Lyman Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 18thGovernor of Georgia | |
| In office January 7, 1783 – January 9, 1784 | |
| Preceded by | John Martin |
| Succeeded by | John Houstoun |
| Delegate from Georgia to the Continental Congress | |
| In office 1775–1777 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 13, 1724 Wallingford, Connecticut, British America |
| Died | October 19, 1790(1790-10-19) (aged 66) Burke County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Pro-Administration |
| Spouse(s) | Abigail Burr (1752-1753) and Mary Osborn (1757-1790) |
| Children | Isaac Hall (1753-1794) and John Lyman Hall |
| Residence | America |
| Profession | Clergyman Medical Doctor MemberContinental Congress Governor founder ofUniversity of Georgia |
| Signature |  |
Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was anAmerican Founding Father, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed theUnited States Declaration of Independence as a representative ofGeorgia.[1]Hall County is named after him. He was one of four physicians to sign the Declaration, along withBenjamin Rush,Josiah Bartlett, andMatthew Thornton.
Hall was born on April 12, 1724, inWallingford, Connecticut. He was the son of John Hall, a minister,[2] and Mary (née Street) Hall, daughter of Rev. Samuel Street.[3][4] He studied with his uncle Samuel Hall[5] and graduated fromYale College in 1747,[6] a tradition in his family. He was a nephew of Anne Law, daughter of Gov.Jonathan Law, cousin of Dr.William Brenton Hall, and a grandnephew of Capt.Theophilus Yale of theYale family.[7][8][9][10] In 1749, he was called to the pulpit of Stratfield Parish (nowBridgeport, Connecticut). His pastorate was a stormy one: an outspoken group of parishioners opposed his ordination; in 1751, he was dismissed after charges against his moral character which, according to one biography, "were supported by proof and also by his own confession." He continued to preach for two more years, filling vacant pulpits, while he studied medicine and taught school.
In 1752, he married Abigail Burr ofFairfield, Connecticut; she died the following year.[2][5] In 1757, he married Mary Osborne.[11] He migrated toSouth Carolina and established himself as a physician atDorchester, South Carolina, nearCharleston,[5] a community settled byCongregationalist migrants fromDorchester, Massachusetts, decades earlier. When these settlers moved to theMidway District – nowLiberty County – in Georgia, Hall accompanied them. Hall soon became one of the leading citizens of the newly founded town ofSunbury.
On the eve of theAmerican Revolution, St. John's Parish, in which Sunbury was located, was a hotbed of radical sentiment in a predominantlyLoyalist colony. Though Georgia was not initially represented in theFirst Continental Congress, through Hall's influence the parish was persuaded to send a delegate to Philadelphia to theSecond Continental Congress. Hall was delegated and was admitted to a seat in the Congress in 1775. He was one of the three Georgians and one of four doctors to sign the document of Independence.[12]
In January 1779, Sunbury was burned by the British. Hall's family fled to the North, where they remained until the British evacuation in 1782. Hall then returned to Georgia, settling inSavannah. In January 1783, he was electedgovernor of the state – a position that he held for one year. While governor, Hall advocated the chartering of a state university, believing that education, particularly religious education, would result in a more virtuous citizenry. His efforts led to the chartering of theUniversity of Georgia in 1785. At the expiration of his term as governor, he resumed his medical practice.
In 1790, Hall moved to a plantation inBurke County, Georgia, on the South Carolina border, where he died on October 19 at the age of 66. Hall's widow died in November 1798..
Lyman Hall is memorialized in Georgia whereHall County, Georgia, bears his name; and in Connecticut, his native state, where the town of Wallingford honored him by naming ahigh school after its distinguished native son. Elementary schools inLiberty County, Georgia, and in Hall County, Georgia, are also named for him.Signers Monument, a granite obelisk in front of the courthouse inAugusta, Georgia, memorializes Hall along withButton Gwinnett andGeorge Walton as Georgians who signed the Declaration of Independence. His remains were re-interred there in 1848 after being exhumed from his original grave on his plantation in Burke County.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Dexter 1896
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1783–1784 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
