John Hicklin Hall (July 17, 1854 – July 27, 1937) was a politician and attorney in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. A native of the

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

area, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives in the early 1890s before appointment as the United States District Attorney for Oregon. As the federal prosecutor, he became involved in the

Oregon land fraud scandal The Oregon land fraud scandal of the early 20th century involved U.S. government land grants in the U.S. state of Oregon being illegally obtained with the assistance of public officials. Most of Oregon's U.S. congressional delegation received ...

, in which several high-profile public officials conspired to defraud the government in acquiring land for a private entity. Hall was convicted, but subsequently pardoned, for failing to prosecute some of the participants. Hall was also the father of Oregon governor John H. Hall.

Early life

John Hall was born in Multnomah County, Oregon, east of the city of

on July 17, 1854.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 104-105. He was the son of Benjamin F. and Emily Hicklin Hall, though both parents died when he was ten, leaving him the family farm. Hall worked as a farm hand and for a railroad surveying crew while also receiving an education at both the Lafayette Academy and Portland High School.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 145. When he turned 21 he returned to the family farm to run it, and in 1877 was married to Olive I. Powell. After getting married, the couple moved to Portland and opened a store, which he sold in 1885. Hall then read law for two years and passed the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in October 1887. He then entered a legal partnership with W. E. Showers before appointment as a deputy district attorney in 1888 for Multnomah County. In 1890, he was elected to represent

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

in the Oregon House of Representatives.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1891 Regular Session (17th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 21, 2009. A Republican, Hall served one two-year term, participating in the 1891 legislative session. Hall was elevated to the position of chief deputy DA in 1892. He was married a second time December 25, 1895, to Jessie E. Belcher, and they had three children. In November 1897, Hall was appointed as the United States District Attorney for Oregon by U.S. President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

Oregon land fraud

In 1903, U.S. Attorney General

Philander Knox Philander Chase Knox (May 6, 1853October 12, 1921) was an American lawyer, bank director and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Knox served in the Cabinet of three different presidents and represented Pennsylvania in the United States ...

appointed

Francis J. Heney Francis Joseph "Frank" Heney (March 17, 1859 – October 31, 1937) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. Heney is known for killing an opposing plaintiff in self-defense and for being shot in the head by a prospective juror during the Sa ...

to assist Hall in investigating allegations of land fraud in Oregon in a series of trials that became known as the

. Hall was uncooperative in the investigation, and was removed from office by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on January 1, 1905. In 1907, Heney put Hall on trial for failing to prosecute land companies engaging in fraudulent activities, and for using his knowledge of illegal activities to blackmail his political opponents. On February 8, 1908, a jury found Hall guilty of the charges.

Later years

He was later pardoned by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

for his role in the land fraud scandal. Hall returned to private legal practice in Portland after being forced out of office. He also was involved with the banking industry, owned three farms, and was an investor in power generation projects in Deschutes County. John Hicklin Hall died in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, on July 27, 1937, at the age of 83 and was interred at River View Cemetery in Portland. His son,

John Hubert Hall John Hubert Hall (February 7, 1899 – November 14, 1970) was an American Republican politician from the US state of Oregon. He was Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1947, second in line to the governorship, when the governor, ...

, was also active in Oregon politics, serving briefly as governor following the deaths of the first three elected officials in the state's line of succession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John Hicklin 1854 births 1937 deaths Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Recipients of American presidential pardons Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon American politicians convicted of fraud Oregon politicians convicted of crimes American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Early life

Oregon land fraud

Later years

See also

References