James Knox Polk Hall (September 30, 1844 – January 5, 1915) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

James K. P. Hall was born in

Milesburg, Pennsylvania Milesburg is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,123 at the 2010 census. History Milesburg, as well as nearby Miles Township, was named afte ...

. He was educated in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He was elected district attorney of

Elk County, Pennsylvania Elk County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 30,990. Its county seat is Ridgway, Pennsylvania, Ridgway. The county was crea ...

in 1867, and reelected in 1870 and 1873. He retired from the practice of law in 1883 to engage in the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

businesses as well as banking. Hall was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses and served until his resignation. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

from 1902 to 1914. He died in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, in 1915. Interment in Pine Grove Cemetery,

Ridgway, Pennsylvania Ridgway is a borough in and the county seat of Elk County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,078. History Ridgway was founded by Philadelphian shipping merchant Jacob Ridgway and James Gillis. Jacob Ridgway earned su ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1844 births 1915 deaths Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania lawyers People from Elk County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Centre County, Pennsylvania County district attorneys in Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub