William A. Hall | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri | |
| In office January 20, 1862 – March 3, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | John Bullock Clark |
| Succeeded by | John F. Benjamin |
| Constituency | 3rd district (1862–1863) 9th district (1863–1865) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Augustus Hall (1815-10-15)October 15, 1815 |
| Died | October 15, 1888(1888-10-15) (aged 73) Missouri, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Relatives | John H. Hall (father) William Preble Hall (son) Uriel Sebree Hall (son) Willard Preble Hall (brother) |
William Augustus Hall (October 15, 1815 – December 15, 1888) was an American politician who served in theUS House of Representatives. He was the son ofJohn H. Hall, industrialist and inventor of theM1819 Hall rifle, the brother of Missouri Governor and RepresentativeWillard Preble Hall and the father of RepresentativeUriel Sebree Hall andMedal of Honor recipientWilliam Preble Hall.
Born inPortland, Maine, on October 15, 1815, Hall moved with his family toHarpers Ferry, Virginia, at a young age and attended the local schools there. He attendedYale College, relocated toMissouri in 1840, and was admitted to its bar in 1841.
Hall served as acaptain in theMexican-American War. In the1850 United States census, he was recorded as owning fourslaves.[1] He served as judge of the Circuit Court in Missouri from 1847 to 1861 and as delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention in early 1861, where he advocated against secession. After the outbreak of the civil war he was appointed a United States Commissioner with powers similar to a federal magistrate judge. In the fall of 1861 he was elected as a Democrat to the37th Congress as a replacement forJohn Bullock Clark, who had been expelled from Congress for taking up arms against the United States. He was elected on his own merit in 1862 and served from January 20, 1862 to March 4, 1865.[2] He did not seek an additional term in 1864.
In 1855, he was the judge who presided over thetrial of Celia, a 19-year-old pregnant slave woman who was on trial for the alleged murder in self-defense of her master, who had been sexually abusing her for years. Hall's personal views on slavery are not known, but he is known to have had strong unionist views. Given his position he would have been well aware of the media attention and the implications the outcome of the trial could have for Missouri and the nation.[3] To defend Celia, Hall appointedJohn Jameson, a recently ordained minister who had served in congress and had been speaker of the Missouri state house. Jameson had a reputation as an excellent trial attorney. Hall also appointed two other attorneys from prominent Callaway County families to assist Jameson.
Hall's approach to the trial gives support to the view that he wished the trial procedures to be perceived as correct and fair insofar as the laws of Missouri allowed.[4] The jury found Celia guilty and sentenced her to death. The conviction, and Hall's rulings, were affirmed by the Missouri Supreme Court.[5] He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1864.
After his term in Congress ended, Hall returned to the practice of law. He died nearDarksville, Missouri, on December 15, 1888 and was buried in a family plot.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 3rd congressional district 1862–1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None (District Created after 1860 Census) | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 8th congressional district 1863–1865 | Succeeded by |
