Obed Hall

Obed Hall (December 23, 1757 – April 1, 1828) was an American politician and a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Raynham, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Jonathan and Lydia Leonard Hall. Little is recorded about his early youth, but he came of age in the closing years of the colonial period and the era of the American Revolution. As a young man he left Massachusetts and moved first to Madbury, New Hampshire, and later settled in Bartlett in what is now Carroll County, New Hampshire, where he would spend much of his adult life.

Hall engaged primarily in agricultural pursuits after establishing himself in Bartlett. Because travel in northern New England at that time was difficult and often hazardous, he also became an innkeeper at his farm. In that role he was regarded less as a businessman than as a benefactor to the traveling public, providing shelter and services in a sparsely settled region. His concern for local infrastructure extended beyond his innkeeping: he was one of two men appointed as Surveyor of Highways in Bartlett and, in that capacity, petitioned the New Hampshire General Court in 1793 for a tax of one penny per acre to be used for the improvement of roads within the town.

Hall’s involvement in local affairs led naturally to public office. He served on the board of selectmen in Bartlett, participating in the administration of town government. He was elected a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, where he represented his community in the state legislature. His reputation for judgment and public service brought him judicial and legal responsibilities as well. In 1805 Governor John Taylor Gilman appointed him a judge of the court of common pleas, a position that placed him on the bench in one of the state’s principal trial courts. In 1812 he was appointed both solicitor and sheriff, expanding his role in the administration of justice and law enforcement in New Hampshire.

At the national level, Hall became a member of the Republican Party—known at the time as the Democratic-Republican Party—and contributed to the legislative process during one term in the United States Congress. Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Twelfth Congress, he served as a United States Representative for the state of New Hampshire from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1813. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, on the eve and in the early stages of the War of 1812, when questions of national defense, maritime rights, and relations with Great Britain dominated the federal agenda. During this time he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New Hampshire constituents in the House of Representatives.

After completing his term in Congress, Hall returned to state politics. He continued to be active in New Hampshire public life and served as a member of the New Hampshire Senate in 1819. His combined experience as a farmer, innkeeper, local official, judge, solicitor, sheriff, and legislator at both the state and national levels made him a prominent figure in the civic affairs of his region in the early nineteenth century.

In his personal life, Hall married Abigail Dean on May 6, 1784. The couple lived in New Hampshire during the years when he was building his farm, inn, and public career. Abigail Dean Hall died on November 10, 1804. The following year, on June 11, 1805, Hall married Eliza Fox. After Hall’s death, Eliza later married Richard Odell in November 1832 and moved to Portland, Maine, where she spent her later years.

Obed Hall died in Bartlett, Carroll County, New Hampshire, on April 1, 1828, at the age of 70 years and 100 days. He was originally interred at Garland Ridge Cemetery near Bartlett. His remains were later reinterred at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Maine, reflecting the family’s later ties to that city through his widow’s remarriage and relocation.