Willard Hall (December 24, 1780 – May 10, 1875), was a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

attorney and politician from Wilmington in

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

. He was a member of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

, who served in the

Delaware Senate The Delaware State Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occur ...

, as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Delaware and as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...

. He served as the first President of the Delaware Historical Society, was President of the state Bible society, and was instrumental in the formation of the Wilmington Savings Fund Society as a community bank, serving as its president for more than 40 years.

Education and career

Born on December 24, 1780, in

Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford,' a villag ...

, Hall attended the public schools and

Westford Academy Westford Academy is the public high school for the town of Westford, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1792 and is one of the oldest public high schools in the United States. History Westford Academy (WA) was founded as a ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1799 and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in 1803. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in

Dover, Delaware Dover ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and the List of municipalities in Delaware, second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, Delaware, Kent County and the princ ...

, from 1803 to 1823. He was

Secretary of State of Delaware The secretary of state of Delaware is the head of the Department of State of the U.S. state of Delaware. The department is in charge of a wide variety of public and governmental services, and is divided into the following divisions: *Delaware Di ...

from 1811 to 1814, and from 1821 to 1823.

Congressional service

Hall was elected as a Democratic-Republican from Delaware's at-large congressional district to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

of the

15th United States Congress The 15th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...

. He was reelected to the

16th United States Congress The 16th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1819, ...

and served from March 4, 1817, until January 22, 1821, when he resigned. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1820 for reelection to the

17th United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, ...

. He was a member of the

in 1822. He was the compiler of the Revised Code of Delaware in 1829. He was a delegate to the Delaware constitutional convention in 1821.

Federal judicial service

Hall received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

on May 6, 1823, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware vacated by Judge

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Monroe on December 5, 1823. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on December 9, 1823, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 6, 1871, due to his retirement.

Other service

Hall was President of the Wilmington School Board from 1852 to 1870. Hall was also the first President of the

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

. In September 1831, Hall was among twenty-five founding members elected to serve on the board of the newly formed Wilmington Savings Fund Society, a community bank designed to provide persons with only modest savings a safe place to deposit their funds. On October 1, 1831, Hall was elected president of the bank, a position he held until 1872, when he retired at the age of 92.Hall 1883, p. 525.

Death

Hall died on May 10, 1875, in Wilmington, Delaware, where he had moved in 1825. He was interred in the

Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres. History The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought ...

in Wilmington.

Family

In 1806, Hall married Junia Killen, the daughter of Chancellor William Killen and they had a daughter, Lucinda. Junia died in 1826 and Hall married Harriet Hillyard.Hall 1883, p. 524.

Religious service

Hall served as a ruling elder and Sunday School teacher in the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

Electoral history

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

*
Delaware's Members of Congress

Places with more information

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161. *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831–2965. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Willard 1780 births 1875 deaths American Presbyterians Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery People from Dover, Delaware Lawyers from Wilmington, Delaware Secretaries of state of Delaware Delaware state senators Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware United States federal judges appointed by James Monroe Harvard University alumni People from Westford, Massachusetts Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware 19th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives