Reason Bowie Hall was a child born to Edward H Hall and Rachel (Barnes) Hall of Washington County, Georgia in 1793 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. He had four brothers & three sisters. He was most likely a twin to John Hall, who was b.Jun 13, 1793. His father, Edward, had fought in the Revolutionary War and had even been taken prisoner but escaped. There is a family story that the Halls were neighbors to Jim Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie knife and defender of the Alamo, following their move from Georgia to Logan County, Ky, hence Reason's middle name of Bowie. Reason 1st married in 1809 to Fannie Slocum. She had been born in Georgia and the couple had one child, a son, of whom nothing is known. Reason owned land in Gallatin County, Illinois as of Oct 26, 1814. He may have fought in the War of 1812. In 1820, Reason was living in White County, Illinois, per the 1820 U S Census. It was during this time that his 1st wife died of reasons unknown to me in White Co., Illinois. Interestingly, Fannie's parents were responsible for maintaining a fort in Gallatin County, Ill. during the War of 1812. This may be where Reason's military service was 1st performed. Reason met and married Martha Wright, (b.Dec 7, 1805, in Kentucky) in 1826 in DeBois, Indiana where the Edward Hall clan had moved (Edward was a brother of his as they were the parents of ten children). During this period, Reason reenlisted in the Army, apparently due to the 1832 Black Hawk War.
"As a consequence of a 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, the Sauk & Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois in 1828 & moved west of the Mississippi River. However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk & others disputed this treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands. Chief Black Hawk was angered by the loss of his birthplace and led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830, but was pursuaded, each time, without bloodshed, to return west. However, in April, 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes & the British, he again moved about 1,000 warriors & civilians into Illinois. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict that ensued became known as the Black Hawk War."(From Wikipedia, Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds).
The settlers throughout northern Illinois and sourthern Wisconsin hastily constructed forts for protection of the possible future battles. One fort began at Ebeneezer Brigham's Moundville settlement, (now known as Blue Mounds, Wisconsin) on May 10th, 1832. Black Hawk was unable to find any allies and attempted to return to Iowa, but events "overtook him", leading to the Battle of Stillman's Run on May 21, 1832. One week later, the Indian Creek massacre occurred well south of Ft.Blue Mounds near present day Ottawa, Ill. During the attack, two teen-aged girls were kidnapped by a raiding band of Potawatomi. The girls were Sylvia and Rachel Hall, nieces of Reason Hall. During this time, Reason & Edward Hall were serving as privates at Fort Blue Mounds and were assisting the Indian Agent, Henry Gratiot, who tried to calm the situation thru gifts. The girls were released on June 1st at Fort Blue Mounds by the party of Ho-Chunk who included many chiefs. Following her release, Sylvia Hall married William Horn, son of Major Chaplain Horn. I am certain that Reason and Edward Hall had reenlisted, in part, as the Hall girls were the daughters of their brother, John Hall, who had also been involved in the rescue of the poor girls. However, the situation worsened before it became better, and, when all was said and done, many more Indians than settlers had died. Eventually the Hall brothers were again discharged and returned to civilian life. Reason and Martha's first child had been born in 1828 - a daughter, Eliza. A 2nd child was now born, a son they named Henry Dodge, b.1833 while they were living in Wisconsin. Another daughter, Sarah, was born in @1835, and then a 4th child, another daughter, Sarina (Lavina), b.1838. {Both of Reason's parents died in 1838 and are buried in Bureau County, Illinois.} Another child was born, this time a son, Lark (also known as Lawrence) M. born in 1839, all of Bureau County, Illinois. Another son, their last to be born before they left Illinois, was Edward Cabot, who was born in 1841. In early 1846, Martha was again "with child", twins due to be born in May, when her husband sold almost everything & packed up needed supplies for their journey across the Plains to Oregon Territory. He purchased oxen instead of horses and they joined a wagon train which would be taking the Applegate Cut Off, which was the southern route, thought to be an easier route than the one many had taken in the previous year. [As it turned out, there was no easy way to get to Oregon from Illinois; there were the Rocky Mountains to climb, plus Hell's Canyon if they took the Northern Route or the Siskiyou Mountains if they took the Southern Route.] Martha gave birth to twin boys they named Reuben Payne and William Russell on May 17th, 1846 in the Rocky Mountains. Ironically, their daughter, Eliza, had married James Savage and was also due to deliver a child in 1846. She died in childbirth (from exposure and complications) in the Sierra Nevadas in 1846 (see FAG#54263148). Nowhere does it say what happened to the baby, which I must assume died with her from one short sentence in her husband's memorial, FAG#17760824, saying that "both mother and daughter died" in 1846. I am sure that Reason and Martha were devastated when they learned of their daughter's fate. The weary Hall family arrived in the Willamette Valley in the Spring of 1847 and Reason settled on a donation land claim in Polk County, on which he laid out the town of Buena Vista. He looked for where there was a need for things and attempted to fulfill the need. He built a wooden ferry which crossed the Willamette River near his small town and named it Hall's Ferry. It later became known as Buena Vista Ferry and still runs to this very day, although it uses an electric motor and cable system. [I've been on it numerous times, although I wasn't aware when I was a teenager of it's history.] Later on, his son, Benjamin F.Hall (b.1851) operated a ferry north of Independence. Benjamin was one of the last two sons born to the Hall family. The other son, Andrew Jackson Hall, had been b.1849. The little town of Buena Vista was one of the earliest settlements in the area and it grew quickly. It is said that he named the town for some of his relatives who had fought in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. At one point, the town had been taken into consideration for the new state capital while Oregon was a still a territory, but Salem was eventually chosen in 1851. Oregon became a state in 1859. Buena Vista had a school, a hotel, church, a store (run by Mr.Hall at one time), an I.O.O.F. Hall and a number of saloons. The hops growing industry was large thru out the Northern Willamette Valley and different towns vied for the railroad to come through their towns as the railroad could transport their crops in addition to visitors. It could mean the life or death of different towns. In 1860, when the 2nd U.S. Census was taken, Reason, Martha, and children William Russell, Reuben Payne, [Andrew] Jackson, and [Benjamin] Franklin were living on a large farm in Luckimute, Lane Precinct, Polk County, in the new state of Oregon. Reason gave the value of their land at $6,150 and stated he had $780 in cash. Henry, now 27, lived adjacent to his father's farm and stated that he, too, was a farmer, although no value was listed for his farm and he did not list any cash.
Then Amedee Meilier Smith, initially a teacher in Iowa, had an effect on Buena Vista, Oregon. He had enlisted in 1862 with 24th Iowa Infantry where he served as a non commissioned officer for a few months before being discharged due to health issues, diagnosed with TB. While recovering, he had learned the pottery business from his brother, Freeman Smith, Jr. He became quite excited and he, his wife and his parents traveled to Albany, Oregon, then to Buena Vista, Oregon, by way of Panama and San Francisco, Ca. in 1864. They joined three older brothers who had already settled in the Buena Vista area, and were joined by Amwdee's teacher, Freeman Jr., in 1866. The family started a new pottery business in Buena Vista as they believed the clay to be perfect for their products. They named their business Oregon Pottery Company in 1870, bought out the older brothers and did quite well, hiring many workers. Buena Vista had a post office from 1866 until 1935. During the 1860's, Reason Hall was very pleased with what had happened with his final investment until the railroad chose to route it's north and south bound trains by way of Independence rather than Buena Vista. Of course, this changed everything. Amedee Smith moved his headquarters to Portland in 1881, still obtaining his clay from the Buena Vista area, but manufacturing the clay products in Portland. When his wooden buildings burned down in 1890, he rebuilt using brick to build three and four story buildings on the river front that were more efficient & fire resistant. The population of Buena Vista decreased until some people considered it a "ghost town", but farmers still lived in the area and the post office operated for many years. The cemetery on the "Hilltop" as it was originally called, was being used as people grew old and passed on or became sick and died, or had accidents and died. I believe that Reason Hall donated at least a portion of the land for the cemetery as a little girl, Emma Crawford, who was only 8 years of age, died in 1858 and a place, sadly enough, was needed to bury her. Then there came that day when Reason Hall, at the age of 76 years, was taken to meet his Redeemer and a place was needed for his burial. He was laid to rest at the Buena Vista Cemetery and a nice tall monument was erected giving his year of birth and date of death, which was Dec 12, 1869. His dear wife, Martha, who had traveled across our country with him all of those 23 years prior, mourned his loss and chose not to remarry, but remained a widow until she passed in July 25, 1889 at the age of 83 yrs, 7 months. She applied for a widow's pension citing that Reason had served in both the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars of 1832 but it was denied as no record could be found. Their's was truly an Oregon Pioneer family.
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Much of the above information I researched from Wikipedia, however I would not have done so if not for a very informative email I received on Feb 11, 2013 from Gary Honts, who is also related to Reason Bowie Hall and informed me about Buena Vista, Hall's Ferry, the pottery factory, Blue Mounds Fort, Attack on Blue Mounds, and the Hall Sisters. I also have just received confirmation about the relationship of the Hall sisters to Reason Hall, thanks to Rita Hart, a great, great, great granddaughter of Reason and Martha Hall. She also told me about another child I had no idea had existed, her great, great grandmother, Sarah Hall Smith. I appreciate her help very much. I looked up each of the above mentioned subjects, which led me to more things to search out and I realized early on that his current memorial was a sorry excuse for a man of his many feats. I also borrowed from the History of Bureau Co., Illinois, publ.1885, transcribed by Denise McLoughlin, Tampico Area Historical Society, notations from Dorris Simon regarding the early life of Reason B.Hall and FAG#80379586, Amedee Meilier Smith's memorial created by Jim Hutcheson. Also, 1840 Illinois Census and my MyHeritage Family Tree, with help from my relatives who married into the Hall family a number of different times, securing our relationship and that my curiosity would get the better of me when I decided I wanted to learn about my family history once and for all. I am happy to make any corrections and/or additions as they arise. With All Sincerity, Kathie L. Webb Blair, Dec. 31st, 2013. A great, great granddaughter of Oregon Pioneers.
