HALL, J. W., senior member of the firm of Hall and Duchardt, manufacturers of all kinds of harness and saddles to order, as well as dealers in all varieties of heavy and light harness, is one of the substantial business men of Virginia. The firm are located in the Downing building, and own the only power manufacturing plant in Cass County that is operated by electricity. The firm was formed in October, 1910, and the connections then made have continued profitably ever since.

J. W. Hall was born in Morgan County, Ill., February 14, 1855, a son of James and Ellen (Phifer) Hall. His educational training was obtained in Morgan and Cass counties, and his practical education was obtained when he learned the harness making trade at Chandlerville and Springfield, Ill. He went to the latter city in 1877, and in addition to working at his trade, he has turned his attention to several other lines of endeavor, having been in the real estate business and also handled horses. For two years he acted as a guard at the Federal prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kas. In 1909, Mr. Hall was elected a justice of the peace, and, re-elected to the same office in 1913, still fills it. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

On December 1, 1881, Mr. Hall was married to Emma Jackson, a daughter of Milton Jackson, who was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, during the Civil war, and his wife, Louisa (Yeck) Jackson, who was born in Cass County, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have had five children: Claud W., who is in the National Home, at Leavenworth, Kas.; William A., who is working in the ice plant of the same institution; Verna B., who is Mrs. Frank Frame, of Bonner Springs, Kas.; Ethel B., who is Mrs. Roy B. Slotts, of Bonner Springs, Kas., where her husband is cashier of the First National Bank; and Sheldon, who is a high school student of Bonner Springs, Kas.