Books

This is a page of various books I have found online that reflect my research into the Halls family. Some of them give a flavour of the times, others are books that a prosperous farmer and his wife might have owned, others simply mention various Halls family members. Most of the books focus on Ontario from the 1850's to 1890's. Please feel free to suggest additional books that you feel might fit for Wisconsin, Chicago, North Dakota, or Devon for the same time period

The two main sources for these books are the Internet Archive, and Google Books. I have not actually placed any of the books on this site, they are all links to the original locations opening in new tabs in your browser.

Books for a Prosperous Farm

These books are the sort that one would find on the farms of the Halls brothers in Ontario, used either by them or their wives. While I cannot say with certainty that any one of these books would have been owned by any of the Halls families, it would be unlikely, in my estimation, that they did not have these books, or something very similar to them.

• The Book of the Farm v1
• The Book of the Farm v2
• The Book of the Farm v3
• The Bee-Keepers' Guide; or Manual of the Apiary
• The Province of Ontario Gazeteer and Directory (1869)
• A Treatise on Masonry Construction
• The Builder's Guider and Estimator's Price Book
• The Practice of Cookery, Adapted to Everyday Life
• The Family Save-All, A System of Secondary Cookery
• Primer of Domestic Economy (1894)
• T. Eaton's Co. Spring and Summer Catalogue (1894)p
• T. Eaton's Co. Christmas Catalogue (1897)

A Flavour of the Times

These books attempt to give us a feel for what it was like to live from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's, mostly in Ontario.

• Roughing it in the Bush published in 1852
• Life in the Clearings versus the Bush published in 1853
• Canadian Handbook and Tourist's Guide published in 1867
• Annual report of the Provincial Board of Health of Ontario for 1884. While the reading is a bit dry at times, it gives an idea of what people thought of having Public Health Officers. Check out the section on Exeter.

Devon Life

Books about life in Devon in the mid to late 1800's, as well as some books about travelling to Canada.

• Bygone Days in Devon and Cornwall, published in 1874
• Wanderings in Devon, published in 1869
• Devon Herd Book, published 1855
• Jim and Nell: A Dramatic Poem in the Dialect of North Devon, published 1867
• Canada As It Is; or The Emigrant's Friend and Guide to Upper Canada, published 1847