"As a consequence of a 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, the Sauk & Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois in 1828 & moved west of the Mississippi River. However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk & others disputed this treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands. Chief Black Hawk was angered by the loss of his birthplace and led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830, but was pursuaded, each time, without bloodshed, to return west. However, in April, 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes & the British, he again moved about 1,000 warriors & civilians into Illinois. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict that ensued became known as the Black Hawk War."(From Wikipedia, Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds).
The settlers throughout northern Illinois and sourthern Wisconsin hastily constructed forts for protection of the possible future battles. One fort began at Ebeneezer Brigham's Moundville settlement, (now known as Blue Mounds, Wisconsin) on May 10th, 1832. Black Hawk was unable to find any allies and attempted to return to Iowa, but events "overtook him", leading to the Battle of Stillman's Run on May 21, 1832. One week later, the Indian Creek massacre occurred well south of Ft.Blue Mounds near present day Ottawa, Ill. During the attack, two teen-aged girls were kidnapped by a raiding band of Potawatomi. The girls were Sylvia and Rachel Hall, nieces of Reason Hall. During this time, Reason & Edward Hall were serving as privates at Fort Blue Mounds and were assisting the Indian Agent, Henry Gratiot, who tried to calm the situation thru gifts. The girls were released on June 1st at Fort Blue Mounds by the party of Ho-Chunk who included many chiefs. Following her release, Sylvia Hall married William Horn, son of Major Chaplain Horn. I am certain that Reason and Edward Hall had reenlisted, in part, as the Hall girls were the daughters of their brother, John Hall, who had also been involved in the rescue of the poor girls. However, the situation worsened before it became better, and, when all was said and done, many more Indians than settlers had died. Eventually the Hall brothers were again discharged and returned to civilian life. Reason and Martha's first child had been born in 1828 - a daughter, Eliza. A 2nd child was now born, a son they named Henry Dodge, b.1833 while they were living in Wisconsin. Another daughter, Sarah, was born in @1835, and then a 4th child, another daughter, Sarina (Lavina), b.1838. {Both of Reason's parents died in 1838 and are buried in Bureau County, Illinois.} Another child was born, this time a son, Lark (also known as Lawrence) M. born in 1839, all of Bureau County, Illinois. Another son, their last to be born before they left Illinois, was Edward Cabot, who was born in 1841. In early 1846, Martha was again "with child", twins due to be born in May, when her husband sold almost everything & packed up needed supplies for their journey across the Plains to Oregon Territory. He purchased oxen instead of horses and they joined a wagon train which would be taking the Applegate Cut Off, which was the southern route, thought to be an easier route than the one many had taken in the previous year. [As it turned out, there was no easy way to get to Oregon from Illinois; there were the Rocky Mountains to climb, plus Hell's Canyon if they took the Northern Route or the Siskiyou Mountains if they took the Southern Route.] Martha gave birth to twin boys they named Reuben Payne and William Russell on May 17th, 1846 in the Rocky Mountains. Ironically, their daughter, Eliza, had married James Savage and was also due to deliver a child in 1846. She died in childbirth (from exposure and complications) in the Sierra Nevadas in 1846 (see FAG#54263148). Nowhere does it say what happened to the baby, which I must assume died with her from one short sentence in her husband's memorial, FAG#17760824, saying that "both mother and daughter died" in 1846. I am sure that Reason and Martha were devastated when they learned of their daughter's fate. The weary Hall family arrived in the Willamette Valley in the Spring of 1847 and Reason settled on a donation land claim in Polk County, on which he laid out the town of Buena Vista. He looked for where there was a need for things and attempted to fulfill the need. He built a wooden ferry which crossed the Willamette River near his small town and named it Hall's Ferry. It later became known as Buena Vista Ferry and still runs to this very day, although it uses an electric motor and cable system. [I've been on it numerous times, although I wasn't aware when I was a teenager of it's history.] Later on, his son, Benjamin F.Hall (b.1851) operated a ferry north of Independence. Benjamin was one of the last two sons born to the Hall family. The other son, Andrew Jackson Hall, had been b.1849. The little town of Buena Vista was one of the earliest settlements in the area and it grew quickly. It is said that he named the town for some of his relatives who had fought in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. At one point, the town had been taken into consideration for the new state capital while Oregon was a still a territory, but Salem was eventually chosen in 1851. Oregon became a state in 1859. Buena Vista had a school, a hotel, church, a store (run by Mr.Hall at one time), an I.O.O.F. Hall and a number of saloons. The hops growing industry was large thru out the Northern Willamette Valley and different towns vied for the railroad to come through their towns as the railroad could transport their crops in addition to visitors. It could mean the life or death of different towns. In 1860, when the 2nd U.S. Census was taken, Reason, Martha, and children William Russell, Reuben Payne, [Andrew] Jackson, and [Benjamin] Franklin were living on a large farm in Luckimute, Lane Precinct, Polk County, in the new state of Oregon. Reason gave the value of their land at $6,150 and stated he had $780 in cash. Henry, now 27, lived adjacent to his father's farm and stated that he, too, was a farmer, although no value was listed for his farm and he did not list any cash.
Then Amedee Meilier Smith, initially a teacher in Iowa, had an effect on Buena Vista, Oregon. He had enlisted in 1862 with 24th Iowa Infantry where he served as a non commissioned officer for a few months before being discharged due to health issues, diagnosed with TB. While recovering, he had learned the pottery business from his brother, Freeman Smith, Jr. He became quite excited and he, his wife and his parents traveled to Albany, Oregon, then to Buena Vista, Oregon, by way of Panama and San Francisco, Ca. in 1864. They joined three older brothers who had already settled in the Buena Vista area, and were joined by Amwdee's teacher, Freeman Jr., in 1866. The family started a new pottery business in Buena Vista as they believed the clay to be perfect for their products. They named their business Oregon Pottery Company in 1870, bought out the older brothers and did quite well, hiring many workers. Buena Vista had a post office from 1866 until 1935. During the 1860's, Reason Hall was very pleased with what had happened with his final investment until the railroad chose to route it's north and south bound trains by way of Independence rather than Buena Vista. Of course, this changed everything. Amedee Smith moved his headquarters to Portland in 1881, still obtaining his clay from the Buena Vista area, but manufacturing the clay products in Portland. When his wooden buildings burned down in 1890, he rebuilt using brick to build three and four story buildings on the river front that were more efficient & fire resistant. The population of Buena Vista decreased until some people considered it a "ghost town", but farmers still lived in the area and the post office operated for many years. The cemetery on the "Hilltop" as it was originally called, was being used as people grew old and passed on or became sick and died, or had accidents and died. I believe that Reason Hall donated at least a portion of the land for the cemetery as a little girl, Emma Crawford, who was only 8 years of age, died in 1858 and a place, sadly enough, was needed to bury her. Then there came that day when Reason Hall, at the age of 76 years, was taken to meet his Redeemer and a place was needed for his burial. He was laid to rest at the Buena Vista Cemetery and a nice tall monument was erected giving his year of birth and date of death, which was Dec 12, 1869. His dear wife, Martha, who had traveled across our country with him all of those 23 years prior, mourned his loss and chose not to remarry, but remained a widow until she passed in July 25, 1889 at the age of 83 yrs, 7 months. She applied for a widow's pension citing that Reason had served in both the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars of 1832 but it was denied as no record could be found. Their's was truly an Oregon Pioneer family.
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Much of the above information I researched from Wikipedia, however I would not have done so if not for a very informative email I received on Feb 11, 2013 from Gary Honts, who is also related to Reason Bowie Hall and informed me about Buena Vista, Hall's Ferry, the pottery factory, Blue Mounds Fort, Attack on Blue Mounds, and the Hall Sisters. I also have just received confirmation about the relationship of the Hall sisters to Reason Hall, thanks to Rita Hart, a great, great, great granddaughter of Reason and Martha Hall. She also told me about another child I had no idea had existed, her great, great grandmother, Sarah Hall Smith. I appreciate her help very much. I looked up each of the above mentioned subjects, which led me to more things to search out and I realized early on that his current memorial was a sorry excuse for a man of his many feats. I also borrowed from the History of Bureau Co., Illinois, publ.1885, transcribed by Denise McLoughlin, Tampico Area Historical Society, notations from Dorris Simon regarding the early life of Reason B.Hall and FAG#80379586, Amedee Meilier Smith's memorial created by Jim Hutcheson. Also, 1840 Illinois Census and my MyHeritage Family Tree, with help from my relatives who married into the Hall family a number of different times, securing our relationship and that my curiosity would get the better of me when I decided I wanted to learn about my family history once and for all. I am happy to make any corrections and/or additions as they arise. With All Sincerity, Kathie L. Webb Blair, Dec. 31st, 2013. A great, great granddaughter of Oregon Pioneers.
