David Hall
15thGovernor of Delaware
In office January 19, 1802 – January 15, 1805
Preceded by	James Sykes
Succeeded by	Nathaniel Mitchell
Personal details
Born	(1752-01-04)January 4, 1752 Lewes,Delaware Colony
Died	September 18, 1817(1817-09-18) (aged 65) Lewes, Delaware, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse	Catherine Tingley
Residence(s)	Lewes, Delaware
Profession	Lawyer

David Hall (January 4, 1752 – September 18, 1817) was an American lawyer and politician fromLewes, inSussex County, Delaware. He was an officer in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolution, and member of theDemocratic-Republican Party, who served asGovernor of Delaware.

Hall was born in Lewes, Delaware, son of David and Mary Kollock Hall. His grandfather was Nathaniel Hall, who was known as "the Indian Fighter". He came to Delaware from Connecticut in 1700. His father, David Hall Sr., was a well known farmer from around Lewes, who was aJustice of the Peace and a frequent member of the Colonial Assembly from 1753 until theAmerican Revolution. In 1776, David Jr. married Catherine Tingley, daughter of Samuel Tingley, the Rector ofSt. Peter's Episcopal Church. They had six children: Elizabeth, Mary, Jane, Catherine, Lydia, and Martha. In time he built a home at 107 Kings Highway, across the road from theZwaanendael Museum. They were members of the Lewes Presbyterian Church.

Hall studied law and was admitted to the bar inNew Castle, Delaware, in 1773. Already a member of the Sussex County militia under General Dagworthy, he joined the1st Delaware Regiment at the beginning of theWar of Independence and served as captain under ColonelJohn Haslet at the battles ofLong Island andWhite Plains. Following Haslet's death atPrinceton in January 1777, he became the leader of the regiment, and was promoted to colonel in April 1777. He led the regiment at theBattle of Brandywine and again at theBattle of Germantown where he was wounded on October 4, 1777. The following year he spent recovering, recruiting new soldiers inWilmington and serving oncourts martial. He returned to active service in June 1779 at theMiddlebrook encampment, spent the inactive summer with the regiment, but returned home in October 1779, complaining of his wound and lack of provisioning. When theDelaware Regiment went to South Carolina in April 1780, Hall did not go. Responding to his continuing requests, the General Assembly authorized some payment, but it was never enough, and finally, in April 1782, Hall resigned his commission.

Hall was an original member of theSociety of the Cincinnati.^[1]

Meanwhile, Hall pursued his law practice in Lewes and entered politics. He was aJeffersonian Democrat-Republican, like most Presbyterians, but in Anglican Lewes, he was in the minority. He lost by a vote of 16 to 6 as the Democratic-Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in1797 against incumbentHenry Latimer.^[2] He was badly beaten byFederalistRichard Bassett when he ran for governor in 1798. He ran again in 1801 against Episcopalian Nathaniel Mitchell, a professed "Deist", and a person openly critical of Methodists. Hall emphasized his Presbyterian faith, and in spite of losingKent andSussex counties again badly, he won Presbyterians inNew Castle County by such a large margin that he carried the state by 18 votes. The Federalists considered using the recently passedAlien and Sedition Acts to try to nullify some of the recent immigrant New Castle County vote, but with their continued control of the General Assembly, they grudgingly "allowed" him to take office.

Hall served as governor from January 19, 1802, until January 15, 1805. During this timePierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours bought the oldJacob Broom cotton mills onBrandywine Creek and began his gunpowder business. This was also the point of the greatest abolitionist sentiment in Delaware, when the General Assembly failed by one vote to enact agradual emancipation bill.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for theU.S. House in 1805 againstJames M. Broom; and again in 1812 for the seat won by theFederalist candidate,Thomas Cooper. The next year he was named a judge of the Sussex CountyCourt of Common Pleas.

Hall died at Lewes, and is buried there in theLewes Presbyterian Church cemetery.

TheCol. David Hall House was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[3]

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and had a three-year term. Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas were selected by the General Assembly for the life of the person appointed.

• Conrad, Henry C. (1908).History of the State of Delaware. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984).A History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press.
• Munroe, John A. (2004).The Philadelawareans. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press.ISBN 0-87413-872-8.
• Munroe, John A. (1954).Federalist Delaware 1775-1815. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University.
• Rodney, Richard S. (1975).The Collected Essays on Early Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Delaware.
• Scharf, John Thomas (1888).History of Delaware 1609–1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.
• Ward, Christopher L. (1941).The Delaware Continentals, 1776–1783. Wilmington, DE:Historical Society of Delaware.ISBN 0-924117-21-4.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Wilson, Emerson. (1969).Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Deltos Publishing Company.

• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Delaware's Governors
• David Hall atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard
• Website of theDelaware Historical Society
• Library website of theUniversity of Delaware

• Society of the Cincinnati
• American Revolution Institute

• 1752 births
• 1817 deaths
• Presbyterians from Delaware
• People from Lewes, Delaware
• Continental Army officers from Delaware
• Delaware lawyers
• Delaware Democratic-Republicans
• Governors of Delaware
• Delaware Court of Common Pleas judges
• Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
• People from colonial Delaware
• County officials in Delaware
• 19th-century American lawyers
• 19th-century Delaware politicians
• Candidates in the 1797 United States elections
• Candidates in the 1801 United States elections
• Candidates in the 1805 United States elections

• Articles using NRISref without a reference number
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• Use mdy dates from July 2024
• CS1 errors: ISBN date