Name/Title
Charlotte Fairbairn Crouch Hall-Marmion CollectionEntry/Object ID
ARC127Scope and Content
Papers, primarily correspondence, related to the Hall-Marmion family of Harpers Ferry collected by Charlotte Judd Fairbairn Crouch, mother of the donor.
From 1817 to 1840, John Hancock Hall (b. 1781) of Portland, ME, oversaw the manufacture of breech-loading rifles under special contract at Hall's Rifle Works at the U.S. Armory in Harpers Ferry. He held a patent for the first breech-loading gun in the United States and is considered a pioneer in the use of precision measurements and interchangeable parts in the evolution of standardized manufacturing procedures. He also had an important role in the transition from manual labor to machinery, often designing and refining the equipment needed.
This collection is primarily personal correspondence between 1811 and 1888 among members of the Hall-Marmion family, which included John and Statira Hall, their children, and the descendants of one of those children, Lydia, who married Dr. Nicholas Marmion. Lydia Hall Marmion and her husband lived in Harpers Ferry after their marriage in 1839 and for several decades until their deaths.
From 1811 through the 1830s, many letters were either to or from John Hall, who died in 1841. The 1840s letters were primarily to or from Statira Hall and her daughters. Most of the 1850s correspondence was to Lydia Hall Marmion. Her letters to her son Will dominated the exchanges from 1860 and 1870. From 1871 to 1888, most of the correspondence was from Will Marmion to members of his family.
Finding aid and inventory are attached in Media.Acquisition
Accession
38Source or Donor
Fairbairn, Thomas E.Acquisition Method
GiftArchive Details
Creator
Charlotte Fairbairn CrouchDate(s) of Creation
1811 - 1918Archive Size/Extent
One and a half document boxes of paper materials (0.6 cu.ft.)Archive Notes
Date(s) Created: 1811-1918