Reason Bowie Hall was a child born to Edward H Hall and Rachel (Barnes) Hall of Washington County, Georgia in 1793 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. He had four brothers & three sisters. He was most likely a twin to John Hall, who was b.Jun 13, 1793. His father, Edward, had fought in the Revolutionary War and had even been taken prisoner but escaped. There is a family story that the Halls were neighbors to Jim Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie knife and defender of the Alamo, following their move from Georgia to Logan County, Ky, hence Reason's middle name of Bowie. Reason 1st married in 1809 to Fannie Slocum. She had been born in Georgia and the couple had one child, a son, of whom nothing is known. Reason owned land in Gallatin County, Illinois as of Oct 26, 1814. He may have fought in the War of 1812. In 1820, Reason was living in White County, Illinois, per the 1820 U S Census. It was during this time that his 1st wife died of reasons unknown to me in White Co., Illinois. Interestingly, Fannie's parents were responsible for maintaining a fort in Gallatin County, Ill. during the War of 1812. This may be where Reason's military service was 1st performed. Reason met and married Martha Wright, (b.Dec 7, 1805, in Kentucky) in 1826 in DeBois, Indiana where the Edward Hall clan had moved (Edward was a brother of his as they were the parents of ten children). During this period, Reason reenlisted in the Army, apparently due to the 1832 Black Hawk War.
"As a consequence of a 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, the Sauk & Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois in 1828 & moved west of the Mississippi River. However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk & others disputed this treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands. Chief Black Hawk was angered by the loss of his birthplace and led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830, but was pursuaded, each time, without bloodshed, to return west. However, in April, 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes & the British, he again moved about 1,000 warriors & civilians into Illinois. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict that ensued became known as the Black Hawk War."(From Wikipedia, Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds).
The settlers throughout northern Illinois and sourthern Wisconsin hastily constructed forts for protection of the possible future battles. One fort began at Ebeneezer Brigham's Moundville settlement, (now known as Blue Mounds, Wisconsin) on May 10th, 1832. Black Hawk was unable to find any allies and attempted to return to Iowa, but events "overtook him", leading to the Battle of Stillman's Run on May 21, 1832. One week later, the Indian Creek massacre occurred well south of Ft.Blue Mounds near present day Ottawa, Ill. During the attack, two teen-aged girls were kidnapped by a raiding band of Potawatomi. The girls were Sylvia and Rachel Hall, nieces of Reason Hall. During this time, Reason & Edward Hall were serving as privates at Fort Blue Mounds and were assisting the Indian Agent, Henry Gratiot, who tried to calm the situation thru gifts. The girls were released on June 1st at Fort Blue Mounds by the party of Ho-Chunk who included many chiefs. Following her release, Sylvia Hall married William Horn, son of Major Chaplain Horn. I am certain that Reason and Edward Hall had reenlisted, in part, as the Hall girls were the daughters of their brother, John Hall, who had also been involved in the rescue of the poor girls. However, the situation worsened before it became better, and, when all was said and done, many more Indians than settlers had died. Eventually the Hall brothers were again discharged and returned to civilian life. Reason and Martha's first child had been born in 1828 - a daughter, Eliza. A 2nd child was now born, a son they named Henry Dodge, b.1833 while they were living in Wisconsin. Another daughter, Sarah, was born in @1835, and then a 4th child, another daughter, Sarina (Lavina), b.1838. {Both of Reason's parents died in 1838 and are buried in Bureau County, Illinois.} Another child was born, this time a son, Lark (also known as Lawrence) M. born in 1839, all of Bureau County, Illinois. Another son, their last to be born before they left Illinois, was Edward Cabot, who was born in 1841. In early 1846, Martha was again "with child", twins due to be born in May, when her husband sold almost everything & packed up needed supplies for their journey across the Plains to Oregon Territory. He purchased oxen instead of horses and they joined a wagon train which would be taking the Applegate Cut Off, which was the southern route, thought to be an easier route than the one many had taken in the previous year. [As it turned out, there was no easy way to get to Oregon from Illinois; there were the Rocky Mountains to climb, plus Hell's Canyon if they took the Northern Route or the Siskiyou Mountains if they took the Southern Route.] Martha gave birth to twin boys they named Reuben Payne and William Russell on May 17th, 1846 in the Rocky Mountains. Ironically, their daughter, Eliza, had married James Savage and was also due to deliver a child in 1846. She died in childbirth (from exposure and complications) in the Sierra Nevadas in 1846 (see FAG#54263148). Nowhere does it say what happened to the baby, which I must assume died with her from one short sentence in her husband's memorial, FAG#17760824, saying that "both mother and daughter died" in 1846. I am sure that Reason and Martha were devastated when they learned of their daughter's fate. The weary Hall family arrived in the Willamette Valley in the Spring of 1847 and Reason settled on a donation land claim in Polk County, on which he laid out the town of Buena Vista. He looked for where there was a need for things and attempted to fulfill the need. He built a wooden ferry which crossed the Willamette River near his small town and named it Hall's Ferry. It later became known as Buena Vista Ferry and still runs to this very day, although