The Cumberland County, NC, Marriage Register has the following: "Jan 27, 1879 -- Haywood Hall 29, son of Nathan Hall and Catherine Hall, both living, Gray's Creek Twnshp residence and place of marriage..." This bit of information initially helped me establish Nathan and Catherine HALL as the paternal grandparents of my paternal grandmother, Janie Hall CROOM, whose early photo is shown to the right. Tombstones in the Hall-Brafford Cemetery in Grays Creek have provided dates of birth and death for these great and great-great grandparents. An inscription on his tombstone and census records indicate that Nathan HALL was born in 1811. Records, however, reveal he may have been born in1810 in North Carolina, most likely in an area of Sampson County just to the east of Fayetteville in Cumberland County.  My studies, as well as those of several others who have corresponded with me, suggest that he was a son of a Nathan who in turn was a son of Barnabas and Penelope HALL of Sampson County. This remains conjectural, however, and it seems possible that he was a son of Barnabas, rather that a grandson.. No fewer than four men named NATHAN HALL, each with a family, are found in the 1840 census for Sampson County.  Proof that Catherine SIMMONS was the wife of Nathan HALL who was born in 1810 was found in the death certificate of their son, Haywood HALL.

Janie Isabelle Hall 1879 -- 1964 daughter of Haywood & Sarah Nunalee Hall

Though unproved at this time, Barnabas HALL of Sampson County, NC is the designated progenitor of my HALL ancestral line. This page sets forth some of his descendants, primarily those of his likely but unproved grandson, Nathan HALL (c1810-1889).

1. Barnabas HALL, b 1755-1760, d abt 1812 Sampson Co., NC, m Penelope BULLARD* [her maiden surname is speculative; court records confirm a Penelope as widow of Barnabas], d aft 1840 Sampson County. They had the following issue:

    

   1. William HALL,
   2. Allen HALL, b 1776, d bef 1850 Sampson Co, m Sabrina "Sabra" CULBRETH, b abt 1779, d aft 1860; she was dau of Neil & Martha Autry CULBRETH. Their issue:
      1.  
   3. Nathan HALL, b abt 1780. This Nathan, son of Barnabas, is confirmed; however, the following depicted father-son relationship is based on circumstantial evidence. By 1840 there were no less that four men in Sampson County, NC, named Nathan Hall, each with a family. Inspection of census records strongly suggests that several of these are first cousins. Assigning the following Nathan Hall as a son of Nathan, the son of Barnabus, is somewhat conjectural. Proof is being sought.

       

      1. Nathan HALL, b c1810 Sampson County, d 4 Aug 1889, Grays Creek, Cumberland Co., NC; m Catherine SIMMONS. b 1813 NC, d 2 Oct 1883 Grays Creek, Cumberland Co., NC. [This writer believes it remotely possible that this Nathan was a son, rather than a grandson, of Barnabas Hall (b c1755-60, d c1812)]; issue of Nathan & Catherine HALL all born in Sampson County, NC, except as noted:
         1. David HALL, b abt 1832
         2. Catharine HALL, b abt 1835
         3. Lucy HALL, b abt 1838
         4. Malcy HALL, b abt 1840
         5. Gaston HALL, b abt 1841
         6. Sabra Jane HALL, b 18 Apr 1842; d 6 Jan 1910; m William Love NUNALEE, b 1847, d 1914; lived in Pender County. Their issue:
            1. William Marshall NUNALEE, SR, b 20 May 1877, d 5 Jun 1959; m Alice C. SINGLETARY, b 19 May 1886, d 27 Mar 1951. They had one son.
            2. Alice S. NUNALEE, b 1868, d 1957; m Mack Lloyd BELL, b 1850, d 1925.
            3. Thomas Hervey NUNALEE, Sr, b 4 Oct 1882, d 10 Jan 1952 in Atkinson, NC; m Minnie Ethel "Tody" CROOM, b 23 Nov 1884, d 3 Jul 1968 in Atkinson, NC. She was a dau of Nathan Richard & Mary Henry CROOM, Jr. Thomas & Minnie NUNALEE had one son and two daughters.
            4. Mack Lloyd NUNALEE, b 1 Apr 1885, d 4 Jul 1974; m Nellie Jane DeVANE, b 15 Sep 1890, d 16 Aug 1918. They had two sons and three daughters.

