Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Elizabeth Winner

Female 1829 - 1857  (~ 28 years)


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  • Name Elizabeth Winner 
    Born Aug 1829  Dover Township, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Buried Dec 1857  Oakwood Cemetery, Falls Church, Fairfax, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died 14 Dec 1857  Halls Hill Plantation, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1208  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father George King Winner,   b. Abt 15 Aug 1807, Toms River, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Sep 1877, near LaHonda, San Mateo, California, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years) 
    Mother Hanna P.,   b. Abt 1809, of, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1853, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 44 years) 
    Married Abt 1827  of Dover, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F818  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Bazil Hall,   b. Abt 1806, Washington, District of Columbia, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 14 May 1888, Halls Hill Plantation, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 82 years) 
    Married Aug 1846  San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F816  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES
      1. Per research notes of the Ship Brooklyn Association - Utah Chapter: President Richard H. Bullock at "silver2@aros.net," 9458 Quail Hollow Dr., Sandy, UT, 84 093, 801-943-9393: "Wife of B...H...Hall died 7 Nov 1872 and is buried in the Ogden City Cemetery Plot A, Block 2, Lot 11 with no stone." This information is incorrect. I reviewed obituaries located at Ogden Public Library. B.H. Hall is a misspelling for B.K. Hall who is actually Benjamin K. Hall, not Basil Hall. This corrected information sent to Brooklyn Association July 2000. Correct burial information in Virginia is noted below.

      2. Censuses:
      1830 US: New Jersey, Monmouth County, Dover Township, P.374: George K. Winner, 1 M 20-30, 2 F Under 5, 1 F 15-20. [Probably George, his wife, and Mary Ann and Elizabeth]. Note: Other Winners in NJ census: Abby Winner, Gloucester Co., Egg Harbor Twp., p.198; Isaac Winner, Sussex Co., Green Twp., p.187 [note: there are two Isaacs listed with exactly same info]; Samuel Winner, Burlington Co., Evesham Twp., p.84. Further research needed to reconstruct Winner families in New Jersey. Dover township is now part of Ocean County since 1850.

      1840 US: New Jersey, Monmouth County, Dover Township, FHL film 016518: George K. Winner, Males (Ages: 1@under 5, 3@20-30, 1@30-40), Females (2@Under 5, 1@5-10, 1@10-15, 1@20-30), Four listed as Coastal Sailors. [Supposition: George was one of the "20-30" males and an "Ocean" sailor, the other three were sailing associates or relatives, the boy was Moroni [under 5], George's wife [20-30], Mary or Elizabeth [10-15; but why only 1 listed?], Louisa [5-10], Emmajean and possibly an unknown daughter [2@under 5: this is confusing - was there another unknown girl who died before the Ship Brooklyn sailing thus explaining the large gap of 6 to 7 years in childbirths?].

      1850 US: Sep. 27, 1850 show Halls with two sons in Alexandria County (now Arlington), Virginia.

      3. Many have reported Elizabeth as a possible twin to Mary Ann Winner. This appears to be speculation from the early Winner research of Enid Willardson. I have viewed Enid's records after her death and find no documentation. Ages given with burials show Mary Ann Winner older than Elizabeth. See notes below with "BIRTH" for more information.

      4. There may be five children born to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was quite fertile reproductively. Her first child Ignatious was born 1848 within two years of marriage in Aug. 1848. #1 Bazil was born Jul 1850 [they were in VA by Sep. 27, 1850 census which means she may have travelled from California pregnant - what an accomplishment in those days]. There is a gap of 4 years before Elvira is born May 1854. Celina follows quickly in July, 1855. She was pregnant at the time of her murder in Dec. 1857. With all this child bearing, the four year 1850-54 gap is unusual. Mike Holmes sent me copies of bunch of either death or burial records as sequentially handwritten and numbered. They consistently over the years call Bazil as "Baswell" and list place of burial as "Va." Each entry over the many years is sequentially listed with Elizabeth as #661, Bazil as #7778, and Frances [2nd wife] as #7852. There are three deaths listed as as "Baswell Hall Child" in "Va": #587 on 16 Feb 1857, #592 on 24 Mar 1857, and #639 on 15 Sep 1857. Both Ignatious and Elvira survive beyond their mother's death of Dec, 1857 since they show up in the 1860 census. The 1850 census lists Ignatious and Bazil as the only children. We know that Basil [Jr.} and Celena were two of the deaths which leaves one more born after 1850 but dead by 1850 [most likely date would be 1852]. Imagine Elizabeth's state of mind having lost 3 children and imagine Bazil's when he also lost his wife in the same year. Based on this information, I believe we must assume another child, sex unknown.

      BIOGRAPHY:
      1. Age 17 upon arrival with her family via the ship Brooklyn in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) 31 Jul 1846.

      2. Reva Scott, "Samuel Brannan and the Golden Fleece" (1944, The Macmillan Co., New York) has many references to the Winner family. The author notes that she has taken some liberties where detailed scenes are involved, but the story itself is based entirely upon historical fact and every incident has been verified. Some quotes:
      a. Pp.103-107: In speaking of services aboard the ship Brooklyn: "On Sunday Sam preached a sermon, and on the many Sundays that followed he alternated with his counselors and William Glover, Barton Mowry, and George Winner, or other members of the company who could and would deliver some sort of sermon." Also mentions that Lizzie (Elizabeth) Winner led music probably including John Taylor's hymn "We Are Going to California":
      "The Upper California, O! that's the land for me,
      It lies between the Mountains and the great Pacific Sea:
      The Saints can be supported there; And taste the sweets of Liberty.
      We'll go and lift our standard, we'll go there and be free,
      We'll go to California and have our jubilee,
      A land that blooms with endless spring, A land of life and liberty.
      We'll reign, we'll rule, and triumph, and God shall be our King,
      The plains, the hills and valleys shall with hosannas ring,
      Our tow'rs and temples there shall rise Along the great Pacific Sea."

      b. P.143: Lizzie Winner had wasted no time in falling in love with one of the young service men, and when John Henry Brown heard that an immediate wedding was contemplated between Lizzie and her beloved, Basil Hall, he made haste to offer his hotel as setting for the ceremony. In a little room in the adobe building which had once been used as a Mexican calaboose, Sam Brannan said the words which made them man and wife. Afterward the guests played games.

      2. "Passenger List per Brooklyn from New York, Capt. A.W. Richardson, June 22, 1846," found in Hawaii by Mr. John D. Fretwell, 4012 Maywood Dr. S., Fresno, CA 93703-3330. Copy of original which was folded and contained all names on ship: "Manifest of Passengers on board Ship Brooklyn wharf A.C. Richarson is master... [contains a full listing including the following]
      George K. Winner, United States, 39 years, Coasting Captain.
      Hannah Winner, United States, 37 years.
      Six children."

      3. In H.H. Bancroft's "History of California" pp. 676-679 in the chapter entitled "Local Annals of the North" is a map of landholders in 1847 [pre-gold rush]: "Geo. K. Winner (?)" owned lot 1 of block 16 [three story apartment building at N.E. corner of Stockton and California Streets across the street from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel] and Basil Hall, his son-in-law, owned lot 4 of block 9 [S.E. corner of California and Kearny Streets and current site of a sixty story office building just a couple of blocks down the hill from George's property.]" Both currently on cable car route bordering the Chinatown district. Old Portsmouth Square is a gathering place for local Chinese-Americans. The alley behind George's lot still is called "Brooklyn End." When downtown San Francisco was mainly abandoned due to men leaving for the goldfields, many Chinese took over the various homes in the area by squatters' rights thereby starting Chinatown. Basil and Elizabeth left California in 1850 for Washington D.C.

      4. John H. Brown, "Reminiscences and Incidents of Early Days of San Francisco," p.127: "I will here give list of all the women who were residents in the city [San Francisco] in January, 1846 [16 names listed]. On the arrival of the ship Brooklyn, in July, 1846, many women came to the city, whose names I will now mention...Mrs. Winner and two daughters {evidently he was counting small children so these two daughters were Mary Ann and Elizabeth]..."