it uses an electric motor and cable system. [I've been on it numerous times, although I wasn't aware when I was a teenager of it's history.] Later on, his son, Benjamin F.Hall (b.1851) operated a ferry north of Independence. Benjamin was one of the last two sons born to the Hall family. The other son, Andrew Jackson Hall, had been b.1849. The little town of Buena Vista was one of the earliest settlements in the area and it grew quickly. It is said that he named the town for some of his relatives who had fought in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. At one point, the town had been taken into consideration for the new state capital while Oregon was a still a territory, but Salem was eventually chosen in 1851. Oregon became a state in 1859. Buena Vista had a school, a hotel, church, a store (run by Mr.Hall at one time), an I.O.O.F. Hall and a number of saloons. The hops growing industry was large thru out the Northern Willamette Valley and different towns vied for the railroad to come through their towns as the railroad could transport their crops in addition to visitors. It could mean the life or death of different towns. In 1860, when the 2nd U.S. Census was taken, Reason, Martha, and children William Russell, Reuben Payne, [Andrew] Jackson, and [Benjamin] Franklin were living on a large farm in Luckimute, Lane Precinct, Polk County, in the new state of Oregon. Reason gave the value of their land at $6,150 and stated he had $780 in cash. Henry, now 27, lived adjacent to his father's farm and stated that he, too, was a farmer, although no value was listed for his farm and he did not list any cash.
Then Amedee Meilier Smith, initially a teacher in Iowa, had an effect on Buena Vista, Oregon. He had enlisted in 1862 with 24th Iowa Infantry where he served as a non commissioned officer for a few months before being discharged due to health issues, diagnosed with TB. While recovering, he had learned the pottery business from his brother, Freeman Smith, Jr. He became quite excited and he, his wife and his parents traveled to Albany, Oregon, then to Buena Vista, Oregon, by way of Panama and San Francisco, Ca. in 1864. They joined three older brothers who had already settled in the Buena Vista area, and were joined by Amwdee's teacher, Freeman Jr., in 1866. The family started a new pottery business in Buena Vista as they believed the clay to be perfect for their products. They named their business Oregon Pottery Company in 1870, bought out the older brothers and did quite well, hiring many workers. Buena Vista had a post office from 1866 until 1935. During the 1860's, Reason Hall was very pleased with what had happened with his final investment until the railroad chose to route it's north and south bound trains by way of Independence rather than Buena Vista. Of course, this changed everything. Amedee Smith moved his headquarters to Portland in 1881, still obtaining his clay from the Buena Vista area, but manufacturing the clay products in Portland. When his wooden buildings burned down in 1890, he rebuilt using brick to build three and four story buildings on the river front that were more efficient & fire resistant. The population of Buena Vista decreased until some people considered it a "ghost town", but farmers still lived in the area and the post office operated for many years. The cemetery on the "Hilltop" as it was originally called, was being used as people grew old and passed on or became sick and died, or had accidents and died. I believe that Reason Hall donated at least a portion of the land for the cemetery as a little girl, Emma Crawford, who was only 8 years of age, died in 1858 and a place, sadly enough, was needed to bury her. Then there came that day when Reason Hall, at the age of 76 years, was taken to meet his Redeemer and a place was needed for his burial. He was laid to rest at the Buena Vista Cemetery and a nice tall monument was erected giving his year of birth and date of death, which was Dec 12, 1869. His dear wife, Martha, who had traveled across our country with him all of those 23 years prior, mourned his loss and chose not to remarry, but remained a widow until she passed in July 25, 1889 at the age of 83 yrs, 7 months. She applied for a widow's pension citing that Reason had served in both the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars of 1832 but it was denied as no record could be found. Their's was truly an Oregon Pioneer family.
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Much of the above information I researched from Wikipedia, however I would not have done so if not for a very informative email I received on Feb 11, 2013 from Gary Honts, who is also related to Reason Bowie Hall and informed me about Buena Vista, Hall's Ferry, the pottery factory, Blue Mounds Fort, Attack on Blue Mounds, and the Hall Sisters. I also have just received confirmation about the relationship of the Hall sisters to Reason Hall, thanks to Rita Hart, a great, great, great granddaughter of Reason and Martha Hall. She also told me about another child I had no idea had existed, her great, great grandmother, Sarah Hall Smith. I appreciate her help very much. I looked up each of the above mentioned subjects, which led me to more things to search out and I realized early on that his current memorial was a sorry excuse for a man of his many feats. I also borrowed from the History of Bureau Co., Illinois, publ.1885, transcribed by Denise McLoughlin, Tampico Area Historical Society, notations from Dorris Simon regarding the early life of Reason B.Hall and FAG#80379586, Amedee Meilier Smith's memorial created by Jim Hutcheson. Also, 1840 Illinois Census and my MyHeritage Family Tree, with help from my relatives who married into the Hall family a number of different times, securing our relationship and that my curiosity would get the better of me when I decided I wanted to learn about my family history once and for all. I am happy to make any corrections and/or additions as they arise. With All Sincerity, Kathie L. Webb Blair, Dec. 31st, 2013. A great, great granddaughter of Oregon Pioneers.
