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Philo Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philo Hall
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Dakota's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909
Preceded byCharles H. Burke
Succeeded byCharles H. Burke
6th Attorney General of South Dakota
In office
1903–1907
GovernorCharles N. Herreid
Samuel H. Elrod
Preceded byAdolphus W. Burtt
Succeeded byS. Wesley Clark
Member of the South Dakota Senate
In office
1901–1903
Personal details
Born(1865-12-31)December 31, 1865
Wilton Township, Waseca County, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedOctober 7, 1938(1938-10-07) (aged 72)
Brookings, South Dakota, U.S.
Resting placeGreenwood Cemetery, Brookings, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materSouth Dakota State University
Read Law under J.O. Andrews
OccupationAttorney

Philo Hall (December 31, 1865 – October 7, 1938) was a South Dakota attorney and politician. He served as Attorney General of South Dakota and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Early life and American Civil War

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Philo Hall was born in Wilton Township, Waseca County, Minnesota on December 31, 1865, the son of Mary E. (Greene) and Philo Hall, a Union Army veteran in the First Minnesota Infantry Regiment, Company G during the American Civil War[1][2][3] and direct descendant of Mayflower Compact signatory, John Alden. Philo and Mary (née Greene) Hall ran a hotel in Wilton, but the family moved to Brookings, Dakota Territory after the 1883 death of the senior Philo Hall.[4][5]

The young Philo Hall was educated in Wilton and South Dakota State College. He then studied law under Judge J. O. Andrews, was admitted to the bar in 1887, and practiced in Brookings. He was one of the first members of The United States Congress and South Dakota state government to graduate from a South Dakota educational institution.

Career

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In 1890 Hall married Mary A. Cooke, and they were the parents of three children: Vivian (b. 1891); Philo, Jr. (b. 1895); and Morrell (b. 1898). A Republican, he was the prosecuting attorney for Brookings County from 1892 to 1898, and also served as city attorney for Brookings. In 1895 he was elected mayor of Brookings, and served one two-year term.[6]

He served in the South Dakota State Senate from 1901 to 1903, and as Attorney General of South Dakota from 1903 through 1907.

In 1906 Hall was elected to Seat A, one of South Dakota's two at-large seats in the U.S. House, and he served one term, March 4, 1907 to March 3, 1909. He did not win renomination for a second term in 1908, and returned to the practice of the law.

Hall died in Brookings on October 7, 1938. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brookings.

References

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  1. ^ "Soldier Details - the Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)".
  2. ^ "State of Minnesota Minnesota Genealogy and History".
  3. ^ "First Minnesota".
  4. ^ Kingsbury, George Washington (1915). History of Dakota Territory. Vol. V. Chicago, IL: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 312–313.
  5. ^ Philo Hall at Find a Grave
  6. ^ Thornes, Shari (December 30, 2015). City of Brookings Directory: Elected Officials Appointed Boards, Committees & Commissions. Brookins, SD: City of Brookings, South Dakota. p. 39.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Attorney General of South Dakota
1902, 1904
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of South Dakota
1903–1907
Succeeded by