Fall.—Mrs. Benjamin Fall died at the residence of her son, Prof.
Delos Fall, in Albion, December 27, 1898, aged 8o years.
Ann M. Bassett was born in Mendon, Monroe county, N. Y., January
12, 1813. At the age of 18 she was married to Benjamin F. Fall, and
very soon moved to Canada, there to enter upon the active and stirring
scenes of frontier life. In the exciting and rebellious times through
which Canada passed in the years about 1837, Mr. Fall's intense patriot-
ism to the land of his birth and his antipathy to the English oligarchy
became so pronounced that they were obliged to abandon all their
possessions, allow their property to be confiscated and fly for safety
to the United States. Their flight was by a log canoe down the river
Thames and across Lake St. Clair.
Arriving at Detroit, they took the Michigan Central railroad, the
western terminus of which was then at Ypsilanti. Subsequently they
made their way to northern Indiana, where they cleared themselves a
farm out of the black walnut forests. They were not satisfied with
school and other privileges to be had there, and removed to the vicinity
of Ann Arbor.During these years four girls were born to them, who were taken
from them in early life by death from scarlet fever. Three sons were
afterwards born to them, Charles S. Fall, the eldest, now a resident of
California, and DeWitt and Delos Fall, twins, the former a resident of
Jackson, Mich., and the latter is well known throughout the state
Mrs. Fall early became a member of the Methodist church, and with
her husband loyally supported all the work of the church. Her home
was at all times open to the coming of the itinerant preacher. Her
husband was taken from her nearly 30 years ago. During the time in
which her son Delos was finishing his university course she made a
home for him, and since his graduation she has found a home with
him, so that mother and son have never been separated from each
other. For many years she has felt the infirmities of age, but through
it all her mind has been unclouded and her faith in the Savior unfail-
ing. Her patient endurance of all the long years has been remarkable,
and in her last hours she was as quiet and undisturbed as a child.













from "Biographical review of Calhoun County, Michigan":

"The mother of Professor [Delos] Fall was born near Mendon, New York, January 12, 1813, a daughter of **Henry and Dorothy (Sackett) Bassett. Her father was a son of Henry and Mary (Percy) Bassett, the latter a daughter of Sylvanus and Abigail (Durein) Percy, and a granddaughter of Lord Percy of England, who was a member of one of the most distinguished and forceful families, according to history, in England. Henry Bassett, grandfather of Professor Fall, bore a Christian name which was also borne by his father and grandfather. The family was established in New England during an early epoch in the colonization of the new world and the first Henry Bassett was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Henry Bassett, the grandfather, and Dorothy Sackett, were married in 1797, and it was their daughter Ann M. who became the wife of Benjamin F. Fall. Her death occurred in Albion in 1899, when she was eighty-six years of age. She had three children who reached mature years. The eldest son, Charles S. Fall, was a soldier of the Civil war and received from Congress a gold medal in recognition of bravery displayed at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House.


In the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, vol. 29, pp. 42-3, the following information is given in an obituary notice for Ann Basset Fall published in 1898:
Following their marriage, Benjamin and Ann "very soon moved to Canada... In the exciting and rebellious times through which Canada passed about 1837, Mr. Fall's intense patriotism to the land of his birth and his antipathy to the English oligarchy became so pronounced that they were obliged to abandon all their possessions, allow their property to be confiscated, and fly for safety to the United States. Their flight was by a log canoe down the river Thames and across Lake St. Clair."
Benjamin passed through Michigan to Indiana, where he cleared a farm in Noble County and where at least one of his children - Charles Stuart Fall - was born, in 1840. Not being satisfied with the local schools, however, he moved his family to the vicinity of Ann Arbor.
During these years, tragedy struck Benjamin's family. An epidemic of scarlet fever took the lives of his four daughters, Esther, Ellen, Mary, and Alice. Somehow the family recovered from the blow, the birth of twins in 1848 perhapes helping to set them looking foward again.
One account states that Benjamin was a blacksmith, though there is no evidence in Charle's letters home from the Civil War, which refer only to farming activities.
After living in Hamburg, Michigan during the civil war years, Benjamin moved into Ann Arbor itself, "where he was a member of theMethodist Episcopal Church and held many official positions in... the denomination. He was also prominently identified with the Masonic lodge."