"As a consequence of a 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, the Sauk & Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois in 1828 & moved west of the Mississippi River. However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk & others disputed this treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands. Chief Black Hawk was angered by the loss of his birthplace and led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830, but was pursuaded, each time, without bloodshed, to return west. However, in April, 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes & the British, he again moved about 1,000 warriors & civilians into Illinois. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict that ensued became known as the Black Hawk War."(From Wikipedia, Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds).
The settlers throughout northern Illinois and sourthern Wisconsin hastily constructed forts for protection of the possible future battles. One fort began at Ebeneezer Brigham's Moundville settlement, (now known as Blue Mounds, Wisconsin) on May 10th, 1832. Black Hawk was unable to find any allies and attempted to return to Iowa, but events "overtook him", leading to the Battle of Stillman's Run on May 21, 1832. One week later, the Indian Creek massacre occurred well south of Ft.Blue Mounds near present day Ottawa, Ill. During the attack, two teen-aged girls were kidnapped by a raiding band of Potawatomi. The girls were Sylvia and Rachel Hall, nieces of Reason Hall. During this time, Reason & Edward Hall were serving as privates at Fort Blue Mounds and were assisting the Indian Agent, Henry Gratiot, who tried to calm the situation thru gifts. The girls were released on June 1st at Fort Blue Mounds by the party of Ho-Chunk who included many chiefs. Following her release, Sylvia Hall married William Horn, son of Major Chaplain Horn. I am certain that Reason and Edward Hall had reenlisted, in part, as the Hall girls were the daughters of their brother, John Hall, who had also been involved in the rescue of the poor girls. However, the situation worsened before it became better, and, when all was said and done, many more Indians than settlers had died. Eventually the Hall brothers were again discharged and returned to civilian life. Reason and Martha's first child had been born in 1828 - a daughter, Eliza. A 2nd child was now born, a son they named Henry Dodge, b.1833 while they were living in Wisconsin. Another daughter, Sarah, was born in @1835, and then a 4th child, another daughter, Sarina (Lavina), b.1838. {Both of Reason's parents died in 1838 and are buried in Bureau County, Illinois.} Another child was born, this time a son, Lark (also known as Lawrence) M. born in 1839, all of Bureau County, Illinois. Another son, their last to be born before they left Illinois, was Edward Cabot, who was born in 1841. In early 1846, Martha was again "with child", twins due to be born in May, when her husband sold almost everything & packed up needed supplies for their journey across the Plains to Oregon Territory. He purchased oxen instead of horses and they joined a wagon train which would be taking the Applegate Cut Off, which was the southern route, thought to be an easier route than the one many had taken in the previous year. [As it turned out, there was no easy way to get to Oregon from Illinois; there were the Rocky Mountains to climb, plus Hell's Canyon if they took the Northern Route or the Siskiyou Mountains if they took the Southern Route.] Martha gave birth to twin boys they named Reuben Payne and William Russell on May 17th, 1846 in the Rocky Mountains. Ironically, their daughter, Eliza, had married James Savage and was also due to deliver a child in 1846. She died in childbirth (from exposure and complications) in the Sierra Nevadas in 1846 (see FAG#54263148). Nowhere does it say what happened to the baby, which I must assume died with her from one short sentence in her husband's memorial, FAG#17760824, saying that "both mother and daughter died" in 1846. I am sure that Reason and Martha were devastated when they learned of their daughter's fate. The weary Hall family arrived in the Willamette Valley in the Spring of 1847 and Reason settled on a donation land claim in Polk County, on which he laid out the town of Buena Vista. He looked for where there was a need for things and attempted to fulfill the need. He built a wooden ferry which crossed the Willamette River near his small town and named it Hall's Ferry. It later became known as Buena Vista Ferry and still runs to this very day, although it uses an electric motor and cable system. [I've been on it numerous times, although I wasn't aware when I was a teenager of it's history.] Later on, his son, Benjamin F.Hall (b.1851) operated a ferry north of Independence. Benjamin was one of the last two sons born to the Hall family. The other son, Andrew Jackson Hall, had been b.1849. The little town of Buena Vista was one of the earliest settlements in the area and it grew quickly. It is said that he named the town for some of his relatives who had fought in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. At one point, the town had been taken into consideration for the new state capital while Oregon was a still a territory, but Salem was eventually chosen in 1851. Oregon became a state in 1859. Buena Vista had a school, a hotel, church, a store (run by Mr.Hall at one time), an I.O.O.F. Hall and a number of saloons. The hops growing industry was large thru out the Northern Willamette Valley and different towns vied for the railroad to come through their towns as the railroad could transport their crops in addition to visitors. It could mean the life or death of different towns. In 1860, when the 2nd U.S. Census was taken, Reason, Martha, and children William Russell, Reuben Payne, [Andrew] Jackson, and [Benjamin] Franklin were living on a large farm in Luckimute, Lane Precinct, Polk County, in the new state of Oregon. Reason gave the value of their land at $6,150 and stated he had $780 in cash. Henry, now 27, lived adjacent to his father's farm and stated that he, too, was a farmer, although no value was listed for his farm and he did not list any cash.
