Dates of birth and death from his gravestone, which has his full name James Edward Hall; date of birth matches that from family history by Mrs. Hassard Hall.

Her death certificate (Vol. 49, #19449) states Dora Hall, age 41, died 20 July 1911 in Rowan Co., married, born May 1870 in Rowan Co., father’s name Robert Hamm, cause of death stomach cancer. (The fields for name of mother and informant are blank.)

Note that only 9 days elapsed between Dora’s death and Ed’s remarriage.

My dad’s cousin Nancy Hall Rose, whose husband Tom Rose is a grandson of Ed Hall and his second wife Ettie Baldridge, says that Dora was sick for a long time, and Ettie helped take care of her during her illness. While Dora was on her deathbed, she gave her blessing to Ed and Dora to marry after her death. Ettie’s first husband, Powell Hall, who was Ed’s brother, had also recently died.

Rowan Co. marriage book 1, p. 86, records marriage of James E. Hall and Sarah M. Ham on 21 June 1889. A consent note is attached for Sarah from her father Samuel R. Ham. Surety on the bond is by John Hall.

According to Nancy Hall Rose, whose husband Tom Hall is a grandson of Ed and his second wife Ettie Baldridge, Sarah’s middle name was Dora, and that is the name she went by. (I don’t know where the middle initial M comes in. Maybe “Madora”?)

Nancy says that Ed and Dora had four daughters, whose names she gave as “Irnie”, Addie, and Emma, and another girl who died when she was four or five years old in a house fire. I guess “Irnie” is how they pronounced Ina.

Even before I called Nancy to ask her, I suspected very strongly that the two Ed Halls (the husband of Dora and the husband of Sarah) were the same person, and that Dora (the mother of Ina and Addie) and Sarah (from the 1889 marriage record) were the same person, because there were too many parallels for it to be coincidence, including:

In the 1930 census, Ed and Dora’s grandson Clyde Crawford, son of Clay Crawford and Ina P. Hall, is living with the family of my great-uncle Oliver and Vesta (Petitt) Hall, with the relationship given as “cousin”. Oliver and Clyde cannot be first cousins, because it would imply that Ina P. Hall and George W. Hall were siblings, and they’re not. But if the two Edward Halls are the same person, then Oliver and Clyde would be second cousins once removed.

Ed and Dora the parents of Ina and Addie were married about 1889 based on the 1900 census. James Edward Hall and Sarah Ham were married on 21 June 1889.

Edward Hall with wife Dora was born Nov 1870 according to the 1900 census. James Edward Hall was born 17 Nov 1869 from his gravestone, which is consistent with the 1870 census reading where he appears at age 7 months. Years of birth from later records are often wrong by a year or two.

Dora’s birthdate is given as Jan 1871 in the 1900 census. Sarah Ham was listed as age 9 in the 1880 census.

Dora’s parents’ places of birth are given in the 1900 census as Kentucky for her father and Ohio for her mother. Sarah Ham’s father Samuel Ham was born in Kentucky and her mother Sarah Jane Perry was born in Ohio.

Sarah Ham had a sister named Addie, based on the 1880 census, and Ed and Dora named their second daughter Addie.

There is no other family in the 1900 or 1910 census that could be James Edward Hall and Sarah Ham.

All the above was really pointing to “Sarah = Dora”, so I called Nancy and she confirmed it, plus gave the additional information about the fourth daughter who died in a fire, and about Dora telling Ed to marry Ettie after she died.

1900 census of Rowan Co., Ky, Pearce precinct, enumerated 8 June, lists on pp. 6A-6B as family #101:
Hall, Edward, 29, farm laborer, b. Nov 1870, Ky/Ky/Ky; Dora, wife, 29, b. Jan 1871, Ky/Ky/Ohio, married 11 years, mother of 4 children, 3 living; Ina P., dau, 9, b. Feb 1891, Ky/Ky/Ky; Addie, dau, 7, b. Oct 1892, Ky/Ky/Ky; Emma H., dau, 2, b. Apr 1898, Ky/Ky/Ky.

I cannot find either Edward or Dora in the 1910 census. Their daughters Ina and Addie were both already married by then.

See notes for Ed and his second wife Ettie Baldridge for the 1920 census.