Harmon Hall (July 22, 1818 – June 30, 1891) was an American shoe manufacturer and politician who served in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

and on the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

Early life

Hall was born on July 22, 1818, in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. When he was five his family moved to East Saugus, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Saugus Public Schools as well as the Lynn and New Market academies. On July 2, 1851, he married Lucinda Atherton, a native of

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is def ...

who came to Saugus as a child when she was adopted by relative Jacob Newhall following her mother's death. They had two children, Harmon and Susie. The family resided on an estate on Chestnut Street in East Saugus.

Politics

Hall held numerous offices in Saugus, including town clerk, selectman, and town moderator. In 1861 he represented the 24th Essex District in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

. That same year, Governor John Albion Andrew appointed Hall to the position of state prison inspector. In 1868 he was made a trustee of the State Reform School for Boys by Governor Alexander Bullock. He was reappointed by Governor William Claflin and served as chairman of the board for three years. In 1872 he resumed his former position as state prison inspector. In 1875 he was appointed to the Lancaster Industrial School for Girls board of trustees by Governor William Gaston. In 1876, Hall represented the First Essex district in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

. The following year he was elected to the

. In 1880 and 1881 he again served in the state senate.

Business career

Hall worked as a grocery store clerk until entering the shoe manufacturing business in the office of Thomas Raddin. He started a factory in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

and manufactured shoes and boots from 1850 to 1874. He was associated with George Raddin from 1850 to 1852 and John W. Newhall from 1852 and 1855 before going into business solo. Hall was also a founder and longtime president of the Saugus Mutual Fire Insurance Company. For the last six years of his life, he was associated with Lewis & Newhall, a Lynn real estate and insurance firm. Hall died on June 30, 1891.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Harmon 1818 births 1891 deaths Republican Party Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from Saugus, Massachusetts American shoemakers Politicians from Portland, Maine 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court