“I always did like animals of every sort. I started trading horses at twelve, no, make that ten. At twenty I had a pretty fair start, then I just kept going ahead, building up until I had a big business.” ~ William Hall
New York Tribune, February, 6, 1921
 Sidney (Spurgin) Hall (1839-1877) |
 William Hall, Sr. (1832-1879) |
Hall was born February 29, 1864, to a poor farming family in Schuyler County. He became an orphan at 15 and moved in with a local family. Hall saved his money and bought his first horse for $11. "At 18, he moved to the Stretch Livery Stables in Lancaster where he received room and board and a stable and feed for his horse,” according to historians. Hall was determined to have a better life than his parents and did everything possible to learn about horses. This self-determination led to Hall's lucrative career, which enabled him to help others around the globe.
"Hall's Beginnings," Marilyn Foreman, Schuyler County Hall Museum Curator
“Billy had a keen eye for horses and learned everything he could
while working there [Stretch Livery Stables]. He became proficient at
spotting good horses and ones not good.”
Fred D. Pfening, III, Missouri Historical Review, April 1968
