| Notes |
- From Halls of New England, Halls of Medford (Part Seventh), pp. 390-393.
(Family 250) READ HALL5, pedigree as before : b. in Croydon, N. H., Oct. 27, 1795 ; d. in Brownington, Vt., on Sunday, June 24, 1877, in his 82d year, m., 1st, June 17, 1823, Mary Dascomb, of Wilton, N. H.; the beauty of whose life equalled that of his own, she d. Nov., 1836 ; m., 2d, June 3, 1838, Mary, dau. of Deacon Solomon Holt, of Andover, Mass., who was the companion and solace of his old age, and who survived him ; she lives with her youngest son in Brownington, who is the only of of Mr. Hall's eleven children now living.
Read Hall assumed the name of Samuel after the death of a brother of that name, and is generally known as Samuel R. Hall ; he went with his parents, when a child, from Croydon to Guildhall, Vt.,during his entire youth he suffered much from feeble health ; owning to his father's los of property he was unable to obtain a collegiate education, but pursued a full course of classical study at Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, N. H., in 1815,6,8,9 ; he received the honorary degree of A. M. from Dartmouth College in 1839, and that of LL.D. from the University of Vermont in 1865.
He began to teach school at the age of twenty. He said of himself, later in life, "One of the first convictions fastened on my mind, after I became a teacher, was that the whole system of education of education in the country was defective ; and that time of scholars in the common schools was, in a great measure, lost ; I taught in Maine, New Hampshire and other states, and in each state observed the same facts l I determined, therefore, to do what I could, to reform abuses and correct evils ; my efforts were apppreciated and my services sought at my own prices." This encouraged him to persevere, and the result was that he became eminent as a teacher and trainer of teachers.
"Great persistency and personal enthusiasm on whatever engaged his attention, breadth of generalization, and large capacity for labor, combined with warmth and earnestness of heart, were among Mr. Hall's prominent characteristics, and doubtless gave the key his life's success. His views of both the importance and the methods of the education of youth, as based upon religious grounds, were at the beginning in advance of his time, and his contributions to educational reform will remain as the chief memorial of his service."
But Mr. Hall was not content with merely teaching school ; his religious conviction of duty led him to seek the ministry of the gospel. He studied theology with Rev. Walter Chapin, of Woodstock, Vt., and Rev. William Eaton, of Fitchburgh, Mass., and was licensed to preach by the Worcester North Association at Princeton, Mass., May, 1822 -- at the sale time receiving an appointment to labor as a missionary at Concord, Vt., where he commenced his labors June 2, 1822 ; and by and understanding with his people he established a seminary for training teachers, which opened in March, 1823 -- here, in an obscure corner of New England, self prompted and alone in planning, he eastablished the first normal school in America,
The school was successful, and those who went out from it were greatly sought as teachers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Canada. A Course of lectures was given each year to his students, and in 1829 a small volume of lectures on teaching, was committed to the press; it became so popular, that three editions were soon exhausted -- the third, of 1,000 copies was taken by the State of New York. One method which he invented for teaching, was the blackboard; he introduced it for use in his school in Rumford, Me., in 1816 ; it had never been used before in America.
Mr. Hall was dismissed from his charge in Concord, June, 1830, to take charge of the English Normal School of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., for which an elegant building has since been erected, at a cost of $8,000.
His success at Concord and Andover, together with lectures on the subject and written appeals, gradually awakened the public mind ; his efforts, in connection with those of G. B. Emerson, --- Morse, the author of the geography, E. A. Andrews, Benjamin Greenleaf, N. Cleveland and others, by memorial presented to the legislature,ted the establishment of the board of education in Massachusetts, 1837, and in 1838 the normal school, the first endowed by any state in the Union.
The full course at Andover was three years, but so great was the demand for teachers, that few of the students completed it.
After seven years at Andover, his health became so much impared by overtasking and the unfavorable influence of the climate so near the sea, he was led to resign the charge of the seminary and to accept the appointment of principal of the Teachers' Seminary then being established at Plymouth, N. H. There he was assited in the school by Miss Arethusa Hall, an accomplished teacher and author ; they were both descended from Deacon Percival Hall, of Sutton, in the third degree, but knew not that they were cousins, to such low degree of neglect had genealogical knowledge and interest fallen ; owing to pecuniary embarrassment of the Trustees, Mr. Hall left Plymouth at the end of the third year.
After closing the seminary at Plymouth, he accepted a call from the church of Craftsbury, Vt., July 8, 1840 ; this pastorate continued for thirteen and a half years, during which he received nearly 100 persons to church membership ; he was also for a portion of the time, principal of the Craftsbury Academy, and left a valuable cabinet of minerals, well arranged, to the institution ; here his labors had become too much for his state of health and he was obliged to seek for a field less onerous ; accordingly, he was dismissed, Jan 4, 1858, and immediatley commenced labors at Brownington, Vt., on a salary of $400 per annum, and continued until Feb. 5, 1867, when he resigned on account of old age.
Here he purchased a farm, upon which his son and widow find a comfortable home.
