A Fresh Look at Thomas HALL and Potential HALL Siblings in Smith County, Tennessee

In searching for the pedigree of Claiborne HALL (ca. 1788 – 15 November 1874) and his supposed brother Nathan (or Nathaniel) (ca. 1791 – after 1860), I quickly encountered Thomas HALL. 

Question: Is Thomas HALL related to Claiborne HALL?  If so, how?  Father, brother, cousin?

The first reference I found for Thomas HALL was dated 28 September 1813, a summons to be a juror at the December term of the county court. (There is a Thomas HALE in county but I checked the original record book, not just the WPA transcription  and it is Thomas HALL summoned NOT Thomas HALE).

On 11 March 1814, Thomas HALL entered 25 acres of land on Peytons Creek – land is described as lying on both sides of a branch “where PORTER now lives.” This is likely Thomas PORTER from the following deed:

                Smith Co. TN Deed Book D, pages 239.  23 March 1813. Benjamin PAYNE of Smith

            Co. TN to Thomas PORTER of same, for $400 on west fork of Peytons Creek, 116 acres

            and seventy poles, beginning on George THOMASSON’s northwest boundary, reference

            being had to grant dated 8 June 1797. Signed: Benjamin PAYNE.  Witnesses: Harbert

            CARPENTER, Willis AMONETT. Acknowledged in open court March Term 1813.         (NOTE: Harbert CARPENTER was in a lawsuit against Joel DYER, Jr. and also was a       buyer at the 1805 estate sale of Robert BOWMAN).

Question: Is this the Thomas PORTER who lived in Spotsylvania Co. VA and the one who was a grandson listed in John PORTER’s will (with Asa HALL witness) in 1791 Louisa Co VA? OR is this the Thomas PORTER (1754 – 1829) from Stafford Co. VA connected with Calvert PORTER?

            The above land was surveyed on 25 March 1814 for Thomas HALL and described as

            “beginning at a beech on William HEROD’s west boundary line” It turned out to be

            30 acres.  Chain carriers were William LANGFORD and William PARKER.

            LANGFORD came from Granville Co. NC and was son of Parrish LANGFORD. I

            see no connection to HALL or HEROD lines.  William PARKER was connected with

            Dixon’s Creek Church in Smith Co., that entire family came out of Halifax Co. VA,

            some connections with YATES there and in Caswell Co. NC.

Question: Why did Thomas HALL choose these men to be his chain carriers?  Relations or just acquaintances he met once he arrived in Smith County???

When the final certificate for this 30 acres was issued on 11 March 1815, he sold the land for $60 ($2 per acre) within a month (4 April 1815) to William HEROD. Witnesses to this deed were Samuel THOMASSON, Thomas PORTER, Sr. and Thomas PORTER, Jr. 

During the ensuing period (30 March 1815), Thomas HALL entered another six acres of land on the waters of Peytons Creek. The survey on this land was done on 4 May 1815 and he used the same chain carriers – William PARKER and William LANGFORD. The final certificate for this six acres was made out by the Tennessee Governor on 23 January 1816.

TO DO: Check to see if William PARKER and William LANGFORD were chain carriers for lots of property in Smith County. Update: This does not appear to be the case. 

NO DISPOSITION HAS been found for this six acre tract.  What happened to the land? A theory is that it eventually wound up in William HEROD, Sr.'s possession. 

The 9 July 1816 issue of the Carthage Gazette indicates a dead letter at the Carthage post office on 2 July 1816 for Thomas B. HALL. 

Question: As he was only Thomas HALL in county at that time, is this him with a middle initial B.?

Thomas HALL summoned again as juror on 16 August 1816 to next term of court.

The enumerator for the 1820 census of Smith Co. TN decided to arrange the listing semi-alphabetically – all H’s listed together.  Nevertheless, it may be significant that the entry for Claiborne HALL is immediately followed by one for Thomas HALL. 

Thomas HALL

1 male under 10, 1 male 26 and under 45, 1 male 45 and upward, 1 female 10 and under 16, 1 female 16 and under 26.

Possible Interpretation of 1820 census entry: 1 male under 10 = unknown (once thought this was perhaps Thomas H. HALL but now reconsidering this); 1 male 26 and under 45 (possibly Thomas); 1 male 45 and upward (possibly Thomas); 1 female 10 and under 16 (Sarah C. HALL, born ca. 1805 in GA per census records); 1 female 16 and under 26 (Jane HALL, born obviously between 1794 and 1804, possibly in GA per a son’s 1880 census entry.)