             

         7. Louisa HALL, b abt 1843
         8. Love A. HALL, b abt 1847, d 2 Dec 1897 Harnett Co, NC, m Mary LUCAS. Their issue: a son & a dau.
         9. Haywood HALL, A discrepancy note: (Death certificate: b 25 Dec 1847, d 20 Sep 1918) versus (Grave markers: b 26 Dec 1849 in Cumberland Co. NC, d 17 Oct 1918); m Sarah (Sally) NUNALEE, b 10 Jan 1861 in Cumberland Co. NC, d 15 Oct 1908 in Grays Creek area of Cumberland Co. NC They had following issue, all born in Cumberland County:
            1. Janie Isabelle HALL, b 27 Dec 1879, d 26 Jul 1964 in Fayetteville, NC. On 5 Nov 1902, she married John Henry CROOM SR., b 5 Nov 1875 in Pender County, NC, d 17 Jun 1958 in Fayetteville, NC. He was the son of Nathan Richard CROOM, Jr. and his wife, Mary Elizabeth HENRY. John and Janie had one daughter and two sons.
            2. Amelia HALL, b 1884, d 1961 in Fayetteville, NC; m Blackburn GOFORTH, b 1880, d in Fayetteville, NC. They had one daughter and two sons, all deceased.
            3. Tracy Ivey HALL, b 15 Mar 1886, d Sep 1966 in Fayetteville, NC; m Alice Butler CARTER, b 1895, d 1955 in Fayetteville, NC. They had two sons and one daughter.
            4. June HALL, b 6 Jun 1888, d 21 Mar 1941 in Fayetteville, NC; m Jessie Lee JACKSON, dau of Cornelius K. JACKSON and his wife, Eliza Bessie COX. June and Jessie had two daughters.
            5. Thomas HALL, b 2 Nov 1891, died 7 Jul 1942 Fayetteville, NC;. m Lucille BULLOCK, b 5 Aug 1906, d May 1984 in Rocky Mount NC. After his marriage, Thomas lived in Rocky Mount where the Bullock family owned a furniture business. During WW-I, Thomas was gassed in France by the Germans. He suffered throughout the rest of his life, dying in Veterans Hospital, Fayetteville, NC, in the early months of WWII. They had one daughter, Betty Ruth.
         10. Marshall H. HALL, b 5 Nov 1851, d 24 Sep 1899; m Melissa TOLAR; their issue, all born in Cumberland Co, NC:
         1. Catherine HALL, b 1873
         2. Lawrence HALL, b 1875
         3. Lloyd HALL, b 16 Mar 1880, d 24 Sep 1899 Grays Creek, NC; m Permelia "Perdie" WILLIAMSON;
         11. Emmaline HALL, b 28 Sep 1856, d 29 Nov 1927 Chatham Co, NC; m Eli Brafford, b 15 May 1845 England, d 1 Jun 1906 Chatham Co, NC; bur Hall-Brafford Cemetery, Grays Creek, Cumberland Co, NC. Their issue: 7 daughters and 5 sons. Some descendants now spell their surname as Bradford.
      2. Eliza J. HALL, b abt 1815, 1870-1880 Cumberland Co, NC; m Duncan P WEST.

       

   4. Keziah HALL,
   5. Jane HALL,
   6. Rachel HALL,
   7. Catherine HALL,
   8. Hester HALL,
   9. Tobias HALL,
   10. Henry HALL,
   11. Mathew HALL,
   12. Rayford HALL,

If you have any information which tracks the HALL surname in early Eastern North Carolina during the period prior to 1800, I would like to hear from you.