Served in Black Hawk War of 1832 - Private Army, 3 Reg Mounted Vol
Mr. Oliver W. Hall of Carlinville, Illinois, who was present on the field the following day, (after Stillman's defeat) wrote a brief description of it as follows:
"We were camped at Dixon's Ferry at the time of Stillman's defeat. Now Stillman had about two hundred and seventy-five well-mounted men, with baggage wagons, and he started out on his own accord, camping late in the evening on the north side of that little creek. The ford was just above, where the willows stood thick on each side of the creek. While Stillman's men were cooking supper, three or four Indians on their ponies rode up on that high hill just north of Stillman's camp, about sundown, and five or six of Stillman's men caught their horses and ran them to where the Indians were in camp, in the timber, about a mile and a half from Stillman's camp, north. The Indians killed one of our men and ran the balance of them into camp. The first that Stillman knew of any danger was when the Indians came yelling over that high hill just north of Stillman's camp, and it was a perfect stampede with Stillman's men. Some of them got their horses, but lots of them got away on foot, and after the Indians had killed eleven of our men they went back to Stillman's camp and cut the spokes out of the wagons and poured out a barrel of whisky. Well, we lay on our arms the next night on the south side of the creek, for we had left our tents at Dixon's Ferry, as we had to go back to meet the boat to get our rations. There were twenty-five hundred of us with shotguns and rifles and muskets, all flintlocks, and we were mounted, all but two or three companies. We picked up nine dead men as we came up from Dixon's Ferry on a forced march the next morning after Stillman's defeat. The last two that we found were Major Perkins and Captain Adams, with both their heads cut off and their heads skinned all over and left by them. We found them on that descent as you go down to the creek from the high land, about half way down, and we buried nine men in one grave about two hundred yards southwest of those willows, just below the ford and on sideling ground, not as far south as the top of the hill. We buried one young man about three-quarters of a mile north of Stillman's camp (if true, this was James Doty), where he was found, and another young man about one-half a mile east, where he was found. (This was Gideon Munson.)
Now the road crossed the creek just east of those willows, where there were a few scattering, scrubby trees. The nine men were buried about two hundred yards southwest of those willows and on the west side of the road leading to Dixon's Ferry. We never knew how many Indians there were."
"The Black Hawk War" by Frank E. Stevens; pub. Chicago, IL 1903; pages 134-135.
"Oliver W. Hall has been granted a pension of $8.00 per month from July 27, 1892 as a private soldier in the BlackHawk War of 1832.
From History of Macoupin County Illinois, Hon. Charles A. Walker, Vol I, Chicago: SJ Clarke Publishing, 1911, p 427: Carlinville Library - the earliest record show that in 1834 a library was started by the first teachers of the county seat. General John I. Rinaker and Ho. CA Walker remember a library organization that met over Oliver Hall's store.
1840 Census Macoupin County, Illinois, p 58
Males Under 5 1 (John W) Females Under 5 1 (Sarah A)
20-30 1 20-30 1
Illinois Public Land Purchase Records
Name Section Price Total Date Volume Page Acres
HALL OLIVER WILEY NENE 125 5000 11 December 1845 326 042 4000
1850 Census family living in Carlinville, Macoupin Co, Illinois, p 353, family 3, listed as a laborer
1860 Census living in Carlinville, Macoupin Co, Illinois, p 23 written, dwelling 169, family 176, grocer
1870 Census family living in Carlinville, Illinois, p 155, dwelling 159, family 171 listed as grocery merchant
1880 Census living in Carlinville, Illinois, p 123, dwelling 302, listed as constable now married to Sophia
Mr. Hall's many friends in this community will rejoyce at this well merited reward of one who aided in opening Illinois up to civilization." Carlinville Democrat, May 04, 1893.
Oliver Hall is shown in the census records as being a laborer, constable, and grocer. He had a store on the townsquare in Carlinville, IL. There was a bench in front of this store. Story has it that a man was carving on this bench, and Oliver, who was angered at this, cut off the man's coat tails.
__________________________________________
Journal Sister of William Douglas Hall (which sister unknown probably Sarah A)), "Leaves from a Woman's Private Journal," Between 1880 - 1894, p 8. "O. W Hall, my father, son of James Hall and Mary Walker, his wife, was born in North Carolina September 19, 1812, went with his parents, about his ninth year, to Carlinville Macoupin County Ill. Married Miss Deborah Redman, as more properly, Redmond, my dear Mother when he was in his twenty-first year and she a very little past fourteen, March 29, 1833. My parents were among the pioneers of Illinois, played, hunted and fished with the Indians; they were very poor but rose far above that and was at one time wealthy. They lived together over forty years and were the parents of eight daughters and four sons. At this writing five sisters and three brothers are living. My dear Mother died by an assassins hand in 1875. My father is short, about 5 ft 8 inches; dark, has dark yellowish, grey-brown eyes, not handsome with an exceeding high forehead; charitable, fierce tempered but had fine business talent and is a natural violinist. Like most of his race, he is a lover of the other sex and like his father, he undoubtedly was insane in business matters after he reached middle age. He is an Atheist in theology. After Mother's death he married Mrs Sophie Wills, a swarthy nondescript kind of a grass widow and they have several small children and are not very well to do. He was once proud, autocratic but was a good father and educated us. Poor old father."
_______________________________________________
January 4, 1895 Edwardsville Intelligencer (Edwardsville, Illinois) reports in Neighborhood Notes the death of Oliver W. Hall. "Oliver W. Hall died at Carlinville, December 27th, aged 82 years, 3 months and 8 days. He was born in North Carolina and when about ten years old came with the family to Illinois stopping for a time in Madison county. In the spring of 1828 he removed to the territory now embraced within Macoupin county and soon afterwards located at Carlinville, making him a continuous resident of Macoupin county for seventyone years. He held many offices of trust during his life, among which was that of deputy sheriff, constable, and was at the time of his death serving as police magistrate."