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  I just realized after re-examining the actual census record that it appears that Thomas HALL’s entry includes a female 45 and upwards.  This is NOT listed in the index on Ancestry.com – I have looked at it before – the ‘tick mark’ is faint but I believe it does indicate a female of that age group in the household. 

IF indeed there is an older female in the household, that leads one to conclude that it seems more probably that Thomas HALL was the male 45 and upwards and the female 45 and upwards was his wife.  This, of course, makes Thomas of the right age to be Claiborne HALL's father. 

Since there are two adult males in this household, it is difficult to know which one is Thomas HALL.  The names of the other residents of the household are surmised by me from whom I believe could be this Thomas HALL’s children from other records.  There is NO separate census entry in 1820 for Jane HALL or for Nathan HALL in Smith County.  Nathan HALL has not been found in 1820 census though by this time he was married and had a daughter about 8 years old.  Jane HALL had been charged on 12 May 1820 with bastardy likely the father was William HAYNIE, Jr. (HAYNIE charged with bastardy at same term of court).  The base born child “has since departed this life.”  William HAYNIE, Jr. was son of William HAYNIE, Sr. and Ann BRADLEY who came from Caswell Co. NC. William HAYNIE, Jr.

William HAYNIE, Jr. seems to connect Jane HALL with Claiborne and Nathan HALL.  He signed an affidavit in 1872 stating he had witnessed the 27 December 1811 marriage of James ALEXANDER to Elizabeth HOOVER (War of 1812 pension for James ALEXANDER is source).  Claiborne HALL also signed an affidavit stating he had witnessed the same marriage.  In 1817, William HAYNIE witnessed a deed for Joel DYER – Nathan HALL witnessed the same deed. Judith HAYNIE, sister of William HAYNIE, Jr. was married to James HEROD, son of William HEROD, Sr.  Per HAYNIE’s War of 1812 pension record, he was not married to Nancy BAKER until 1822.

Question: What happened to the 6 acres that Thomas HALL received a final certificate for on 23 January 1816?  A theory is below. 

In the Smith County Tennessee county court minutes for 11 February 1823, a group of delinquent tax properties are listed.  Among these are Nathan HALL. He is listed as owing 58 ¼ cents for the year 1819 for five acres land and one white poll.  For the year 1820, he is listed as owing 60 cents for 5 acres of land on Peytons Creek and one white poll. Sheriff William GOODALL stated they were no goods or chattels which he could attach on these individuals.

Could this be the missing 6 (5?) acres  that belonged to Thomas HALL now listed as belonging to Nathan HALL????  How did Nathan get it?  Inheritance?  That seems odd as Claiborne HALL (and perhaps others) would also have been heirs. It seems the tax list would have read “Thomas Hall Estate” in that case.   Wouldn’t Nathan HALL only have had an interest in the property?  No will or estate has been found for Thomas HALL in Smith County. 

Was it an unrecorded deed?  The fact that one white poll was also listed for Nathan HALL in the unpaid tax listing makes me believe he owned the property outright, not as executor or heir of Thomas HALL.  I am thinking if land was eventually sold for taxes, perhaps deed to Nathan went unrecorded.  I have searched to no avail for a deed of this land from Sheriff William GOODALL to someone. 

In the second version of William HEROD’s will dated 17 May 1830, he mentions specifically that he owned 148 acres of land.  This would seem to perhaps be the 111 acres plus 30 acres he bought of Thomas HALL.  That is 141 total.  If you add 5 or 6 acres more, that is 146/147 – close to 148. 

Question: Did William HEROD somehow acquire this 5 or 6 acre tract and the deed went unrecorded? 

The only other reference to Thomas HALL in Smith County is in 1827 and 1828 in which his name is included in a list of people owing money to the estate of Foucher C. CORNWELL.  A note for Thomas HALL for $2.68 ¼ and one for $1.00 are marked as “bad and doubtful debts.”  It is believed this is the same Thomas HALL. There are several dozen bad notes listed, Thomas HALL’s being only one of the names listed.  I am not sure this indicates Thomas was still living or in the county at this time or if he contracted these debts and then left the county or died.  I would think but not sure if he was deceased, wouldn’t that have been mentioned in the record???  This could have been an old debt.  Thomas H. HALL seems too young (perhaps) for these debts. 

