David Aiken Hall (October 16, 1795 – December 24, 1870) was an American attorney, author, and politician, most well known as a lawyer to enslaved African Americans, including the crew and slaves of The Pearl.
David Aiken Hall | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of the Whig National Committee | |
| In office 1851–1852 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 16, 1795 Grafton, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | December 24, 1870 (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Congressional Cemetery |
| Political party | Whig |
| Children | 6, including Maria M. C. Hall |
| Alma mater | Middlebury College |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician, author |
Early life and family
editDavid Aiken Hall was born on October 16, 1795, in Grafton, Vermont.[1] After graduating from Middlebury College, he moved to Washington, D.C., to study law with Elias B. Caldwell.[2][3]
Marriages and children
editHall was married three times: to Susan Apthorp Bulfinch (1790–1829) in 1821, Martha Maria Condict (1807–1836) in 1834, and Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth (1814–1874) in 1838.[4][5]
He had 6 children who lived into adulthood, including:[6][7]
- Maria M. C. Hall[8] (1836–1912), American Civil War nurse[9]
- Ellen Ellsworth Hall Curtis (1840–1900)
- Alice Lindsley Hall Wyckoff (1842–1920)
- William Frederick Hall (1844–1900)
- Martin Ellsworth Hall (1847–1904), Commander, U.S. Navy
- Martha Wolcott Hall Hitchcock (1856–1903)
Career
editHall was admitted to the Bar in 1820 and was a prominent attorney in the Washington, D.C. area. He was an acquaintance of former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe upon his arrival to the region. In 1824, Hall was a lieutenant of a company organized to welcome General Lafayette on the occasion of his visit to Washington.[2]
He served for several years as executor of the James Greenleaf estate.[4] Among his close associates and friends were Daniel Webster and Stephen A. Douglas. Hall became known for representing a large number of enslaved African Americans and saving them from being sold and separated from their families. In 1828, Bushrod Washington wrote Hall regarding a legal matter.[4] Hall was a close friend of Daniel Webster, with whom he often partnered on legal cases.[2][10] He was also a neighbor and associate of abolitionist editor Gamaliel Bailey.[11]
In 1832, Hall co-wrote Legislative and Documentary History of the Bank of the United States with Matthew St. Clair Clarke (Clerk of the United States House of Representatives), a work which was praised by James Madison.[12]
In the late 1840s, he provided legal representation as one of the lead attorneys for the crew and enslaved persons of The Pearl.[13][14][15] Hall was an active member of the Whig party, and served as secretary of the Whig National Committee during the 1852 presidential election. He was a strong opponent of slavery.[2][16]
Works
edit- A Digested Index of the Laws of the Corporation of the City of Washington, 1829[17]
- Legislative and Documentary History of the Bank of the United States, 1832 (co-authored with Matthew St. Clair Clarke)[18]
- Cases of Contested Elections in Congress 1789 to 1834, 1834 (co-authored with Matthew St. Clair Clarke)[19]
Death and legacy
editHall died in 1870 aged 75.[13] He is interred at the Congressional Cemetery.[1][5] Hall's grave is recognized with a historical marker as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.[20]
References
edit- ^ a b "Hall, David Aiken () | Seward Family Digital Archive". sewardproject.org. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ a b c d Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. The Society. 1902.
- ^ Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont: And of Others who Have Received Degrees, 1800-1915. The College. 1917.
- ^ a b c "Hall, David Aiken | Bushrod Papers". bushrod.washingtonpapers.org. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ a b "David Aiken Hall & Martha Maria Condict". www.condit-family.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ Zevely, Douglass (1902). "Old Houses on C Street and Those Who Lived There". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 5: 151–175. ISSN 0897-9049. JSTOR 40066800.
- ^ "Person Information | Seward Family Digital Archive". sewardproject.org. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ Condit, Jotham Halsey (1885). Genealogical record of the Condit family. University of Wisconsin - Madison. Newark, N.J., Ward & Tichenor. p. 209.
- ^ Moore, Frank (1867). Women of the War: Their Heroism and Self-sacrifice.
- ^ Moser, Harold D. (2005-03-30). Daniel Webster: A Bibliography. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-06867-6.
- ^ Ripley, C. Peter; Finkenbine, Roy E. (2000-11-09). The Black Abolitionist Papers: Vol. III: The United States, 1830-1846. UNC Press Books. ISBN 979-8-89086-648-6.
- ^ "Founders Online: James Madison to David A. Hall, 8 August 1834". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ a b "Funeral of Mr. David A. Hall". The Evening Star. December 28, 1870.
- ^ Pacheco, Josephine F. (2010-03-15). The Pearl: A Failed Slave Escape on the Potomac. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-8892-6.
- ^ Thomas, William G. (2020-11-24). A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation's Founding to the Civil War. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25627-7.
- ^ Harrold, Stanley (2021-11-21). The Abolitionists and the South, 1831-1861. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-8734-1.
- ^ Hall, David A. (1829). A Digested Index of the Laws of the Corporation of the City of Washington: To the Twenty-sixth Council, Inclusive. Way & Gideon, printers.
- ^ Clarke, Matthew St Clair (1832). Legislative and documentary History of the Bank of the United States. Gales and Seaton. ISBN 978-1-57588-944-3.
- ^ Cases of Contested Elections in Congress: From the Year 1789 to 1834, Inclusive. Gales and Seaton. 1834.
- ^ "David A. Hall - Congressional Cemetery". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2024-10-08.