Harmon Hall Explained

Harmon Hall
Birth Date:July 22, 1818
Birth Place:Portland, Maine
Death Date:June 30, 1891 (aged 73)
Death Place:Saugus, Massachusetts
Restingplace:Riverside Cemetery
Saugus, Massachusetts
Nationality:American
Occupation:Shoe manufacturer
Party:Republican
Member of the Massachusetts Senate for the First Essex District
Term Start:1880
Term End:1881
Predecessor:Nathan M. Hawkes
Successor:John R. Baldwin
Term Start2:1876
Term End2:1876
Predecessor2:Thomas Ingalls
Successor2:Amos F. Breed
Title3:Member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council for the 5th District
Term Start3:1878
Term End3:1879
Predecessor3:William Cogswell
Successor3:John M. Raymond
Title4:Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 24th Essex District
Term Start4:1861
Term End4:1861
Predecessor4:John Danforth Jr.
Successor4:Amos Howe Johnson
Title5:Saugus Town Clerk
Term Start5:1848
Term End5:1852
Predecessor5:Benjamin F. Newhall
Successor5:William H. Newhall

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.

Early life

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]

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.[6] 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. In 1880 and 1881 he again served in the state senate.[7]

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 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.[8]

Hall was also a founder and longtime president of the Saugus Mutual Fire Insurance Company.[9] 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.[10]

Notes and References

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