William Augustus Hall

William Augustus Hall was brother of Willard Preble Hall Sr., and son of John Hancock Hall (who is buried in the Hall Family Cemetery at Darksville), inventor of the M1819 breech loading rifle. William Augustus Hall was the father of Uriel Sebree Hall, and was born on October 15, 1815. He moved to Harper's Ferry, Virginia with his parents when quite young, and attended Yale College. He married Octavia Sebree. In 1840 he came to Randolph County with his father and studied law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1841. At first he practiced law in Huntsville, but then moved to Fayette, Missouri. He served as a circuit court judge from 1847 to 1861 except for when he served in The Mexican War where he served as a captain. He served as a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1861, and then was elected to Congress to fill the vacancy left when John B. Clark was expelled from Congress. He served in Congress throughout the Civil War. On March 3 1865 his term in Congress was finished and he returned to farming and practicing law near Huntsville. He died December 15, 1888 and is buried in the Hall Family Cemetery near Darksville, Missouri.

Photo Courtesy Joe Barnes and Missouri State Historical Society