Some evidence from the possible children of Thomas HALL:

I believe Thomas HALL of the 1820 census had the following children: Jane HALL (born 1794-1800 possibly in Georgia); Sarah C. HALL (born ca. 1805 Georgia).  I am not too sure about Thomas H. HALL anymore.  I will examine them one at a time:

1) Jane HALL

            charged with bastardy by William HAYNIE, Jr. in 1820 Smith Co. TN court records.

            The child died. 

            on 12 May 1823, Jane HALL is again charged with bastardy in Smith Co. TN Court          Minutes, Book 10, page 276. A member of the court named David HOGG, Esq. paid

            the fine and rendered a bond to keep the child from becoming chargeable to the county.

            NOTE: I find it highly unusual that a member of the court would do this!  unless

            he was covering for the father Elijah TONEY, a prominent businessman in the

            county – perhaps a friend of his! See more below on Elijah TONEY.

                       

            court records in 1828 and 1830 indicate she was paid for keeping Eliza JUSTICE.

            A William JUSTICE whose wife Esther divorced him in 1819 stating he had run away to Missouri and married another woman.  Could Eliza JUSTICE be his aged mother? He

            seems to have come from Pittsylvania Co. VA though I am unsure if that is significant to

            my problem.

            Jane HALL’s 1830 census entry in Smith County seems to have potentially been either

            in Carthage or near to Carthage maybe on the road north. (Samuel HIGH five households             away was a neighbor to Claiborne HALL). 

                                1830 census, Smith County, Tennessee, page 61

                                                Jane HALL

                                                1 male under 5, 1 male 5 and under 10, 1 female under 5,

                                                1 female 5 and under 10, 1 female 20 and under 30, 1 female

                                                30 and under 40, 1 female 60 and under 70

                                                NOTE: This Jane HALL was living five households from Samuel

                                                HIGH who was an adjacent landowner of Claiborne HALL.  The

                                                female 20 and under 30 is suspected to be Sarah HALL (later

                                                (TONEY), the female 30 and under 40 would be Jane.  The identity

of the older female is unknown (possibly mother or Eliza JUSTICE?).  It is suspected that the children were illegitimate offspring of either Sarah and/or Jane. 

            DNA testing has proven that one daughter of Jane HALL’s was Sarah Catherine HALL    (born ca. 1827; died 15 December 1897 Stone co. AR)  Sarah Catherine married Andrew     Jackson FORD in Independence Co. AR on 23 October 1845.  Sarah Catherine was likely      the female under 5 in Jane’s 1830 household.  Another of her children may have come to         Pope co. IL – James M. HALL, born ca. 1826.  Jane may have also had a son named William HALL, born 1825 Smith Co. TN; died 31 January 1897 in Bosque Co. TX.  He   was in Izard Co. AR in 1850 census next to the FORD family. The older daughter may             have been Nancy HALL who married George SLANKARD in Pope Co. IL in 1844 and   died young. It          seems Jane had continued having children out of wedlock after the episode            with William HAYNIE, Jr. in 1820.

            Court records of Smith Co. indicate that Jane HALL ran off with Elijah TONEY in 1834

            to Jackson Co. AL (Case Pleasant F. CORNWELL and Elizabeth A. CORNWELL vs.

            Elijah TONEY).  The CORNWELL’s indicate Elijah was Elizabeth’s father and ran off

            with two base women, sisters by the name of HALL.  Elijah TONEY was a War of 1812 veteran and had served as an editor in Kentucky and a businessman in Smith Co. TN.  He

             later adopted three sons he had by Jane HALL, changing their names to TONEY. Elijah TONEY"s first wife Mary RUCKS died in 1828. 

            DNA testing proves that Sarah Catherine HALL’s father was Elijah TONEY.  So other

            of Jane’s children may have been also. William HALL (born 1825)’s Confederate muster roll indicates a             birthplace of Jackson Co. GA.  (Timing indicates he should maybe have been born in        Smith Co. TN but perhaps he was thinking of Jackson Co. AL where he lived as a child???)

            Jane was dead by 1840.  The oldest female in Elijah TONEY's 1840 household in Jackson Co. AL was 20 and under 30.  It would therefore seem putting her ages in all the census records together (16-26 in 1820: 30 and under 40 in 1830; that Jane HALL was born between 1794 and 1800.  Some of her children made it to the 1880 census and all indicate a birthplace for their mother as Tennessee. However, her youngest child Hugh Lawson White TONEY (born in 1837) indicates his mother’s birthplace in the 1900 census as Georgia.

            Claiborne HALL got into some financial difficulty and owed a firm known as GREEN and SLOAN money from which they recovered a judgment in 1837.  In October that year, John BAKER, a neighbor of HALL’s, took a mortgage on his land (37 ½ acres where he lived) as well as furniture, farming utensils, tobacco, and personal property to secure the debt. On 13 November 1837 TONEY & Son & WATKINS (Elijah TONEY, son James R. TONEY and Allen G. WATKINS, a firm), sued Claiborne HALL in Smith County court over a debt due by note of $12.98. Judgment entered for $31.76 in December 1837 Circuit Court for plaintiffs and a levy was made on the tract of land where Claiborne HALL “now lives.” A Sheriff’s sale of the land was ordered. James R. TONEY later indicates the debt had been taken care of.  There were several lawsuits by TONEY and Son and WATKINS against different individuals.  Were they giving Claiborne HALL special treatment because he was Elijah TONEY’s brother-in-law?

           

            Autosomal DNA evidence seems to link descendants of Jane HALL, Sarah C. HALL,       and Claiborne HALL together.  On ancestry, Michael Francis (or a relative Curtis N.

            STEELMAN) matches tnsweetpea (a descendant of Sarah C. HALL through Elijah TONEY   (1829-1865) at 19 cM across 1 segment.  and Sheila Haney ( a descendant of Claiborne HALL through Susan Matilda HALL) at 7 cM across 1 segment. STEELMAN also matches 4 other descendants of Elijah TONEY (1829-1865) at cM ranging from 8 to 17.  Elijah TONEY 1829 – 1865) was born to Elijah TONEY (1786-1868) and Jane HALL and was one of three sons who were later adopted and changed their names from HALL to TONEY.

2) Sarah C. HALL

            believed to be the other HALL sister, one of the “base women” who ran off to Elijah

            TONEY in 1834 with her sister.

           

            At the May 1837 term of Smith Co. TN Court, one Richard JONES is charged with

            bastardy regarding a child born to Sarah HALL.  Interesting that Claiborne HALL

            signed as security for JONES’ bond - $100.  This was at a time when Claiborne HALL

            was in dire financial straits so it seems that perhaps Sarah was a very close relative -        

            sister? 

            after the death of Jane HALL (according to the CORNWELL lawsuit against TONEY),

            Sarah married Elijah TONEY and they had one daughter.  That daughter was Mary Jane

            TONEY who married William McCampbell MAPLES, later an Alabama legislator.

            Sarah’s birthplace is given in census records as Georgia in 1850, Tennessee in 1860, and

            Alabama in 1870.  The year of her birth was between 1805 and 1808.  Her daughter

            Mary Jane MAPLES gives her mother’s birthplace as Georgia in the 1910 census.

            last mentioned in estate settlement of her husband in a document dated 30 September        1876 in Jackson Co. AL.  She has not been found in the 1880 census. According to

            unsourced online Ancestry trees, Sarah HALL TONEY died on 16 January 1878

            in Jackson Co. AL.

NOTE: If Sarah and Jane HALL are indeed daughters of Thomas HALL of Smith Co. TN, it would appear Thomas HALL may have lived in Georgia in the period from the late 1790s until at least 1805. 

3) Thomas H. HALL, born between 1800 and 1810

            I had long considered that Thomas H. HALL who is in the 1830 census of Smith Co. TN

            as age 20 and under 30 with a young female 15 and under 20 could be the son of Thomas

            HALL – possibly the male under 10 in his 1820 census entry in Smith Co. 

            However, I now doubt this conclusion.  In 1836, Thomas H. HALL’s wife Martha

            BRIEN divorces him, stating he moved to Louisville, Kentucky and remarried with

            children.  In doing so, testimony is provided by P. W. BRIEN.  P. W. BRIEN sold land in             1834 which he bought of the estate of Reuben JOHNSON.  Reuben JOHNSON’s land   was in the town of Liberty in Smith Co.   Liberty is in the part of Smith County which became DeKalb County – this is nowhere near to Carthage or to where Claiborne HALL,         Thomas HALL, or William HEROD lived. In addition, neighbors of Thomas H. HALL in     1830 census included Thomas B. OAKLEY who bought land on Brush Creek in 1835 (Deed Book M, page 496), Larkin SMITH who bought land on Mulherin’s Creek in 1816             (Deed Book E, page 466), Anthony WARD, bough land on Helton’s Creek in 1812 (Deed   Book E, page 47) and Thomas MALONE who bought land on Smith’s Fork in 1833 from   William FOUTCH (Deed Book L, page 498).  All of these individuals lived in the       southern part of Smith County near or into what became DeKalb County. 