      BIRTH:
      1. Most family group sheets prepared by descendants, perhaps all based on Enid Willardson's original sheet, show 24 Sep 1828. No independent confirmation has yet been found by me including reviewing records in 2001 of Enid Willardson after her death. Elizabeth's tombstone indicates age 28 at time of death on 14 Dec 1857 making birth year 1829 until proven otherwise. 1850 Federal Census for Alexandria indicates she is 20 years old at time of census on Sep. 27, 1850.

      MARRIAGE:
      1. Will Bagley, ed., "Scoundrel's Tale, The Samuel Brannan Papers; Vol. 3, Kingdom in the West Series" (1999, The Arthur H. Clark Co., Spokane, WA) is a collection of many actual original letters, documents, and diaries which are very interesting with a very good bibliography. One quote on pp.176,177: "Amid these controversies, Brannan did not neglect his religious duties. He married George Sirrine and Emeline Lane shortly after the Brooklyn landed. Innkeeper John H. Brown credited Brannan with the delivering the 'first sermon delivered in the English language in Yerba Buena,' which was 'as good a sermon as any one could wish to hear.' Brannan performed the marriage service, 'according to the Mormon faith,' for Lizzie Winner and Basil Hall. 'There was a general invitation extended to all, a large quantity of refreshments had been prepared, and as there was plenty of music and singing, we had lots of fun. The festivities were kept up until twelve o'clock.' Brown remembered, 'I never enjoyed myself, and any gathering, as I did there." [Footnote: "Sirrine, A Little Sketch of the Life of George Warren Sirrine, LDS Archives, 8; and Watson, ed., "'Reminiscences and Incidents of Early Days of San Francisco;, 34. Warren Sirrine wrote that this was the first marriage 'performed on the Pacific Coast in the English language,' but Brown said the Hall-Winner marriage was the 'first wedding which took place after this city was under the protection of the American flag.' Like many Brannan 'firsts', the facts are impossible to determine with any certainty." [Brown's Hotel was located on southwest corner of Clay and Kearny streets.]

      2. J. Kenneth Davies, "Mormon Gold, the Story of California's Mormon Argonauts," (Olympus Publishing Company, SLC, UT, 1984), pp.58,59 speaks of a letter from Mormon Battalion veteran James Ferguson [on his passage through San Fran. after being demustered] to the First Presidency: "He was critical of Sam Brannan and his common stock company which had left 'the many bereft and trodden upon, as they had always been...(while) the few who were the controllers and accountants of the firm became rich and haughty'. Ferguson criticized Brannan's doctrine of amalgamation by which 'several daughters of the brethren here had sacrificed their virtue and honor in disgraceful wedlock to sailors and vagabonds.' [Could this have reference to Elizabeth marrying Basil?]

      3. Manuscript "Brief Sketches of Brooklyn Passengers," by William E. Homer, 19 Feb 1996: Elizabeth Winner married a young service man, Basil Hall, shortly after the 'Brooklyn's' arrival. The ceremony was performed by Sam Brannan in Brown's Hotel and was the first non-Catholic wedding in California." I don't believe this information to be correct. Brown's own account as quoted below contradicts location.

      4. John H. Brown, "Reminiscences and Incidents of Early Days of San Francisco," p. 34: "The first sermon delivered in the English language in Yerba Buena was preached by Samuel Brannan, who is well known, and will probably be remembered by any of the present day, and they will, no doubt, be surprised on hearing of his serving in this capacity. He preached on the last Sanday in July,† 1846, as good a sermon as any one would wish to hear. The first wedding which took place after this city was under the protection of the American Flag, was celebrated in a building owned by the proprietors of the Portsmouth House. The ceremony was performed in a large room on the ground floor, which was generally used by the Mexicans as a calaboose or prison. The marriage took place among the Mormons, who had arrived so short a time before. The contracting parties were: Lizzie, the second daughter of Mr. Winner, and Mr. Basil Hall. The marriage ceremony was performed by Mr. Samuel Brannan, according to the Mormon faith. I was one of the guests, and I never enjoyed myself, at any gathering, as I did there. There was general invitation extended to all, a large quantity of refreshments had been prepared, and as there was plenty of music and singing, we had lots of fun. The festivities were kept up until twelve o'clock, when everyone returned to their homes, perfectly satisfied, and ready to pronounce the first wedding a grand success."

