Milford chronicle., 1909-10-08
Business Men of Frederick From
1910 to the Present Time.
JOHN W. HALL.

No man of Frederick, in the last cen
tury, has held so prominent a place for
large and extensive business operations
as this man. 1t is true there have been
other men, and number of them, who
were active, energetic, shrewd and intel
ligent Of business, but in many par
ticulars lie was the peer of them ALL In
deed it is doubtful, if in the last hun
dred years, lower Delaware has produced
his equal as a inancier and a man of such
wonderful business capacity; one capable
of conducting so many branches of busi-
ness, and that successfully, at one and
the same time. 1t is true, he had en-
ployes and assistants to aid him, but he
always gave his personal supervision to
almost every minute. He possessed the
extraordinary ability at glance and in
tuitiyely OF seeing the profitable side of
every business transaction. This was
due largely to native talent, improved
and expanded by long and careful busi-
ness training.
That he was a self-made man goes with
out saying; everyone acquainted with
him was well aware of the fact that he
moulded and shaped his own destiny
that he bulded his own fortune,
John w. Hall was born in Frederica,
January 1st, 1917, and was the son Of
John and Henrietta Bowman Hall and /
grandson of Winlock Hall of Mispillion
Neck. John Hall, his father, was born /
in 1855, and after arriving at age began a
mercantile career in Milford. He re
manned there until the breaking out of /
the War of 1872, when he entered the
service of his country. After the close
of the war, he married Henrietta, daugh-
ter Of Nathaniel and Sarah Bowman, and
located as a merchant in Frederica, where
the subject of this sketch was born. On
January LIST, 1926, Mr.. Hall died at the
age Of about forty. years, leaving a widow
and three children. John w. being the
oldest, and he but nine years ofage. One
of the children died in two years after
the death OF the father, leaving two chill {
dren to inherit the estate, which consist .
ed of two farms and about two thousand S
dollars in money. After the death of his {
father, the youth was placed in the care 9
Of his uncle, Elias Fleming, who became t
his guardian and assumed the manage a
nent of his property. He remained with 1
his uncle until sixteen years of age, when t.
be entered the store of Clement Masten, T
10 receive his training in a mercantile life d
The wages he received for his first services
was the patry sum of two dollars per "
month with the privilege of selling con- "
After eight months expert e,
,nce with his first employer, he entered il
he store of Solomon Townsend with an e.
Increase Of wages and the privilege also Q,
# selling cakes and candies. During the q,
our years he was in the employ of Mr..
townsend he served him faithfully and
ound time to attend to other business,
aving money enough to buy out a cabi
let and undertaking establishment of
nan who was going West. This be con-
Iucted successfully for several years. IL
On the first day Of January, 1888, the 10
sy he was twenty-one years Of age, he q
ought the store and business of his en- ~
,loyer, Mr.. Townsend and ls~nched out -
n the broad sea of mercantile adventure, "
n bis own account, with but little cap 4
tal, except large amount of energy and -
good business training. Mr. Hall was D
and methodical in all he un-
ertook. He early learned the value of
honey and property, and cherished the
aging of DR.. Franklin, "a penny saved
two earned" One of his favorite ex- K
l.