Conclusion: Geography does NOT favor Thomas H. HALL as being the son of Thomas HALL.

4) Nathan (or Nathaniel) HALL

            Census records reveal an approximate date of birth for Nathan HALL as between 1789 and 1792.  He was 50 and under 60 years old in 1840; was 58 years old in 1850, and was 70 years old in 1860.  His birthplace in 1850 and 1860 was given as Virginia.  He does not appear in any census record before 1840 for some reason.

           

Oddly enough, Nathan HALL does not appear in many records of early Smith County, Tennessee.  He does first appear in the 1810 dead letter notices with Claiborne HALL and continues to do so through 23 July 1813.  He seemed to have lived on Taylors Branch in 1810 whenever the Carthage Gazette published information on a runaway horse he had found.  He was married by 1812 as his daughter Louisiana was born that year or approximately that year.  His wife was Frances HEROD, daughter of William HEROD and sister of Claiborne HALL’s wife Elizabeth HEROD.

            Nathan enlisted on 24 September 1813 as a private in Captain James WALTON’s Company, in the regiment of Horsemen commanded by Newton CANNON in the War with the Creek Indians for a term of three months.  Was discharged on 3 September 1814.  Also referred to as Volunteer Mounted Riflemen. NOTE: Daniel M. LANE, husband of Mary Ann HEROD, and sister of Frances HEROD HALL and Elizabeth HEROD HALL, also enlisted in this same regiment. 

           

            In 1854, Nathan signed an affidavit for the pension of Theodorick BURTON of Smith Co. TN regarding BURTON’s service in the War of 1812.  Besides the fascinating story about their encounter with Indians, Nathan HALL reveals a little about himself.  In an affidavit dated 28 November 1854, he gives his age as 63. HALL states “states he has always known said BURTON before they served in the army aforesaid and lived and known him ever since in the county of Smith."  Theorodick BURTON was born in 1784 in Caswell Co. NC, the son of Charles BURTON who left a will in that county at his death in 1785.  Theodorick BURTON was in Tennessee by at least 1803 when he purchased land in Wilson County.  In 1804, he was listed as “of Sumner County.”  Charles BURTON owned land on Hogan’s Creek in Caswell County, North Carolina near to the Virginia state line. This is the vicinity in which David HALL and Dorcas ALLEY and their children lived.  I am unsure if Nathan HALL meant he had known Theodorick BURTON since he was a child – in which case that would have to place Nathan HALL in Caswell Co. NC OR if he was just stating in a roundabout way that as an adult before the war, he had always known BURTON.  In 1807, Theodorick BURTON purchased land on the east fork of Goose Creek in Smith County.  In 1809 Theodorick BURTON purchased land from John SAMUEL on Dry Creek in Smith County – this deed comes immediately after the deed in the deed book (Book C, page 214 – 215 in which John WALTERS buys the land he later gives to his daughter and sells to Claiborne HALL.  Theodorick BURTON’s deed for land on Dry Creek is witnessed by Thomas WALTERS.  (I am unsure if Thomas WALTERS is connected to John and William WALTERS who came from Spotsylvania Co. VA – he was witnessing other deeds on Dry Creek in 1806). In 1811, Theodorick BURTON bought more land on Dry Creek – it would seem perhaps that was where he resided. (I believe BURTON may have lived on Dry Fork Branch or Dry Branch west of Riddleton and south of Dixon Springs.  This is not too close to where Claiborne HALL lived but more close to where Nathan HALL lives in later life).

On 28 July 1817, Nathan HALL witnessed a deed along with William HAYNIE, Jr. for 100 acres on Peytons Creek from Joel DYER to Daniel M. LANE (his brother-in-law). This 100 acres later is purchased by William HEROD, Sr. and was part of his estate at his death. It is important to note that the HAYNIE family also came from Caswell Co. NC.

Nathan seems to have been close to Daniel M. LANE.  In 1819, he witnessed a deed for the sale of a slave from LANE to Matthew HARPER.

