John Hall and Alda Horseman

"John W. Hall who created a sensation here some months ago by eloping with and marrying the 14-year-old daughter of William Horseman, a farmer, was arrested and carried before Magistrate Clapham on charges of mistreating his young wife. Hall is 45 years-old. From the first, Hall is alleged to have treated his wife most cruelly. He was held under $500 bail which he could not secure and was placed in jail to await court." From Delmar Jottings - Philadelphia Inquirer 18 Sep 1910.


John W. Hall (1859-1914) married on 25 April 1910 in Denton, Maryland Alda Mae Horseman (1896-1976). As the article said she was 14. Alda's parents were William H. Horseman (1869-1940) and Louisa Annie Wells Horseman (1878-1964). Over the next four years she would have three children. In 1914 John W. Hall died in Virginia. After his death Alda put the three children up for adoption in Wicomico County. Eventually she would remarry to Edward (Eddie) Messchich Stanley (1898 -1977) son of James and Rhodey (Rosie) Smith Stanley. He was born in Philadelphia. Eddie and his brother Valley Stanley were involved in novelty manufacturing and amusements. He worked in Ocean City, but they lived in Delmar. They would adopted Judy Stanley.

The children;

Anna Beatrice Hall Hurley (1911-1936) lived in Mardela. She was adopted by William Elmer Hurley (1882-1965) and Della Lloyd Hurley (1881-1956). She would married Roy Edwin Willey (1907-1969) on 2 April 1928. Research has not determined how she died in 1936 at age 25.

Mary Louise Hall Morris (1913-1958) was adopted by Upshur and Mary Morris of Salisbury

Upshur and Mary Morris had no children prior to the adoption in 1914, about 3 years later after the adoption they had Ruth, once they had Ruth they no longer wanted Mary, so when she was about 17 they kicked her out.

“Mr. and Mrs. Upshur Morris and Miss Ruth Morris are touring in the mountains of Pennsylvania for two weeks. Miss Mary Louise Morris is spending the time in Delmar.” From The Wicomico News 14 July 1927

“Miss Mary Louise Morris, who spent the past six weeks in Salisbury has returned to New York. Miss Morris was accompanied by her brother, Mr. Hershel Taylor who will remain in New York indefinitely. “ From The Salisbury Times 29 Sep 1931. She was 18 at the time. She is recorded as still living in New York in 1937.

Mary may have married someone with the last name of Daville. In 1941 her brother and her attended the Sophie Wells birthday and Reunion and she was referred to as Mary Louise Daville.

She married Harry Bessler and they lived in the Chester, PA area She shorten her name to Marilou. She was an assistance manager at Bonwit Teller and company in Wynnewood. In 1958 she shot herself in the head with a 22 pistol, she was 46 years of age, no children, her body was sent back to Delmar to be buried at the M. E. church cemetery. no headstone has been found.

Of interest the adoptive parents nor the adopted child mention one another in their obituaries. For Marilou in her obituaries only Alda Stanley is mentioned as the mother. In the Morris’s obituary only Ruth is mentioned as a daughter.

John Herschell Hall Taylor Born 30 Dec 1913 Died Oct 1973

Adopted by Ernest Byrd Taylor and Emma J. Taylor (Emma was from Calif,) of Quantico, Md. Adoption degree Wicomico county circuit court Dec 11 1914. He married Margaret Claiborne King on 29 Jan 1934 in Norfolk Virginia. At time of his death lived Cockeysville Md he had as children : Mary Jean Karol, Patricia A., Carolyn, and Herschell Jr.

When E. Byrd Taylor died in 1944 Herschell Taylor is mentioned in the obituary as his son and when his wife Emma died in 1940 Herschell is mention in the obituary as her son. There was no mention of them in Herschell’s obituary but Alda Stanley was mentioned.

To add to the general confusion some researchers think John W. Hall may have used an alias and was really John T. Chelton from Marion Station, Maryland. John T. Chelton had married Emma Hall on July 25, 1879. They had a number of children. Emma received a divorce from him about April 7,1907. She said in the Baltimore Sun at the time of the divorce her husband got a spree about seven years ago and left her never to return. If the man was John T. Chelton perhaps he thought it was a joke to use his wife's maiden name of Hall, but there was also a Delaware Gov. John W. Hall and a well known farmer in Marion Station by the name of John W. Hall. Who will ever know for sure?