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| Adopted by Mr. & Mrs. Hall as a child. Rumor was that she was Mr. Hall's natural daughter. In a letter to Gramma VanLooy, a friend of her mother's said that she had been abused by her stepmother, which caused her to have an "odd walk" later in life. From a letter of 5 Dec, 1949: "As I was thinking about you and your family the other day, I remembered that Emilie told once about some questions about your mother's early life that you had asked and I realized that if your father doesn't know about it, I am about the only one left who can tell you anything and of course, I don't know too much but I believe I'll tell you what I can and if there is nothing new to interest you why just let it go. Your mother never talked it with me and rarely referred to it, so this is as I remember hearing Aunt Hattie and theirs tell it. Merna's real name was Farnsworth. Her father worked Uncle John Hall's farm and that is how LC Hall & wife became interested in Merna. Mr. Farnsworth was a good man, respected by those who knew him, but his second wife had quite a temper. There were other children but whether Merna's full brothers and sisters, I don't know. It was reported that one of her brothers was at her funeral. The stepmother put a lot of the heavy work onto Merna even tho she was only a child. One of her school teachers told me, at the time of her death, how Merna used to tell her how mean the stepmother was. Merna had a peculiar walk which was said to be the result of the hard work of early life. She was probably ten or eleven years old when L.C. Hall & wife adopted her and she surely fitted herself into their home and hearts beautifully and was fullyaccepted by the Hall family. The first time that I saw her was when I was about 9 yrs old at a quilting at my grandmother's. Aunt Hattie (Merna's mother) called me to her and said 'Hattie, this is my little girl' and after a few smiles at each other, Merna & I went out to the swing. That isn't much as I read it over but fromt hat time until the time of my mother's death, Merna & I saw little of each other vor various reasons -- school, etc, then your father came onto the scene and he can take it from there. I understand that L.C. Hall told Mr. Farnsworth that he might come & see Merna but the stepmother should not step a foot on their place. I never knew whether Merna saw her father again or not, but I do know that adoption was the wisest thing L.C. Hall ever did for all concerned. It did a lot for Merna, of course, but so did it for L.C. and wife. Merna earned and deserved everything that she ever got from them."16 Okay, family history says that she died of euremic poisoning after childbirth. Death Certificate says that she died of Chronic Nephritis and cerebral hemmorage, where the nephritis had a duration of 1 year. Meanwhile, the baby's burial is dated July 1921. Was she sick for almost a year before dying? There is no mention of pregnancy or childbirth on the death certificate. Birth year on the 1900 Census is 1878, which would make her exactly 5 years older than other sources have said. I find one M. Farnsworth born in 1878 listed in the 1880 census: Minerva Farnsworth, daughter of J.B. and Rhoda Farnsworth of Gorham, youngest of 6 children at home.17 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| From the Canandaigua society column, 11/30/107 "Hall-Carter An exceptionally pretty home wedding occurred Wednesday afternoon, when Miss Merna Frances Hall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Clark Hall, became the bride of Mr. William Tyler Carter. The Rev. G.K. Dye, D.D., performed the ceremony in the presence of seventy guests, all relatives and intimate friends. The Episcopal service was used and the bride was given in marriage by her father. She wore a beautiful imported white lace robe over messaline satin. Her veil of tulle was worn by her aunt, Mrs. Alexander S. Bacon, of Brooklyn, at her own wedding twenty-five years before, and was held in place by orange blossoms. She carried a shower bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley. Miss. Carol S. Bacon, of Brooklyn, a cousin, was maid-of-honor and was gowned in white crepe-de-chine, trimmed with lace, and carried an arm bouquet of pink chrysanthemums. Miss Harriet Estelle Hall, of Cheshire, another cousin, was bridesmaid. Her dress was pink silk, pearl trimmed, with yoke and sleeves of embroidered net, and she carried white chrysanthemums. Mr. Joseph Carter, of Alexandria, Va, brother of the groom, was best man." The article contains further details and guest list. 21 June 1912, p. 2: Fairfax Herald: "Mr. William Carter and wife, of New York, are visiting the former's parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Carter.9 28 August, 1914, p. 3. Mr. and Mrs. Will Carter, of New York, are the guests of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Carter10 6 July, 1917. Mr. William Carter, of Michigan, is visiting his father, Mr. James Carter11 12 July 1918. Mr. James Carter has his son, Mr. William Carter and family, visiting him.12 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Last Modified 12 Jun 2005 | Created 16 Jun 2005 by Reunion for Macintosh |