JAMES C. HALL.

In 1896 James C. Hall, of Steuben township, Warren county, was elected county commissioner of this county. This honor, bestowed upon him by the old acquaintances and friends of a life-time, is a slight indication of the high place which he occupies in their regard. He has been a zealous Republican since he cast his first presidential vote, for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, but has never sought or desired public office for himself.

James C. Hall is a son of one of the typical pioneer characters of Warren county, Dr. Daniel D. Hall, physician, minister and farmer. His life was useful, busy and devoted to mankind, and none knew him but to admire and love him. A son of Josiah and Phoebe (Dutton) Hal, born in Canada in 1802, he came to this county in 1828, and took up a large tract of land in Pike township, about two miles south of old Lebanon. His parents were natives of Connecticut, and the blood of a long line of sturdy Puritan ancestors was in his veins. Soon after the birth of the Doctor, Josiah and Phoebe Hall removed to New York state, and a little later they went to Butler county, Ohio, where the mother died in 1821, and the father passed away about seven years afterward. Daniel D. was a lad of some twelve years when the family settled in Butler county, and there he attended the pioneer schools. The instruction obtained there was entirely inadequate for his ambitious mind, and every leisure hour was spent by him in study and reading. At length he decided to enter the medical profession, and entered Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, where he pursued a course of lectures on medicine. At the age of twenty-six years he came to Warren county, as previously mentioned, and thenceforth devoted his life to the good of his fellows. Through the storms and floods of winter and spring, over a wild and trackless country, he went to the bedside of the sick and suffering, never considering his own comfort or health, and always carrying strength and courage with him. Doubtless his fidelity to his duty, throughout his professional career, tended to shorten his earthly life, for death put an end to his labors in September, 1852, when he was but fifty years of age. But it was not alone as a skillful physician and nurse that he won the love and gratitude of the people. He possessed a highly religious nature, and soon after coming to this county he was instrumental in organizing the Christian church at West Lebanon, the first church of that denomination established in the county. He officiated as a preacher in this church, and his ministrations were attended by a great spiritual awakening among the people of that locality. In addition to all of his other qualities, which elevated him above the ordinary, he possessed not a little musical talent. Warm-hearted and generous, few men were more highly esteemed or more deeply missed when their places became vacant in the community. He was a brother of the well known Methodist minister of this section, Rev. Colbraith Hall.

Before coming to Indiana, Dr. Hall was married, in Ohio, to Jane J. Buell, a native of the Buckeye state. They became the parents of ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity. Those who are now living include: Buell, of the state of Washington; Isaiah, of Kansas, and Frances, wife of Alfred Cade, of the state of Washington. Harvey enlisted in a Missouri regiment in the war of the Rebellion, was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Springfield, Missouri, and was released on parole. Later, re-entering the service of the Union, he took part in the famous battle of Shiloh, and was again wounded. When he had sufficiently recovered to take his place in the ranks he was sent to Arkansas, and the last ever heard about him was that he died fighting for the country he loved and had suffered so much for. He had been sent with a small body of picked men on a foraging expedition for the troops, when they were attacked by a superior force of Confederates. Isaac, another son, died when about fifty-two years old. Cecelia grew to womanhood and then died, and several other children died when young. After the death of his first wife, Doctor Hall remarried, and had one daughter, who died in infancy.

James C. Hall was born on the old homestead in Pike township, June 4, 1837, and there he continued to dwell until 1859, when he succumbed to the gold fever and joined the throng of western-bound emigrants, whose watch-word was Pike's Peak. he was gone from home for about a year, and then returned, well satisfied with his native county. On New Year's day, 1861, Mr. Hall married Miss Elizabeth James, daughter of Hughey James, an honored pioneer of Warren county. Six children came to bless the hearts and home of our subject and wife, but three of the number have been called to the better land. Those who survive are Frank E., Harvey H. and Isaac L. The finely improved homestead, which has been brought to its present thrifty condition by many years of industrious effort on the part of our subject, is no under the management of his eldest son, Frank E., an enterprising young farmer. The year after his marriage Mr. Hall became a member of the Christian church, and his good wife is likewise identified with the same. They are worthy, unostentatious people, hospitable to all and kind and benevolent to the poor.

Source: "Biographical History of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski Counties, Indiana" ³⁶⁴⁷