      DEATH:
      1. John H. Brown, "Reminiscences and Incidents of Early Days of San Francisco," p. 35: "Mr. Hall, the bridegroom, had accumulated considerable wealth in this country, and he left here in 1850, for Washington City. On his return home, he purchased a colored woman, a slave, Mr. Winner told me that Mrs. Hall treated the colored woman brutally; and the woman, tired of her treatment, and determined to have revenge, one day put Mrs. Hall's feet into the fire and held them there until she was burned to death." [Note: Elizabeth's death occurred 14 Dec 1857 meaning George Winner had contact with Mr. Brown sometime in 1858 or later.]

      2. Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, 15 Dec 1857, Tuesday, p.3: "Local Items. A Shocking Murder. The Washington Star of yesterday evening, gives the following particulars of a most shocking murder, committed upon the body of the wife of Bazil Hall, residing in Alexandria county, Va., about five miles from Washington. According to her deposition, her husband was walking over his farm, and the rest of the whites of the family were at church, when a slave woman named Jenny, the property of Hall, put an armful of dry plank on the fire, which Mrs. Hall ordered her to take off. She did so, but quickly put it on again. Mrs. Hall again ordered her to take it off. The negress then seized her, and forcing her head down between her (the assailant's) legs, backed her into the fire. Three times, according to Mrs. Hall's deposition, she managed to break loose from the fiend, who as often seized her and placed her back on the fire. On the last occasion, her screams brought other of the family negros and her husband to her rescue. Mrs. Hall died last night at midnight. Drs. Wunder and Locke did all they could to alleviate her sufferings, but in vain. The murderess, before committing her dreadful crime, took the precaution to send a small negro girl, who was in the room, to the spring for water. The negress, who has, of course, been committed to jail, denied the crime, alleging that her mistress fell into the fire. It is most fortunate for the ends of justice that Mrs. Hall survived sufficiently long to make an ante-mortem deposition. Hall tried to shoot the woman ere she was conveyed to prison, but was prevented from accomplishing his object. He and his family were considered by respectable persons in the neighborhood as being hard on servants; and not very long since he had a portion of his farm buildings burned by some of his own servants."

      3. Death was 15 Dec 1857 [death #661] per death record index copied by Mike Holmes but not documented as to source but most likely of Alexandria County, Virginia. Death noted as "Mrs. Baswell Hall" in "Va." The same record also notes the death of three of her children previously in Feb., Mar., and Sep. of the same year as her death.

      4. Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, Jan. 6, 1858: "Conviction for Murder. - We stated yesterday, that a negro woman, named Jenny, slave of Mr. Bazil Hall of this county, was convicted of the murder of Mrs. Elizabeth Hall, (wife of Mr. Bazil Hall,) and condemned to be hung on the 26th of next month. The following is the testimony in the case taken before the Court.
      Dr. Wunder sworn. - Three weeks ago, yesterday, (Sunday,) I was called to see Mrs. Hall; she was burned from the knee up the back, and also in front, pretty much in a crisp; she was in much pain, sick at stomach and throwing up blood; don't think the flame went down her throat, but the burning outside caused it; I was called in a 3 o'clock, P.M., Sunday; she died about 1 o'clock that night; I remained with her until 10 o'clock that night; she was dying when I left; I apprised her of her condition; she knew she must die, and appeared reconciled; she requested Mr. Hall to take good care of her children after she was gone, and write to her sisters. After that the deposition was taken. I applied remedies externally and internally; they relieved her pains; she said, 'Doctor, I am burnt to death.' When the deposition was given, she thought she must die; thinks her remarks about her children were after giving her deposition; she requested her husband to take good care of the children, and give them religious instruction; Mr. Febrey and Dr. Locke were present at the time the depostion was taken; Mr. Hall also; she was not conscious when I left; deposition was taken after dark; she first told me the circumstances when I was alone; afterwards she repeated the same to Mr. Febrey, in the same words. Before that time Dr. Locke and myself had told her she must die; I think she could not have any expectation of living; I am not Mr Hall's regular family phusician; I attended two of Mr. Hall's children; Mrs. Hall was in good health, I suppose, up to the time she was burned; she was pregnant at the time; I asked the question and she told me so; I am satisfied that her death was caused by the burning.
      H. W. Febrey sworn. - I was at church that day; was informed that Mrs. Hall had been thrown in the fire, and requested to go over. When I got there, I met Mr. Hall in the yard and went with him into the kitchen, I asked if Mrs. Hall was badly burned; he said she was; he then showed me some fragments of burnt clothing, and the fire upon which she was thrown, and the bench upon which she was sitting when the attack was made upon her, also the tub with persimmons and water in it in which Mrs. Hall said she extinguished the fire. The Doctors, Locke and Munder were present when I took her deposition, with some others, I do not remember now who they were. I think she was conscious she would die. Depostion produced, identified as the one taken by witness. She made her statement in full; I then reduced it to writing, and read it to her, and she approved it. She know the object of the depostion. - When the Doctors told her she must die, she requested that a minister be sent for; that was before she gave her depostion; think Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Howard were present, with others, don't recollect who; it was about sundown when I got there; I was not present when she made the remarks about her children; she evinced no anger or vindictive feelings; she seemed calm at the time. I, as Justice of the Peace took her deposition in writing, and read it over to her in presence of Drs. Wunder and Locke; she said it was correct, and authorized me to sign it, to be used after her death.
      The deposition was here produced by witness, and read as follows: -
      'I told Jenny to go to the spring, and Salina to hurry about dinner, that it was late. I laid myself back on the bench upon which I was siting, and fell into a dose. When I roused up, I asked Jenny where was Salina, and she said she had sent her to the spring. I asked her why she had sent her to the spring contrary to my orders? She gave me some of her insolence and I slapped her in the mouth. She then took a piece of pine board, and put it on the fire. I told her that was wrong, as she knew I wanted the ashes saved to make ley [lye], that I was having nothing but hard wood burned. She then took it out of the fire. She again put it in the fire. I told her to take the board out of the fire again. She then caught me and put my head between her knees, and pushed me in the fire. I begged and plead with her not to do me so; my clothes were all in flames. Jenny ran out and shut the door, and held it so that I could not get out. I tore off my clothes as best I could. She again came in and threw me in the fire the second time. I again begged and plead with her not to do me so; if she would not, I would not have her whipped, I would get her master to set her free, and I would give her all the money that I had. She again went out and held the door. I got the fire out as best as I could. I tried to get out of the door, but could not. I then thought of the windows. (She had put all of her children in the other room, and tied the door.) I bursted the door open, and ran to the window, and in attempting to get out she heard me, and came in and caught me and pulled me back, and in doing so I fell in the cradle on her child. I told her she would kill her child. She took it by the arms and threw it on the bed, or back in the cradle, I know not which. She drew me back to the fire, and threw me in the third time. She also caught up her child's clothes, and the clothes that I had torn off, and held them over the fire. When they were all in flames, she held them on my head. She again went out at the door and held it. I then thought of a bucket of water. I ran to it and pulled it over, and in doing so it fell in a tub that was sitting under it with some permissions [persimmons] in it. I first put my head in it as far as I could, for my hair was all on fire; I then sat down it. I again ran to the window and succeeded in getting out, and got on the stile, and hallooed murder as loud as I could. I started to run but did did not get far before I fell. She then saw the servant man William, and called to him and told him to run here for mistress was almost burned to death. She then told him to run for his master. I begged him not, for I was afraid if he left me she would murder me. While I was pleading with him, my son came, I told him to go for his father, and he did so. [signed] Elizabeth Hall'
      This deposition taken before me, in my County, this 13th day of December, 1857. H.W. Febrey, J.P.
      I saw the burnt fragments of clothing, the tub with persimmons and water in it, the door with the string on it to tie it, and on the east side of the house the mark of a bloody hand on the wall; also a mark on the window sash, one on the sill, and two on the outside of the house, one on each side of the window, and some marks of blood on the stile. The woman Jenny's eye was swollen and she said her master hit her. There were two doors to the room. The bench was on the north side of the house, about four or five feet from the fire.
      Salina, a negro woman being first duly charge and sworn, testified as follows:
      Mistress told me to wash the dishes and Aunt Jenny to go to the spring - Aunt Jenny told me to go to the spring and said she would wash the dishes - I went to the spring and when I was coming back from the spring she met me half way and took the tub and gave me a bucket and sent me back to the spring - when I got half way from the spring again, she called me and told me to call Uncle William, that somthing was the matter - then I saw mistess coming over the stile and Jenny hold of her trying to pull her back - mistress got loose and ran down near the corn house when she fell - Jenny told me to tell her mistress that she and I were at the spring together - I have heard Jenny say she would cause a heap of trouble on that hill - I have heard her say so often - am not related to Aunt Jenny - It wont take over ten minutes to go to the spring if one went fast, but I did not hurry myself that morning - it was late when we took breakfast that morning, and it was a right smart while after breakfast when I went to the spring - when I met Jenny first time she took the water and told me to go back to the spring - she did not say anything more but walked back fast - when I saw mistress on the stile she said 'O Lord have mercy on me, Aunt Jenny has burnt me up alive.'
      William Sprigg, a slave negro, being first duly charged, and sworn, deposed and said.
      The girl Salina called to me to run there quick - I got over the fence in sight, and saw her about half way between the house and the spring, running for the house - I got a little farther, and saw mistess and Jenny between the corn house and stile. Mistress told me to carry her to the barn, or else Jenny would kill her. Jenny told me not to believe mistress, and said she fell in the fire herself - I stayed with mistress till Mr. Hall came, who arrived within three quarters of an hour. The only persons about the house were Mistress, Salina, Jenny, and the children. The children are small - I had been absent from the house about three quaarters of an hour. Mrs. Hall stated in Jenny's presence, that Jenny put her in the fire, and Jenny told me not to believe mistress, that mistress fell in the fire herself.
      Mr. Bazil Hall: - I was summoned by Mrs. Moore, when about one half mile from the house - when I got to her she told me that my colored woman had killed my wife; when I got to the house my wife was in bed - her first remark was, 'Oh! Baz, Jenny done it,' - my wife said, 'I must die, I am burnt to death' - 'Jenny has burnt me up alive' - I tied Jenny on the porch - I went back to my wife, and she said 'Jenny had burnt her alive, and she wanted to tell me all about it' - I told her to reconcile herself, and keep as still as she could - she stated that she had ordered Jenny to go to the spring, and that Jenny had sent Salina - Jenny is about thirty years of age - my wife told me she asked Jenny why she sent Salina to the spring against her orders - Jenny gave her some insolence, and she struck her in the mouth; then Jenny caught her and put her in the fire, and held her there and beat her. After she was all on fire Jenny ran out the door, and held it so she could not get out - she then ran to the back kitchen door and tried to pull a board off to get out there - finding she could not, she ran to Jenny's room, which was fastened, and burst open the door. In trying to get out the window Jenny came in and pulled her back on to the cradle on Jenny's child - Jenny took up the child and threw it on the bed or into the cradle, she did not know which - she then pulled her back in the kitchen and again put her in the fire - held some clothes over the fire and then held them over her head - then ran out and held the door again - she thought of the window again and went to it and got out - she said Jenny caught her on the stile and tried to pull her back. I think it was about two o'clock when Mrs. Moore called me in the woods - when I first got into the house Mrs. Hall had a large lump on her forehead that appeared to full of blood - she had blood in her mouth as though she had been struck in the mouth - I think, but am not certain that Mrs. Hall said that in trying to get out of the fire she had bitten Jenny - Mrs. Hall's hands were very burnt and bleeding - The skin appeared to be entirely off her hands and arms - when I tried to tie Jenny she resisted me and I think I inflicted some blows upon her - my wife requested me not to shoot Jenny - Mrs. Hall did not see me load my gun - I loaded it with the intention of shooting Jenny, but I was prevented from so doing - Jenny asked me that morning if she might go to Mr. Summers'; I told her to ask her mistress - Her mistress said she could not go, as she had not done her work as she should have done it.
      Mr. John Hall. - Mrs. Hall told me that Jenny put her on the fire and that in trying to get away from her she had bitten her on the finger - I examined Jenny next day after Mrs. Hall was burnt, in jail, and found scratches on her neck and marks upon her fingers - the occurrence took place in the kitchen, which is some fifteen yards from the house - the stile is below the kitchen.
      Jenny is a woman of about 30 years of age. She plead not guilty and was very little affected when the sentence of death was pronounced upon her. She has a very young child which has been taken home. She has made no confession and stoutly denies that she comitted the murder."

