Lyman Hall: GA Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Lyman Hall was born on April 12, 1725, in Wallingford, Connecticut, to the Honorable Jon and May (Street) Hall. He was the third son and fifth child overall. His family ancestry can be traced to England, and his paternal Great-Great Grandfather came to Boston from Coventry, England, in 1688. He moved to Hartford and then New Haven in 1639. Another Great-Great Grandfather came to Boston in 1631. His maternal Great-Great Grandfather, Reverend Nicholas Street, came to Plymouth Colony in 1638 from England, and he was a graduate of Oxford.
Not much is known of Hall’s early life. He did receive some classical education from his uncle, the Reverend Samuel Hall. Before entering Yale, he was able to construct and parse Latin authors, knew the Greek Testament, and knew the rules of arithmetic. He graduated from Yale in 1747, where he studied theology, originally intending to become a minister. There were four other future signers of the Declaration, including Oliver Wolcott, at Yale during the time Hall was attending. He would return to Yale in 1750 to get his M.A., which was given to an alumnus of good character, and he paid six shillings for it.[1]
In 1749, he began preaching at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was ordained by the Fairfield West Consociation. However, in June of 1751, he was dismissed on charges of immoral conduct, which he admitted. No record exists to say what the charges were, as those records were destroyed by the British in 1779. The Consociation votes to restore him to good standing upon his confession because they are convinced he was sincerely repentant. He would continue to preach for the next two years.
On May 20, 1752, he married Abigail Burr, granddaughter of Judge Peter Burr, a prominent member of the community. She would die childless in 1753. Then, in October of 1753, he married Mary Osborn. She was the daughter of Samuel and Hannah Osborn and was descended from the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. They would have one child, John, who died in 1791. John’s exact birth year was unknown, but it is said he was around eighteen years old when he passed away.
He gave up the ministry in 1753 to study medicine and soon set up a practice in Wallingford, Connecticut. He also received a Doctor of Medicine degree. In addition to his school and practice, he earned extra money by teaching. After he obtained his medical degree, he moved to Dorchester, South Carolina, in 1754 with a group of New England Congregationalists. Dorchester had originally been settled by Puritans in 1697 to promote religion in the South. Dr. Hall and his family, along with the other Congregationalists, were accepted into the Dorchester community. He set up his first medical practice there before moving to Midway, Georgia, in 1756.
The entire group Hall was part of relocated with him to Midway because the community had grown so much; they were worried about insufficient land being available for new members. The leaders of Dorchester had obtained a grant for 22,400 acres of land before relocating to the area in 1750, but as new members arrived, they were outgrowing that grant. Upon his arrival in Midway, Dr. Hall purchased a small plantation and engaged in rice cultivation, which was a successful venture. The new lands obtained in Midway were offered to church members first before being offered to “outsiders.”[2] Dr. Hall eventually sold the land, consisting of 2000 acres of which 150 were improved, to Raymond Demere in 1785.
By 1758, Sunbury was established in St. John’s Parish by Dr. Hall and other Congregationalists. Malaria had infested Midway due to its location in the swamps. This would prove beneficial for Dr. Hall, as his medical skills were in demand and, from this, he was able to acquire another plantation. Sunbury is not far from Midway, where he was still a member of the church. He bought two town lots in Sunbury and became the leading physician in town and the surrounding county. Then, in 1761, Dr. Hall receives a 300-acre land grant from Georgia Royal Governor Wright. The grant was not entirely in his name, as it was shared with Samuel Miller. Just five years later, Dr. Hall purchased another 400 acres of land in St. Thomas County from Jacob Locerkman of South Carolina. In 1770, he purchased 100 square feet of land from Taylor for 10 shillings. It is unknown why the land was sold for so little, but it was probably in lieu of medical services owed by Taylor to Dr. Hall.[3]
St. John’s Parish was the center of the revolutionary movement in Georgia, and Dr. Hall was an early leader of this movement. Before his appointment to Congress, he would attend liberty meetings in Savannah, where he met Button Gwinnett and convinced him to join the patriots’ cause. The rest of Georgia was slow to join them because it was the least-populated and most remote colony and had no issues with the crown. The Royal Governor said the head of the rebellion was located in St. John’s due to “descendants of New England people of the Puritan independent sect.”[4] He perpetuated the delays in sending delegates to the Congress.
