Harmon Hall (July 22, 1818 – June 30, 1891) was an American shoe manufacturer and politician who served in the Massachusetts General Court and on the Massachusetts Governor's Council.

Harmon Hall
Member of the Massachusetts Senate for the First Essex District
In office
1880–1881
Preceded byNathan M. Hawkes
Succeeded byJohn R. Baldwin
In office
1876–1876
Preceded byThomas Ingalls
Succeeded byAmos F. Breed
Member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council for the 5th District
In office
1878–1879
Preceded byWilliam Cogswell
Succeeded byJohn M. Raymond
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 24th Essex District
In office
1861–1861
Preceded byJohn Danforth Jr.
Succeeded byAmos Howe Johnson
Saugus Town Clerk
In office
1848–1852
Preceded byBenjamin F. Newhall
Succeeded byWilliam H. Newhall
Personal details
BornJuly 22, 1818
Portland, Maine
DiedJune 30, 1891 (aged 73)
Saugus, Massachusetts
Resting placeRiverside Cemetery
Saugus, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
  • Lucinda Atherton
    (m. 1851)
OccupationShoe manufacturer

Early life

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Hall was born on July 22, 1818, in Portland, Maine. 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.[1] On July 2, 1851, he married Lucinda Atherton, a native of Goffstown, New Hampshire who came to Saugus as a child when she was adopted by relative Jacob Newhall following her mother's death.[2][3] They had two children, Harmon and Susie.[4] The family resided on an estate on Chestnut Street in East Saugus.[5][6]

Politics

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Hall held numerous offices in Saugus, including town clerk, selectman, and town moderator.[7] In 1861 he represented the 24th Essex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[5] 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 following year he was elected to the Massachusetts Governor's Council.[1] In 1880 and 1881 he again served in the state senate.[8][9]

Business career

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Hall worked as a grocery store clerk until entering the shoe manufacturing business in the office of Thomas Raddin.[10] He started a factory in Lynn, Massachusetts and manufactured shoes and boots from 1850 to 1874.[1][10] He was associated with George Raddin from 1850 to 1852 and John W. Newhall from 1852 and 1855 before going into business solo.[11]

Hall was also a founder and longtime president of the Saugus Mutual Fire Insurance Company.[7] For the last six years of his life, he was associated with Lewis & Newhall, a Lynn real estate and insurance firm.[10] Hall died on June 30, 1891.[7][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c The Annual New England Official Directory and General Hand-book for 1878-79. Boston: Jewett & Tuttle. 1878. p. 519. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  2. ^ Hadley, George Plummer (1924). History of the Town of Goffstown, 1733-1920. Goffstown, New Hampshire: Town of Goffstown, New Hampshire. p. 16. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Old Resident of East Saugus". Boston Evening Transcript. November 27, 1911. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Harmon Hall". The Boston Daily Globe. April 16, 1929.
  5. ^ a b Robinson, E. P. (1885). "Sketch of Saugus". The Bay State Monthly. 2: 150. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  6. ^ "1st Harmon Hall, D.S. Newhall, Chestnut Street, East Saugus". Digital Commonwealth. Digital Commonwealth. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Newhall, James R. (1897). History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, Including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant: Volume II. Lynn, Mass.: The Nichols Press. p. 357. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Annual Register of the Executive and Legislative Departments of the Government of Massachusetts, 1880" (PDF), Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – via State Library of Massachusetts
  9. ^ Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1881. hdl:2452/40659.
  10. ^ a b c d "Recent Deaths". Boston Evening Transcript. July 1, 1891. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ Duane Hamilton Hurd, ed. (1888). History of Essex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1. J. W. Lewis & Company. p. 414. Retrieved 8 May 2022.