While pastor of the church of Brownington he received upwards of sixty members to the church ; he was also postmaster of Brownington from Aug. 1, 1863, to Feb. 1, 1865. Still his active nature could not rest, and he labored for three years from 1872 to 1875, at Granby, Vt., in a church which he had organized 50 years previous. This was accomplished with much acceptance and usefullness. At the close of his labors in Granby, he had a call to preach in another church, but the increasing infirmity of old age forbade his accepting it.
He was well acquainted with astronomy, and gave lectures on the subject in other places, when laboring at Granby in extreme old age. In the science of geology he was also an enthusiast, and an acknowledged master l he sought to popularize and make practical the science, especially in its bearings upon the agricultural interest of the state ; in the geological survey of Vermont, under Prof. Edward Hitchcock, commenced in 1857, he had the especial charge of the survay, and the collection of specimens, in the three most northerly sections of the thirteen, into chich the state was divided. He said there was gold in that section, but not enough to pay for working. He frequently gave lectures on geology.
The following are the most important of his published works : "The Child's Assistant to a Knowledge of the Geography and History of Vermont" --- and as revised and enlarged, is now in use in the common schools of the state -- "Lectures on Teaching," 1829; in 1932, "Lectures to Female School Teachers," "The Child's Instructor" and "Arithmetical Manuel;" in 1833. "Practical Lectures on Parental Responsibility and the Religious Education of Children," "The Grammatical Assistant" and "A School History of the United States," and in 1868, "The Alphabet of Geology." Aside from these, he was the author of numerous contributions to the Journal of Education and other periodicals.
At he opening of Oberlin College, Rev. Dr. S. R. Hall was appointed it first president, and he sent his brother-in-law, Prof. John Dascomb, to make a beginning who, I believe, is there yet ; but Dr. Hall did not go on, for some reason which I do not understand. [Oberlin started in 1832 and had two acting Presidents before the first one Asa Mahan started in 1835 as its first President. Samuel was teaching a Phillips Andover at the time. His brother Josiah Brewer Hall removed to Oberlin in 1834.]
Such was the public career of a remarkable man ; but he was more remarkable for the simpplicty of his life and manners, his unselfishness of heart and the amiabilitiy of his disposition. He manifested an interest in everybody, and was willing to do all he could to make them happy. None knew him but to love him as a dear friend or near kindred.
Children were :
1. Harriet Elizabeth, b. July 7, 1824 ; d. April 6, 1826.
2. Mary Theodocia, b. April 5, 1827 ; f. March 8, 1834.
3. Susan Elizabeth, b. Dec. 17, 1828 (Family 328).
4. Samuel James, b. June 21, 1830 ; d. at Andover, Feb. 21, 1834.
5. Ellen Eliza, b. at Andover, Oct. 14, 1832 (Family 329).
6. Edward Read, b. Jan. 27, 1834 ; d. at college, March 8, 1859.
7. Mary Dascomb. b. Nov. 13, 1836 ; d. Feb 27, 1837.
By his 2d wife:
8. Samuel Francis, b. Nov. 9, 1838 ; d. in four hours.
9. Mariia Eveline, b. Sept. 20, 1839 ; d. March 14, 1840.
10. Samuel Augustus, b. at Craftsbury, Dec. 27, 1842 (Family 330).
____________________________
From FindaGrave:
Parents:
Rev. Samuel Read & Elizabeth Hall
Wives:
~ Mary Dascomb (married 3 Jun 1823, Wilton, NH)
~ Mary Holt (married 6 June 1837, Andover, MA)
Other Children:
~ Susan "Hall" Austin (mem. #6314637)
~ Samuel Francis (b. 9 Nov 1838, Plymouth, NH)
~ Maria Emmeline (b. 20 Oct 1840, Plymouth, NH)
"He was educated at home and at the Academies of Bridgeton, ME, and at Plainfield, NH. He studied theology, was licensed to preach in 1822, and was ordained over the church at Concord, VT, in 1823. In 1830 he was appointed principal of the English Department in Philips Academy at Andover, Mass. In 1837, took charge of the Holmes Plymouth Academy at Plymouth, N.H., and in 1840 was installed pastor of the Congregational Church at Craftsbury, VT. He has been an extensive author, having published some fifteen or twenty volumes on various subjects. In 1838 the degree of M.A. was conferred on him by Dartmouth College."
(source: "Croydon, N.H., 1866. Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration. . .", by Edmund Wheeler, 1867, p. 112)
ae 81y & 7m
(sources: Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954, Deaths; United States Census, 1870, Vermont, Orleans, Brownington; Massachusetts, Marriages, 1695-1910; United States Census, 1850, Craftsbury, Orleans, Vermont; "History of the Town of Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire with a Genealogical Register", by A.A. Livermore and S. Putnam, 1888, p. 360; "A genealogical history of the Holt family in the United States: more particularly the descendants of Nicholas Holt", by Daniel S. Durrie, 1864, page 156)
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1795 - 1877 (81 years)