Then of course there is the mysterious 5 acre plot on Peyton’s Creek listed in the delinquent tax lists in 1823 as belonging to Nathan HALL in 1819 and 1820.  I suspect that was the 6 acres granted to Thomas HALL in 1815.  It may have become part of William HEROD’s Sr. estate.

Probate records record Nathan HALL buying livestock and other items at estate sales in 1826 (Jonathan KEY’s estate) and 1828 (Joseph TAYLOR’s estate).  As these estates were near to Taylors branch (and Claiborne HALL), perhaps Nathan was back in that vicinity. 

It seems likely Nathan HALL moved around quite a bit in his early years.

In 1834, Nathan seems to have lived in the Dry Creek area.  In that year he mortgaged his half of the tobacco crop he was making with Burton BRADLEY as well as livestock and household items to William B. DILLON.  The DILLON’s lived on Dry Creek.  Nathan also indicated in that deed he was indebted to Will L. ALEXANDER and David BURFORD.

The 1837 and 1838 tax lists of Smith County indicates Nathan HALL with no land in District 4.

On 25 April 1836 Thomas J. BLACK was charged with fathering a bastard child delivered of Louisianna HALL (daughter of Nathan HALL).  BLACK had purchased land in 1830 on Dixon’s Creek bordering William ALEXANDER.  Indicates where in county Nathan HALL is likely to have lived at that time. Interesting to note that Thomas J. BLACK’s security for his bond was John MORRIS who had married Jean (Jane) WALTERS, daughter of John WALTERS who sold Claiborne HALL his land back in 1812. The child born here was likely Edward T. HALL, son of Louisianna HALL, age 13, in 1850 census. (Louisianna HALL had an older daughter Louisa, born ca. 1834).

Throughout the 1830s and 1840s there are a few more deeds in which Nathan HALL seemed to be mortgaging property to men (Poleman W. CAGE, James BRADLEY) and in debt.

He applied for bounty land in 1850 and received 40 acres located in Illinois. In 1855, he received an additional 120 acres in bounty land for his service in the War of 1812.

On 21 February 1854, Nathan purchased 50 acres of land from David C. CANADAY of Obion Co. TN (who had married Claiborne HALL’s daughter Emmaline HALL).  This land is described as on Peyton’s Creek and near to an old cabin where Thomas HALEY formerly lived in District #3.  It mentions HAYNIE’s old boundary.

The last references I have found for Nathan HALL were in 1860 – in the census that year he lived in District 3 with daughter Louisianna and grandson Edward (Ned).  His wife Nancy Frances HEROD had died in 1849 per Peyton’s Creek Baptist Church records.  On 16 September 1860, Nathan HALL mortgaged his crop of tobacco on Peyton’s Creek growing on James HAYNIE’s farm to Leighton PHILLIPS to secure his debt to Charles F.(?) HAYNIE and Thomas HAYNIE. 

This is the last I have found for Nathan HALL.  He likely died shortly after this.

CONNECTIONS:

Paper evidence makes it clear that Jane HALL and Sarah HALL “base women – sisters by the name of HALL” as the court record states, ran off to Alabama in 1834 with Elijah TONEY. So they are documented as sisters.

Tradition has it that Claiborne HALL and Nathan HALL were brothers.  In addition, the fact that they were receiving a series of letters addressed to both of them from 1810 – 1813 lends credence to the fact that they were brothers. 

Claiborne HALL served as a bondsman for the father (Richard JONES) when Sarah HALL became pregnant in 1837.  Elijah TONEY (the businessman whom the HALL girls “ran off with” to Alabama with) seems to have perhaps remitted a debt Claiborne HALL owed to the firm he was affiliated with. 

Autosomal DNA evidence links Nathan HALL to Claiborne HALL and Jane HALL and Sarah HALL to Claiborne HALL.

I believe logic tends to indicate that Claiborne, Nathan, Jane and Sarah HALL were all siblings.  I do not believe Thomas H. HALL was a sibling of theirs.   Evidence tends to point away from that. 

Lingering Question: Was Thomas HALL who first appears in Smith County in 1813, who had land grants adjoining land of William HEROD, whose 6 acres may have been held by Nathan HALL by 1819, and who appears in the 1820 Smith County census as head of household the father of these four siblings or was he merely a fifth sibling?  If a sibling, who was their father?  What happened to this Thomas HALL?