HALL family in Yass NSW

Tom ELEMENT visited Yass NSW recently and dropped in on the family history society there. While he is a Moloney descendant, he kindly checked in on the records on my HALL family line there. He came up with a few very interesting pieces of information.


While the 1868 civil marriage certificate (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/07/death-certificate-of-eliza-jane-hall.html) has some information about William HALL and Eliza BLISS' marriage, the parish records (St Clements C of E, Yass) also gave that William was 25 yrs old when he married Eliza, and that Eliza was 16yrs of age when she married William. The register also notes that they were married on 20 May 1868 at Boambola, NSW (i.e., not in the church but celebrated by the priest).

William and Eliza HALL had fifteen children registered in NSW following their marriage. The parish register lists the following (with date of birth rather than date of baptism listed) - I have numbered the below against their order in the family.

Date (of birth), Surname, First name, Parents, Residence, Occupation of father
(2) 16 Jan 1870, HALL, Alfred Ernest, William & Eliza, Yass River, Farmer
(3) 2 Mar 1872, HALL, James Samuel, William & Eliza, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(4) 5 Oct 1874, HALL, Edward, William & Eliza, Yass River, Farmer
(5) 3 Nov 1875, HALL, John, William & Elizabeth, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(6) 8 Jul 1877, HALL, Arthur, William & Eliza (Bliss), The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(7) 22 Apr 1879, HALL, Thomas, William & Eliza (Bliss), Yass River, Farmer
(8) 13 Jan 1881, HALL, Sarah Jane, William & Eliza, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(9) 21 Feb 1883, HALL, Katherine, William & Eliza, Yass River
(11) 17 Jan 1887, HALL, Norman William, William & Elizabeth, Yass River

The page terminates with Norman William - it is possible that the missing (1) Mary Ann and (10) Martha Emily were transcribed under a similar name.

Also of interest is that the baptism of William HALL's brother Arthur Albert appears between Oct 1884 and Feb 1885.
Date (of birth), Surname, First name, Parents, Residence, Occupation of father
2 May 1851, HALL, Arthur Albert, Samuel & Mary Ann, Yass River

While Arthur Albert was born in the Cambridge area in 1851 (to parents of William and Arthur Albert, Samuel and Mary Ann nee WELLS), he was either not baptised, or not baptised into the Church of England. As the family was Protestant, it seems that the former option is likely. Arthur Albert married Eliza's sister Judith/Julia Ann BLISS on 7 Feb 1885, so it seems he was baptised immediately prior to the wedding.


Tom also found some information on the farm itself - I'd never been able to tell what kind of farming the Hall family did - in 1877 William & Eliza had 270 acres, 25 cattle, and 500 sheep. So it was likely a wool farm.