The Georgia Assembly declined to join other colonies in protesting Great Britain, so a meeting was held at Tondee Tavern in Savannah on July 24, 1774. A Committee of 31 was appointed to frame policies and resolutions. Dr. Hall was part of this group, which was resistant to doing this because they did not feel they represented the whole colony. There were calls for another meeting in August to include delegates from each parish, and it was agreed that the numbers must match those in the current Colonial Assembly.
St. John’s Parish, under Dr. Hall’s leadership, would hold a second meeting, at Tondee Tavern, and invite other parishes to join in sending delegates to the First Continental Congress. Twenty-six men attended, but no other parish sent individuals to the Continental Congress. This was due, in part, to the actions of Governor Write who had pleaded with the public to ignore the radical agitators. During this meeting, Dr. Hall was empowered, along with 10 other men, to correspond with other colonies. The members would continue to write letters and give speeches, which got the general population of Georgia thinking and talking, in turn putting more pressure on the moderates to decide. Dr. Hall and the other Puritans of Midway resolved to join the Non-Importation Association, established by the First Continental Congress, during these meetings.
On January 18, 1775, the First Provincial Congress met, but only four Parishes attended, as the meeting was scheduled at the same time as the General Assembly. Several delegates were part of the General Assembly and had to attend that meeting. Those delegates sought to pass measures to send delegates to the Continental Congress and then worked to get the Non-Importation agreement through. Still, Governor White adjourned the General Assembly to avoid this. Back at the Provincial Congress, the initial nominees to attend the Continental Congress refused to do so because only four of the twelve parishes were being represented. Dr. Hall then tried to contract with a group in South Carolina with the purpose of trying to bypass Royal Government control by announcing that St. John’s Parish was willing to cede from Georgia and join South Carolina to participate in the Continental Congress. South Carolina declined because it would have violated the Articles of Association to have just one parish and not the entire colony of Georgia join them. Dr. Hall and his associates would abide by the Articles of Association even though Georgia had not joined them.
The Provincial Congress initially sent Dr. Hall to the Second Continental Congress in March of 1775, but he had no voting authority and only participated in the debates. He declined to vote because he was only representing one St. John’s Parish at the time. By July of 1775, Georgia agreed with the revolutionary cause and sent additional delegates whom the Second Provincial Congress elected. Dr. Hall was part of this group, which included George Walton, Button Gwinnett, Archibald Bulloch, and John Houston. Dr. Hall briefly left Philadelphia and returned in January of 1776, but did not present his credentials to Congress until February 2, left Congress for a time, and did not return until May 20. The delegates were told to exercise their own opinions and do what was best for Georgia. Dr. Hall would align himself with John and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, but Archibald Bulloch and John Houston would leave Congress in June of 1776. Dr. Hall was also a close friend of Roger Sherman and would introduce Button Gwinnett to his circle of New England friends. He voted for independence and signed the engrossed copy of the Declaration on August 2, 1776.
In December of 1778, Savannah fell to the British, and Dr. Hall’s home and rice plantation were destroyed. He left Georgia with his family and took them to Wallingford, Connecticut. His Sunbury home was also destroyed, causing him a great financial loss. In 1782, he returns to Savanah and resumes his medical practice. It is unknown why he did not return to Sunbury.
By 1783, he has returned to Sunbury and represents St. John’s Parish in the Assembly. He was elected the ninth Governor of Georgia under the 1777 state Constitution. He serves one one-year term and leaves office in January of 1784. During his time in office, Georgia’s northern border was adjusted, and the public debt was settled. Governor Hall wants a report on how the state’s money was being spent, so it can be reformed to be more efficient. The Governor wanted to spend money on reconstruction properly and avoid wasting it. He begins printing the state's laws, with a graduated payment to the printers. He enters into a contract to get provisions for the Continental Army, which was still stationed in Georgia. This was difficult because people in Georgia were still starving, and the troops needed food.
Governor Hall addresses the issue of confiscated property by both sides during the war. The 1782 Act on Confiscation was cumbersome, with various levels and rules for each side. A board was established with too many members to reach a majority to confiscate property, but nothing was getting done, so the board was eliminated and a smaller group was empowered to deal with the situation. With a smaller number of board members and the power of the state government behind them, the board was able to move quickly in selling confiscated loyalist land to loyal patriots. Governor Hall would purchase a total of 500 acres of land for £662 1 shilling and 8 pence. In total 13, 614 acres of loyalist land[5] was sold for £42,327 and 2 shillings.[6] In 2015 dollars, that number ranges from £4,551,000 to £392,400,000, depending on whether historical or economic value was used to determine the dollar amount. In U.S. dollars, those total values range between $6,987,605.40 and $602,490,960. In addition to selling off loyalist property, Governor Hall issued a proclamation ordering the return of property confiscated by the British during the war and requiring that citizens list their losses. The list must be sworn before a Justice before the people can retrieve their property. A land office was established, but issues with the land would lead to speculation problems that lasted for the next twenty-six years.
During his tenure, Governor Hall also negotiated treaties with the Cherokee Indians. The first formal treaty by Georgia as an independent and sovereign state was concluded during his term. By the end of 1873, everything was settled with the Indians, but this, and later treaties, would not be honored by future generations. In addition to treaties, Dr. Hall recommended on July 8, 1783, that a grant of land be set aside to establish a state university of higher learning. Franklin College was chartered with 40,000 acres of land. Today Franklin College is better known as the University of Georgia. He also called the legislature to “enact wholesome laws restraining vice and encourage the introduction of religion and learned clergy to perform divine worship in honor of God and to cultivate the principles of religion and virtue among our citizens.”[7]
Upon leaving office in 1784, Dr. Hall resumed his medical practice, and then, in June of 1784, the Gazette published a notice detailing his position as the executor of Button Gwinnett’s estate. He worked on settling the estate for several years, and it was not finished by the time Dr. Hall passed away, as Gwinnett owed a lot of money to many different people.[8] Then, in 1786, he was granted 20 acres of land by Governor Telfar for services rendered to the state, but he put the tract up for sale in January of 1790 and advertised it as a rice plantation.
In 1790, he moved back to Burke County and established a new plantation called Shell Bluff. He decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life in the country and died there on October 19, 1790. He was originally buried in a brick vault on his land, but was moved to Augusta, Georgia, in 1848, to be buried under the Signer’s Monument. His original headstone was sent to Wallingford Cemetery in Connecticut. A notice appeared in the newspapers in 1791 about his son settling the estate. His son would die that same year without being married or having any children, and his wife would pass in 1793. Many have claimed to be his descendants, but they are unable to prove it. His properties reverted to the state of Georgia, and in 1870, a fire broke out at the Waynesboro County Courthouse in Burke County. All of the records were destroyed, and Georgia was unable to answer the disposition of his estate, so they considered it settled.[1]
Tidbits He was six feet tall, well-proportioned, and considered to have a good character. He has no direct descendants. Hall County in Georgia as well as a high school in Wallingford, CT are named after him. A plaque was dedicated in his memory in 1955 by the United Congregational Church of Bridgeport. There are no known personal effects of Lyman Hall that survive today, and both of his homes are gone. Only a historical marker identifies where they once stood. |
[1] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot” 104
[1] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot” (n.d.) 3
[2] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot.” (n.d.) 14
[3] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot” (n.d.) 22
[4] Kiernan, Denise, and Joseph D’Agnese. Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of The Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia: Quirk Book, 2009) 90
[5] 19 people originally owned the land sold, and we are aware of this number because Governor Hall signed an account of the sale.
[6] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot” 62-63
[8] Hall, James William. “Lyman Hall, Georgia Patriot” 93-95
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