Hall Family Collection (Sycamore)

Marshall Perkins, the son of James and Annie (French) Perkins, was born in Croydon, New Hampshire, on May 13, 1823. He was educated in the common schools and later at Dartmouth. He went on to study medicine and graduate from Cambridge Medical College. He moved to Marlow, New Hampshire where he worked as a physician and was an active member in his community and in the Republican party. In 1852 Marshall married Harriett Adelaide Fiske, the daughter of Hon. Amos F. and Eliza (Stone) Fiske of Marlow. Marshall and Harriett had nine children; James Marshall, Annie E., Hattie F., Waldo H., Mattie, Daniel, Kate L., Charles A., and Jessie M. On September 23, 1862, at the time of the Civil War, Perkins placed aside his professional and personal considerations and enlisted as an assistant surgeon in the Fourteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. He served just under three years and was mustered out on July 8, 1865. After his service, he went back to Marlow where he lived until his death on June 17, 1902 at age seventy-nine. Daniel Read (D.R.) Hall was born July 3, 1802. He married Anna W. Powers on December 4, 1825 and had one son, Horace Powers Hall. Daniel married his second wife, Martha Perkins on June 13, 1833. He died in February 1885. The Hall and Perkins families are related. Martha Perkins and Marshall Perkins are brother and sister. Horace Powers (H.P.) Hall was born in Croydon, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, on August 5, 1827. He pursued his early education in the common schools and spent two years at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Hall later received a B.A. degree from Amhurst College in Massachusetts (1855) and an M.A. degree from DePaul University in Indiana. Hall’s teaching career began when he moved to Illinois in 1856. There he met Ellen M. Herrick, a native of Cheshire County, New Hampshire; they married and had five children. In 1864, at the time of the Civil War, Hall placed aside his professional and personal considerations and enlisted as a member of Company I, First Indiana Heavy Artillery, located in Indianapolis. Shortly after his discharge, Hall and his family settled in Sycamore, Illinois, where he succeeded Andrew T. Blanchard as city superintendent of schools. Hall, elected county superintendent of schools in 1869, remained in that office until 1877. During his work as superintendent of the DeKalb County schools, Hall published an educational monthly journal pertaining to the schools of the county and wrote a pamphlet entitled, Suggestions to Teachers. Under his guidance, the schools made substantial progress in several educational enterprises. In 1877, Hall retired from office and embarked in the grocery and insurance business. The collection also contains fifteen letters written by Marshall Perkins, his wife Harriet (Fiske) Perkins, Ellen (Herrick) Hall and Daniel Read Hall during Marshall’s service in the Civil War. The following relationships can be gleaned from the letters, materials contained in the collection and various genealogical sources. Daniel Read Hall (D.R. Hall) was married to Anna Powers. They had a son named Horace Powers Hall (H.P. Hall) who later married Ellen Herrick. H.P. and Ellen had five children, Juddson, Eva, and three others who names were not found. D.R. Hall married a second time to a woman named Martha Perkins. Martha and Marshall Perkins were sister and brother. Marshall married a woman by the name of Harriet Adelaide Fiske of Marlow, New Hampshire. They had nine children: James Marshall, Annie E., Hattie F., Waldo H., Mattie, Daniel, Kate L., Charles A., and Jessie M. The letters Harriet wrote when she stayed at Marshall’s camp offer a unique female point of view on the Civil War. In his letters, Marshall comments on the war and his service as an assistant surgeon in the 14th Regiment of the US Volunteer Infantry. The rest of the letters include commentary among family members about daily life and views on the war. As a collection these letters show the impact of the war on the lives of both the Hall and Perkins families.

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