      5. Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, Feb. 27, 1858: "Execution: The negro woman Jenny, convicted of murder of Mrs. Hall in this county, was hung yesterday according to the sentence, in the jail yard, at twelve and a half o'clock. She made no confession. There were but a few persons within the enclosure, but a large crowd, many from Washington and the County, were congregated outside the walls." Alexandria (Arlington) County, Virginia Death Records, 1853-1896 has the following entry: "[blank], Jenny, (s) of Bazil Hall, F. 26 Feb 1858, Alexa., hung, 45y, - , Alexa. Co., E. Sangster, sheriff."

      From: Richard Bullock [mailto:silver2a@earthlink.net] February 22, 2006:
      "Below is a page from my book that may shed some light on Bazil Hall and Elizabeths meeting in San Francisco. I am writing about the Kittleman family today and this paragraph came up. The underlined text is my underline and shows that Bazil very well could have just arrived in August 1846 and very soon after they were married....
      "Elbert P. Jones, born 23 September 1814 in Kentucky, had come overland to California in early 1846 and made his way to Yerba Buena. Here he found work with Samuel Brannan as temporary Editor of The California Star until Edward C. Kemble came back from his adventures with John C. Frémont. Elbert Jones and Kemble didn't see eye to eye on many matters and after a fisticuffs in the street Jones lost his position as Editor. This is when he bought the Portsmouth House from John C. Brown and met miss Sarah Kittleman.
      ...A converted tavern became the city's first real hotel, Vioget House, in August, 1846. Its former bartender and first proprietor, John Henry Brown, providentially opened the hotel just before the arrival in August of eight or ten whaling vessels for a four-month stay. He almost immediately changed its name to the Portsmouth House after Captain Montgomery's sloop of war, then anchored in the Bay; its sailmaker and carpenter agreed to supply the hotel's sign if the premises were named for his ship.
      The hotel's first registrant was a Captain Simmonds, one of the officers from the whaling fleet. His lodgings were furnished with articles made by various ship's carpenters who had previously touched port; his bed, covered with thick flannel blanketing and calico quilts, may have been mattressed with moss from the Sandwich Islands, or perhaps it was one of four feather beds bought from a party of Mormons who had arrived in July. 1
      After a short time, Brown sold the Portsmouth House to Dr. Elbert Jones. He then briefly operated the more elaborate City Hotel, known familiarly as Brown's Hotel, across the Street on the corner of Clay and Kearny in the large adobe building owned by William Leidesdorff. When the landlord upped the annual rent to $3,000, Brown sold out. With Robert Parker, he started a new hotel which was still under construction in May, 1848, when Leidesdorff died. Brown and Parker, though continuing the work on their own new building, re-leased the City Hotel from Leidesdorff's estate. With the discovery of gold, their daily profits, including the cut from the hotel's gambling tables, the bar, and the rent from the stores and offices on the premises, produced an enormous income...." Source: Muscatine, Doris, Old San Francisco - The Biography of a City, G. P. Putnam and Sons, New York, page 134-5.

      BURIAL:
      1. Gravesite of Basil Hall and his two wives moved from site of old family cemetery at Hall's Hill Plantation to Oakwood Cemetery in the 1930's to make room for a wing at Arlington Hospital which sits on the site of the old house. Tombstone at Site 11, 56 South, Section D, Oakwood Cemetery, Falls Church, Virginia reads: "Basil Hall, died May 14, 1888, aged 82 years; His beloved wife Elizabeth, died Dec. 14, 1857, aged 28 years; His beloved wife Frances, died Dec. 10, 1888, aged 53 years."