonald Hall. Tragedy struck the family in 1895 when Abraham McDonald died at the age of 4 from diphtheria. By 1898, they had returned to Phillips County to live on Jennie’s homestead near Speed, Kansas.

Abraham Hall’s only daughter, Daisy, moved to Manhattan, Kansas to attend college. There she met John Baker, a soldier training at Fort Riley. The couple married in early October 1915. Baker soon moved out east while Daisy lived with her parents. In January 1916, John returned to convince Daisy to join him out east. This resulted in an argument which escalated until Baker shot Daisy in the lung and Jennie Hall in the shoulder. Baker gave himself up to the Sheriff and both Daisy and Jennie survived the attack. Daisy divorced Baker and returned to Manhattan later that year to continue her education.

Abraham Hall’s health soon began to fail, so he and Jennie bought a house in Manhattan, Kansas to be close to their daughter Daisy. Abraham Hall died of a stroke in his Manhattan home on September 12, 1917. He was buried in Sunset Cemetery.

Daisy remarried later that year and had a much happier second marriage to Guy Allen. Jennie Hall continued to live in Manhattan, Kansas until her death on October 12, 1932.

---

Sources

• Patent Details - BLM GLO Records Abraham's 160 acres in Graham County.
• Patent Details - BLM GLO Records Jennie’s 159.89 acres in Phillips County.
• Land Entry Case File (see below)
• 1895 Kansas State Census. Kansas State Historical Society.
• 1900 & 1900 U.S. Federal Census. National Archives and Records Administration.
• Phillips County Freeman, July 14, 1881, p. 3. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• "A Big Fire.” Western Cyclone, April 14, 1887, p.3. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Closeing Out!” The Nicodemus Cyclone, September 14, 1887, p. 1. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• "Notices for Publication." The Graham County Democrat, September 15, 1887, p. 6. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• "A. Hall." Western Cyclone, December 2, 1887, p. 2. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Married.” The Nicodemus Cyclone, March 2, 1888, p.1. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “A. Hall.” The Nicodemus Cyclone, April 6, 1888, p. 1. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Sheriff’s Sale Under Execution.” Graham County Times, August 22, 1889, p. 1. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Terse Tales of the Town.” The Kansas City Gazette, November 21, 1895, p. 1. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Used A Gun.” Phillipsburg New and Phillips County Post, January 13, 1916, p. 2. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Death of Abraham Hall.” The Manhattan Republic, September 20, 1917, p. 5. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Marriage Licenses.” The Alma Enterprise, December 28, 1917, p. 4. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• “Obituary.” The Morning Chronicle, October 19, 1932, p. 4.
• Marriage of Miss Daisy A. Hall and John W. Baker. Newspapers.com Marriage Index via Ancestry.com
• "Abraham Hall." Find A Grave, last updated May 10, 2012. Abraham Hall (1841-1917) - Find A Grave Memorial