Benton Jay "Ben" Hall (January 13, 1835 – January 5, 1894) was a one-term Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northeastern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities o ...

in southeastern Iowa. Born in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. History The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mo ...

, Hall moved in December 1840 with his parents (future

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

justice J.C. Hall and his wife) to

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

in Iowa Territory.Benjamin F. Gue, " History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 4 (Benton J. Hall)" pp. 115 (1902). He attended Knox College,

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

, and graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, in 1855. He studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1857 and practiced in Burlington. He was a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1872 and 1873. In 1873 he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Iowa Supreme Court. He was elected to a four-year term in the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

in 1881. The following year (1882) Hall won the democratic nomination for election to represent Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House, but was defeated by the incumbent Republican,

Moses A. McCoid Moses Ayers McCoid (November 5, 1840 – May 19, 1904) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and a three-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district in southeastern Iowa. Born near Bellefontaine, Ohio ...

."The Elections," The Weekly Hawk-Eye (Burlington), 1882-11-09 at p. 1. However, in 1884, Hall ran again for the 1st district seat and prevailed, the first Democrat to take that seat since the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He served in the

Forty-ninth Congress The 49th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885, ...

. However, in 1886 he was defeated in the general election by former Iowa Governor (and future U.S. Senator)

John H. Gear John Henry Gear (April 7, 1825 – July 14, 1900) served as the 11th Governor of Iowa, a United States representative and a member of the United States Senate. Biography Born in Ithaca, New York, he attended the common schools and moved to Gal ...

. Hall served in Congress from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1887. Soon after his defeat, he was appointed Commissioner of Patents by

President Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

and served from April 12, 1887, to March 31, 1889, and afterwards resumed the practice of law. He died in Burlington on January 5, 1894. He was interred in

Aspen Grove Cemetery Aspen Grove Cemetery is a cemetery in Burlington, Iowa. History Aspen Grove Cemetery was established in 1843. The Aspen Grove Cemetery Association was approved by the Legislature of the Iowa Territory in December 1843 and they first met on Janua ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Benton Jay 1835 births 1894 deaths People from Mount Vernon, Ohio Miami University alumni Iowa lawyers Democratic Party Iowa state senators Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Knox College (Illinois) alumni United States Commissioners of Patents Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers