Septa Pauline Denman (1873-1958) was the oldest child of Sallie Crankfield and William Denman to live to adulthood. She was teaching at Eureka in 1894 when she married Henry Thomas “Papa” Hall (1873-1941). She was not one to marry for money or pretenses. But maybe her mother, Sallie Crankfield Denman might have been? Concerning this, Septa’s son, Henry Theron "Hank" Hall mentioned the following story at a family reunion in 1976.

Grandma (Sallie Crankfield Denman) who was a daughter of people who owned a lot of slaves in that area said Henry wasn’t good enough for Septa, her folks had eighty niggers. Henry’s folks didn’t have but two niggers. I hadn’t heard that story until recently—that’s the way we were rated back in those days, which we know has nothing to do with anybody except to make some people feel a little blue blooded. Quoted from William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 373).

To the left is a picture of Septa in the 1950s when she was in her 80s. Even then she did quality sewing and tattering. Earlier, in addition to raising five children, she had been postmistress for 35 years (1909-1943) at Lowell, Florida.

Henry "Papa" Hall, Septa's husband, ran a general store at Lowell in the 1920s and 1930s. It is pictured to the left. The store was also the post office where Septa was postmistress. On the right side of the store, as shown in the picutre, was the train depot. Once a day Septa would stand holding the mail bag out to be hooked by the man on the train. The train did not stop, just slowed and dropped the incoming mail bag on the ground. During one time of hardship Septa's son Henry "Hank" Hall remembered the store bringing in as little as $40.00 per month and the family being happy to have only soda crackers and syrup to eat. (crank-jpg/crank-31.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 355).

Septa and Henry Hall had six children, one of whom did not reach adulthood. The children, all born in Florida, were:

(1) Henry Theron "Hank" Hall (1897-1983) was the oldest child of Septa and Henry Hall. Hank was born at Flemington or Ocala Florida. He married Helen Lydia Potts (1903-1978) in 1934 at Cairo, Georgia. They moved to Texas in 1939 because he was promised a job in a grocery store with the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. He was a certified teacher in the public schools of Florida, but never taught. He thought he could do better working as a grocer. He served as an A&P manager in Navasota and Bryan, Texas until 1947 when he bought the Triangel Store in Navasota. Initially the store ran six days per week. But when stores changed over nationally, he was forced to stay open seven days per week. He worked hard and steadily. He sold out in 1971 and retired. He liked to read the Saturday Evening Post, Readers Digest and the National Geographic. He belonged to Masonic lodges in Texas, Florida and Georgia, in large measure so his wife could join the Eastern Star. Helen Lydia helped her husband run his stores. She also loved to travel, especially by bus and meet and talk to people as she went. Her destination was often to see relatives. Both died at Navasota, Texas, which is 70 miles northwest of Houston and are buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Anderson, Texas. (crank-jpg/crank-31.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, pp. 378, 384, 389).

Henry Theron "Hank" Hall is pictured to the left in a portrait done by his son, William "Bill" Hall in 1975. Hank Hall did not drink or smoke. He was a Democrat but voted for the man, not the party. He would read to his children when they were getting ready to go to bed. This included adventure stories such as the Tarzan books of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant. He was tight with his money, but generous when paying for the education of his children. In the 1950s he borrowed money to send his oldest son study at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He was a Southern Baptist and religion was a big part of his family’s life. The children always attended church camp in the summer. When some potential crisis was being worried over, he would say, “Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.” And that usually turned out to be the case. Once grocery stores started staying open on Sundays, his church attendance had to be limited until he retired. He liked to sing, with “The Old Rugged Cross” being a favorite. He liked the church gatherings where music and hymn singing were combined with dinner on the grounds. He liked simple food, like corn bread and milk. He did not like eating out. His idea of a vacation was to visit relatives in Florida. He would travel 24 hours straight because he did not like motels. They would stay with the relatives. On their trips they would visit interesting places, such as sugar mills and Spanish forts in Florida. William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida (Galveston, Texas: 2008), pp. 387-388.

In addition to working for A&P Tea Company, Hank Hall had several different farms or ranches during his life. As his son, Bill Hall put it, "He was at heart a farmer and rancher." He bought a hundred acre farm near Kurten, Texas in the mid 1940s. It was sold to purchase the store at Navasota. The second ranch of 332 acres near Anderson was bought about 1960. He called it "Happy Ranch." Here he is pictured to the left out in one of his fields in 1965. He was growing Little Bluesteam, Big Bluestem, Indian grass and native legumes, which he used for winter forage. He said that about 30 acres allowed him to winter his cows with a minimum of hay. Forty cows were fed less than 100 bales of hay during the winter. In his early seventies, he was still enjoying mowing the pastures. It was hot work in the Texas sun. (crank-jpg/crank-31.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 372).

Henry "Hank" Theron and Helen Lydia Hall had three children. They are pictured below about 1960 on the their family ranch at Navasota, Texas.

Left to right, William Henry "Bill" Hall, (born in 1935 at Cairo, Georgia) Robert Barnes "Bob" Hall (b. 1936 at Gainsville, Florida) and James Theron "Jimmy" Hall (b. 1939 at Occala, Florida). (crank-jpg/crank-33.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 391).

To the left is another picture of William H. "Bill" Hall, the oldest of Henry Theron and Helen Lydia Hall's children. He married first Sara Ralston Young in 1962 and then Jeanne Mae Caillouet in 1981. Here Jeanne Mae is pictured with Bill in 2006 at Galveston, Texas. Bill has a doctorate in English and has taught at both the college and secondary level. In 2008 he edited The Halls of Marion County Florida, which, while being mainly about the Hall family, also contains in its 496 pages, both pictures and information about Sallie Crankfield Denman's (b. 1844) descendants. The pictures reproduced on this page are all from The Halls of Marion County Florida, with the one on the left being from page 392.