Then Amedee Meilier Smith, initially a teacher in Iowa, had an effect on Buena Vista, Oregon. He had enlisted in 1862 with 24th Iowa Infantry where he served as a non commissioned officer for a few months before being discharged due to health issues, diagnosed with TB. While recovering, he had learned the pottery business from his brother, Freeman Smith, Jr. He became quite excited and he, his wife and his parents traveled to Albany, Oregon, then to Buena Vista, Oregon, by way of Panama and San Francisco, Ca. in 1864. They joined three older brothers who had already settled in the Buena Vista area, and were joined by Amwdee's teacher, Freeman Jr., in 1866. The family started a new pottery business in Buena Vista as they believed the clay to be perfect for their products. They named their business Oregon Pottery Company in 1870, bought out the older brothers and did quite well, hiring many workers. Buena Vista had a post office from 1866 until 1935. During the 1860's, Reason Hall was very pleased with what had happened with his final investment until the railroad chose to route it's north and south bound trains by way of Independence rather than Buena Vista. Of course, this changed everything. Amedee Smith moved his headquarters to Portland in 1881, still obtaining his clay from the Buena Vista area, but manufacturing the clay products in Portland. When his wooden buildings burned down in 1890, he rebuilt using brick to build three and four story buildings on the river front that were more efficient & fire resistant. The population of Buena Vista decreased until some people considered it a "ghost town", but farmers still lived in the area and the post office operated for many years. The cemetery on the "Hilltop" as it was originally called, was being used as people grew old and passed on or became sick and died, or had accidents and died. I believe that Reason Hall donated at least a portion of the land for the cemetery as a little girl, Emma Crawford, who was only 8 years of age, died in 1858 and a place, sadly enough, was needed to bury her. Then there came that day when Reason Hall, at the age of 76 years, was taken to meet his Redeemer and a place was needed for his burial. He was laid to rest at the Buena Vista Cemetery and a nice tall monument was erected giving his year of birth and date of death, which was Dec 12, 1869. His dear wife, Martha, who had traveled across our country with him all of those 23 years prior, mourned his loss and chose not to remarry, but remained a widow until she passed in July 25, 1889 at the age of 83 yrs, 7 months. She applied for a widow's pension citing that Reason had served in both the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars of 1832 but it was denied as no record could be found. Their's was truly an Oregon Pioneer family.
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Much of the above information I researched from Wikipedia, however I would not have done so if not for a very informative email I received on Feb 11, 2013 from Gary Honts, who is also related to Reason Bowie Hall and informed me about Buena Vista, Hall's Ferry, the pottery factory, Blue Mounds Fort, Attack on Blue Mounds, and the Hall Sisters. I also have just received confirmation about the relationship of the Hall sisters to Reason Hall, thanks to Rita Hart, a great, great, great granddaughter of Reason and Martha Hall. She also told me about another child I had no idea had existed, her great, great grandmother, Sarah Hall Smith. I appreciate her help very much. I looked up each of the above mentioned subjects, which led me to more things to search out and I realized early on that his current memorial was a sorry excuse for a man of his many feats. I also borrowed from the History of Bureau Co., Illinois, publ.1885, transcribed by Denise McLoughlin, Tampico Area Historical Society, notations from Dorris Simon regarding the early life of Reason B.Hall and FAG#80379586, Amedee Meilier Smith's memorial created by Jim Hutcheson. Also, 1840 Illinois Census and my MyHeritage Family Tree, with help from my relatives who married into the Hall family a number of different times, securing our relationship and that my curiosity would get the better of me when I decided I wanted to learn about my family history once and for all. I am happy to make any corrections and/or additions as they arise. With All Sincerity, Kathie L. Webb Blair, Dec. 31st, 2013. A great, great granddaughter of Oregon Pioneers.
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