Daughter of Thomas Howes and Deborah Sears First Generation 1. Sarah HOWES was born on 27 Oct 1749 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts. She died on 10 Nov 1817 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. She was buried in Hill Cemetery, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Sarah HOWES and Reuben HALL were married. Reuben HALL (son of David HALL and Tamsin SEARS) was born on 5 Apr 1747 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts. He died on 4 Apr 1821 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. He was buried in Hill Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Sarah HOWES and Reuben HALL had the following children: 2 i. Deborah HALL was born on 5 Sep 1773 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. +3 ii. Tamsin HALL (born on 28 Jun 1776). 4 iii. David HALL was born on 12 Jan 1778 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 5 iv. Rebekah HALL was born on 17 Aug 1781 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 6 v. Reuben HALL was born on 17 Aug 1781 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 7 vi. Sarah HALL was born on 15 Apr 1783 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. +8 vii. Thomas HALL (born on 17 Jan 1785). 9 viii. Desire HALL was born on 1 Mar 1787 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. +10 ix. Edmund HALL (born on 22 Mar 1791). +11 x. Arunah HALL (born on 13 Mar 1794). Second Generation 3. Tamsin HALL (Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 28 Jun 1776 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. She died on 10 Jan 1812 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Tamsin HALL and Sylvester DAVIS were married on 13 Jun 1798 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 151. Both of Ashfield, Mass., 1798. Tamsin HALL and Sylvester DAVIS had the following children: 12 i. Betsy DAVIS was Baptized on 6 Oct 1811 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 13 ii. Diana DAVIS was Baptized on 17 Jul 1808 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 14 iii. Hiram DAVIS was Baptized on 17 Jul 1808 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 15 iv. Julus DAVIS was Baptized on 3 Sep 1809 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 16 v. Ozias DAVIS was Baptized on 17 Jul 1808 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 17 vi. Urion DAVIS was Baptized on 17 Jul 1808 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. 8. Thomas HALL (Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 17 Jan 1785 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Thomas HALL and Rachel HOWES were married. Rachel HOWES was born in 1783. She died on 16 Nov 1843 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. She was buried in Hill Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Thomas HALL and Rachel HOWES had the following children: 18 i. Olive HALL was born on 16 Nov 1806 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. She died in Dec 1832 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 244. Cause of death: Consumption. She was buried in Hill Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. +19 ii. Alvan Sanderson HALL (born on 30 Jul 1808). 20 iii. Viletta HALL was born on 22 Jan 1810 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. +21 iv. Granville Bascom HALL (born on 2 Feb 1812). 22 v. Clarissa (twin) HALL was born on 20 Feb 1814 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. 23 vi. Clarinda HALL was born on 20 Feb 1814 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. +24 vii. Lydia HALL (born on 9 Jan 1817). 25 viii. John M. HALL was born on 8 Dec 1818 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 8 Dec 1818 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. 26 ix. Orville HALL was born on 9 Dec 1821 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. +27 x. Cyrus Allen HALL (born on 11 Dec 1823). 10. Edmund HALL (Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 22 Mar 1791 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Edmund HALL had the following children: 28 i. Alanson Wade was born about 1812 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. He was born on 2 Aug 1812 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. 29 ii. Seth Richmond HALL was Baptized on 12 Feb 1815 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. He was born about 1815. 11. Arunah HALL (Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 13 Mar 1794 in Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Marriage intention was recorded in 1818 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 164. Both of Ashfield, Mass., 1818 Arunah HALL and Achsah LYON were married in 1818. Third Generation 19. Alvan Sanderson HALL (Thomas-2, Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 30 Jul 1808 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Marriage intention was recorded in Jan 1833 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts Marriage intention was recorded on 19 Jan 1833 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts He died on 9 Mar 1873 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Conway, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1943. p. 154. of Ashfield, Mass., 1833. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 164. of Ashfield, Mass., 1833. History of the Town of Whately, Mass., 1661 - 1899, by James M. Crafts, by D. L. Crandall, Mann's Block, Orange, Mass., 1899. p. 394. of North Hatfield, Mass. Vital Records of Conway, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1943. p. 154. 39, farmer of Hatfield, Mass, (1848) s. of Thomas and Rachel of Ashfield, Mass. of Hatfield, Alvan Sanderson HALL and Sally Locke BELDEN were married on 25 Nov 1831. Sally Locke BELDEN (daughter of Reuben BELDING and Hannah HIBBARD) was born on 13 Oct 1812 in Whately, Franklin, Massachusetts. Alvan Sanderson HALL and Rhoda Hamilton THWING were married in 1833 in , Franklin, Massachusetts. Rhoda Hamilton THWING (daughter of Amariah THWING and Clarissa CHAMBERLAIN) was born on 26 Dec 1812 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Conway, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1943. p. 154. of Conway, Mass., 1833. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 164. of Conway, Mass., 1833. Alvan Sanderson HALL and Rhoda Hamilton THWING had the following children: 30 i. Franklin HALL was born on 29 Mar 1834 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died in 1882. 31 ii. Henry HALL was born on 1 May 1837 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. +32 iii. Alvan HALL (born on 17 Jul 1839). +33 iv. Hattie Launa HALL (born on 24 Dec 1842). Alvan Sanderson HALL and Sarah W. LYONS were married on 17 Feb 1848. Sarah W. LYONS (daughter of David LYONS and Orel (Oreb) ADAMS) was born on 19 Feb 1822 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. She died on 10 Jan 1851. Alvan Sanderson HALL and Sarah W. LYONS had the following children: 34 i. Frank HALL was born about 1849. He died about 1870. 21. Granville Bascom HALL (Thomas-2, Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 2 Feb 1812 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Marriage intention was recorded on 25 Mar 1843 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts He was buried in Ashfield Plain Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 164. of Ashfield, Mass. 1843. Granville Bascom HALL and Abigail BEALS were married in 1843. Abigail BEALS was born on 24 Jun 1816. She was buried in Ashfield Plain Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Ashfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1942. p. 164. of Plainfield, Mass., 1843. Granville Bascom HALL and Abigail BEALS had the following children: +35 i. Robert Beals HALL (born on 30 Dec 1845). 36 ii. Orpha Julina HALL was born about 1848. She was Baptized on 2 Jul 1848 in Congregational Church, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. 24. Lydia HALL (Thomas-2, Sarah HOWES-1) was born on 9 Jan 1817 in Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. She died in 1909. She was buried in Hill Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts. First Ladies From Ashfield's History, by Mary Priscilla Howes and the Ashfield Historical Society. Published by the Ashfield Historical Society, 1983. pgs. 5 - 7. She lived on Steady Lane Road where the Doyle family lives now. The house had no plaster or paint at that time, and there were plenty of cracks and crannies to give ventilation. After a supper of crackers and milk, Lydia would cuddle down in her feather bead and be quite cozy. But fire was very precious. If it went out during the night they would have to go to a neighbor's to borrow some colas, or her father might start a new fire by friction, or by putting spark to tinder from his flintlock. Because it was so vitally needed, Lydia's mother, the last one to bed, would very carefully bury the coals with ashes in the hope that they would be alive in the morning. All cloth material had to be woven; towels, table linen, bed linen, bags for grain, even handkerchiefs. Soap and candles had to be made. Clothing, cleanliness, food, heat, light and many of the tools were produced by the labor of the family. There were no matches to strike, no clocks to tell the time, no instant anything. Later in her life Lydia wrote, "Women of that day had no need to devise mans for amusement of exercise." Lydia longed for a calico dress for church and special occasions. Any color in her clothing had to come from home-made dyes, "butternut brown," "snuff color, " Blues or blacks. Perhaps she needed brighter color in her life or simply wanted some store-bought material. She was glad to help a neighbor with a day's washing for which she was paid 12-1/2 cents, or she could knit a pair of socks which could be bartered for a yard of calico. She writes of her joy when finally she had her very own calico dress - not a hand-me-down, but her very own. Lydia attended a one-room school which used to stand just below the house where I live on Lilliput Road. At recess time she played on the rocks which I can see from my kitchen window. There were no blackboards in the school. To recite, the scholars were called to teacher's desk. They were drilled and made to memorize. They were called upon to recite the multiplication tables several times a day. A good foundation in the three Rs was about all that was taught. The quill pens with which they wrote were made and sharpened by the teacher. These buildings were packed with 80 to 100 children. After Steady Lane, Lydia went to school for two terms at Franklin Academy in Shelburne Falls, a boarding school. There were about a dozen houses in Shelburne Falls and no stores. The school day opened with prayers at 5 o'clock. Breakfast was at 6:30. Then the students returned to their rooms for study hours. Their rooms were not to be left except for recitations. Because she showed unusual promise, at age 19 she was offered a position teaching the South Center school in Shelburne. She found herself in her first job, teaching 40 pupils ranging in age from three to 15, at the handsome salary of $1.25 a week. From the beginning she continued a teaching career that lasted for 40 years. She returned to Ashfield and had one more term of study, this time at Sanderson Academy. Thereafter she taught in almost every neighborhood in Ashfield: the Village School, Steady Lane, Wardville, the Round School House in South Ashfield, the New Boston or Watson School and the Spruce Corner School. All these were small buildings crammed full with children. She seldom had time to sit down during the day. Sometimes she felt that she had not accomplished all she wanted to and invited certain scholars to come to her boarding place in the evening for additional study. Believe it or not, they gladly accepted. She must have been an exceptional teacher and her influence over the years in this town was tremendous. In 1873 Lydia taught her last school, and two years later, when she was 58, she married a man named Seth Miles. I can only surmise that he must have been a very persuasive man to woo her away from the career which had been her whole life. She had a marriage that lasted 15 years. When she was over 90 she wrote her priceless Reminiscences for the Frederick G. Howes Ashfield Town History, and it is to the writings of this fine old lady that I am indebted for my research. She died at age 92, in 1909. There must be something in Ashfield's air that develops fine teachers. We think of Mary Lyon, Mrs. Amelia Ford, Miss Etta Howes and Miss Lou Harmon, to mention only a few. Surely Lydia Hall Miles set for all of them an early standard of excellence. Lydia HALL and Seth MILES were married in 1875.