Robert Barnes "Bob" Hall was born in 1936 at Gainsville, Florida, the second child of Henry Theron and Helen Lydia Hall.

James Theron Hall was born in 1939 at Occala, Florida, the third child of Henry Theron and Helen Lydia Hall. He married Nina Ruth Dickshat in 1963.

(2) Olney Lester Hall (1899-1985) was born at Flemington, Florida. He was the second child of Septa Denman and Henry Thomas Hall. He married Rheba Inez Henderson in 1939. He lived at Orlando, Florida and is buried at Millwood Cemetery in Reddick, Florida.

Olney Lester Hall and Rheba Inez Henderson had a daughter, Rheba Alice Hall (Pearce). Alice is pictured here sitting on the blanket, second from the right with her left hand holding her left leg. The picture was taken in 1948 at Gulf Hammock. The woman standing is her Aunt Genieve McDonald, who was one of her dad's younger sisters. Also in the picture is Robert "Bob" Barnes Hall (b. 1936), who was the second son of Hank Hall. Hank was the older brother of Alice's father and ran a grocery store in Texas. He and his family were visiting in Florida when the picture was made. Bob Hall in the picture is sitting to the far left with his back to the camera, holding Diane McDonald (1941-2007), who was one of Genieve's daughters. The toddler is Sandra Simpson, who was the daughter of Barbara "Bobbie" McDonald and Robert Simpson. Bobbie was Genieve's oldest daughter, so the toddler was Genieve's grandchild. Bobbie is the one sitting to the ffar right with her left hand on her head. Her head is turned to her mother and she is smiling at her. (crank-jpg/crank-32.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 397).

(3) Loris Littleton Hall was born in 1903 at Irvine, Florida. He was named after his ancestor, Littleton Crankfield, the father of Isaiah Crankfield. He married Lillie Blanche Wood in 1926. They had two children. This is Loris and Lillie to the left. (crank-jpg/crank-36.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 412).

(4) Clarice Genieve Hall (1907-1983). She was the fourth child of Henry Thomas and Septa Denman to live to adulthood. When she was born at Lowell, Florida, she weighed two pounds according to the scale at the general store that her dad ran. She was fed goats milk. She married Samuel D. McDonald in 1924. During World War II Samuel worked in the Norfolk shipyard.

Genieve is pictured to the left in 1948 at Gulf Hammock, Florida, which is a place where her family would go to picnic and relax. Genieve and her husband are buried at the Florida Memorial Gardens, Rocklegde, Florida. (crank-jpg/crank-30.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 398).

Genieve Hall and Samuel McDonald had seven children, all of whom but the last were born at Gainesville, Florida. The children were:

Randolph Deshields McDonald (b. 1925), married Nora Joann Johnson in 1952. They had four children.

Barbara Kay "Bobbie" McDonald (b. 1927. As a child she liked a bottle of Nihi soda that her grandfather (Popa Henry Hall) would give her. She married Robert Lewis Simpson in 1946. They had two children.

Samuel Alan McDonald (1928-2003). He married Matilda Shorette in 1949. They had three children. He is buried at Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Henry Ernest McDonald (1930-1991). He married Mildred Joyce Murray in 1951. They had two children. He is buried at Inverness, Florida.

Lewis Lamar McDonald (1935-2003). He married Violet Joy Granger (b. 1940) in 1956. They had four children. He is buried at Orange Park, Florida.

Diane McDonald (1941-2007). She married Lloyd Zackariah Beasley in 1961. They had four children. She is buried at Rockledge, Florida.

Carol Linda McDonald born 1943 and only lived two days. (crank-jpg/crank-30.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 395).

Pictured left to right are Samuel McDonald, then Genieve Hall McDonald, then Septa Denman Hall. The five others are not identified, but are probably some of Sam and Genieve's children. They were having a good time. Genieve's older brother, Hank and his family were visiting from Texas. The picture was taken in 1953 at Cocoa Beach, Florida. In the front are some fish that they caugh for dinner. They are standing next to a beach buggy. Sam was the foreman at the motorpool at Patrick's Air Force Base and an expert auto mechanic. Sam and his children built the buggy from a car that had been stripped down and tandem rear wheels and a rumble seat added. It had good traction and they made extra money pulling tourists out of the sand. (crank-jpg/crank-25.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 395).

(5) Amy Crystal Hall (1908-1994) was born at Lowell, Florida. She was the fifth and youngest child of Henry Thomas and Septa Denman to live to adulthood. She is the one sitting in the chair in the picture. Standing next to her is older sister Genieve. The picture was taken about 1913. In 1930 Amy married Paul McCullers. Paul was an Army chaplain during World War II. (crank-jpg/crank-37.jpg, William H. Hall (ed.), The Halls of Marion County Florida, Galveston, Texas: 2008, p. 367).

Pictured to the left is a scene from Septa Denman Hall's funeral in July 1958. (crank-jpg/crank-24.jpg). The people in the picture are her descendants or are married to one of her descendants. Those in the picture, starting at the bottom kneeling, left to right are: James Theron Hall, Henry Theron Hall (son), Douglas McCullers, Samuel McDonald. Second row standing: Lillie and Loris Hall, Genieve Hall McDonald (daughter). Third row standing in back: Alice Hall Pearce, Paul McCullers, Amy Hall McCullers (daughter), Alan McDonald (face obscured), Violet McDonald, Lewis Lamar McDonald, Diane McDonald Beasly, Olney Lester Hall (son).