Marion-Suwannee-Duval County FlArchives Biographies.....Hall, Richard Smith 1868 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 31, 2008, 11:22 pm Author: B. F. Johnson Richard Smith Hall Richard Smith Hall, of Ocala, one of the representative and most prominent business men of central Florida, was born at Wadesboro, N. C, on July 31, 1868, a son of Major R. T. and Eliza May Hall. His father was a farmer by occupation and a gallant Confederate soldier. Mr. Hall comes of an ancestry greatly distinguished on both sides of the family. On the paternal side, Edward Hall, born in Ireland, came to Virginia about 1736, and settled in Augusta county. In 1744 he married Eleanor Stuart, a member of that famous family which has given to the country Hon. A. H. H. Stuart and Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. On May 31, 1767, his son, John Hall, was born in Augusta county. He graduated at William and Mary College, studied law under Judge Archibald Stuart, and at the age of twenty-five located in Warrenton, N. C. In 1800 he was appointed to the Superior Court bench, and in 1818 to the Supreme Court. He resigned in December, 1832, because of ill health, and died January 29, 1833. He married Mary Weldon Hall, a granddaughter of Col. Samuel Weldon, of the Revolution, and one of his sons, Edward Hall, was on the Supreme Court bench in North Carolina in 1840. This Edward Hall, the younger, was the father of Major Robert Hall, and the grandfather of Richard Smith Hall, so that on the paternal side Mr. Hall's ancestry is distinguished, both in military and civil life, and runs back without a break to the first American progenitor, who was himself evidently a man of excellent standing as shown by the family into which he married. On the maternal side Mr. Hall goes back to General Henry William Harringont, who came to North Carolina some time before the Revolution, and because of dissatisfaction at some treatment accorded him by his family in England. He was a younger son of a family not numerous, but of very high station in the old country. Henry W. Harrington married Rosa Auld, of the nearby county of Anson, took sides with the colonists in the Revolutionary struggle, was one of the largest land and slave owners of his section, and by reason of his prominence and his ability rose to be a Brigadier-General in the North Carolina militia during that struggle. He left two sons and two daughters. His eldest child was a daughter, Rosa Anna. She married in 1801, Robert Troy, said to have been a native of Pennsylvania, and they lived in a handsome home at Wadesboro, called "Montcalm." A daughter of this marriage, Anna Caroline Troy, married William Weldon Hall, of Warrenton, a son of Judge Edward Hall, and was thus the grandmother of Richard S. Hall. The Harrington family in England in the present year, though not numerous, is high in rank, there being two knights, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir. John Lane Harrington, and Sir. Stanley Harrington, both of whom have been decorated for distinguished service. In addition to this, there is the title of Earl of Harrington, now held by Charles Augustus Stanhope, eighth earl. This title goes back to the year 1730. Richard S. Hall grew up on a farm in Anson county, and obtained such education as was possible in the reconstruction period which succeeded the Civil War. He lived in the turpentine belt of North Carolina, and when old enough to work engaged in that business and operated a plant until 1890 when he removed to Georgia and pursued the same line of business for four years until 1894, when he removed to Suwannee county, Fla. In 1897 he moved to Marion county. His turpentine interests have prospered, and he branched out into various other lines until now he is one of the leading business men of his section. In 1905 he organized and became President of the South Florida Naval Stores Company. He is interested in the Barnes and Jesup Company, naval stores dealers, at Jacksonville, the Hutchinson Shoe Company, wholesale, at Jacksonville and the Covington Company, wholesale dry goods, at Jacksonville. He is President of the Marion Hardware Company, and Vice-President of the Tampa-Havana Lumber Company. In addition to all these interests, he has private interests in the shape of turpentine lands in south Florida. Yet a young man in the early prime of life, he has achieved results which would be a credit to a gray-haired business veteran. On November 26, 1897, Mr. Hall married Miss Mamie Williams, daughter of William and Mattie (King) Williams, of Walterboro, S. C. They have four children, Earl, Robert, William and Harrington Hall. He is a communicant of the Baptist Church, and a believer in the largest possible application of fraternal ideas, and is, therefore, affiliated with the Elks, Knights of Pythias and Masons (including the Blue Lodge, Shrine and Scottish Rite). In politics Mr. Hall is a steadfast adherent of the Democratic party. He is a reader of the current periodicals, industrial journals and magazines, and has become thoroughly acquainted with modern business conditions. Unlike some of those who take a pessimistic view, he believes that there is a brighter future in the South for the turpentine industry than even the past has shown, and has given special attention to that interest. In his community he is highly esteemed as an honest, courteous, capable man, and a thoroughly good citizen. Additional Comments: Extracted from: FLORIDA EDITION MAKERS OF AMERICA AN HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY AN ABLE CORPS OF WRITERS VOL. III. Published under the patronage of The Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville, Florida ADVISORY BOARD: HON. W. D. BLOXHAM COL. FRANK HARRIS HON. R. W. DAVIS SEN. H. H. McCREARY HON. F. P. FLEMING W. F. STOVALL C. A. CHOATE, SECRETARY 1909 A. B. CALDWELL ATLANTA, GA. COPYRIGHT 1909 B. F. JOHNSON Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/marion/photos/bios/hall10gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/marion/bios/hall10gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/flfiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb