Education and training
John Hall was born in Ballygorman,Early missionary work
From 1849 he spent three years as a student missionary in Connaught, a west coast province of Ireland that had been badly affected by both the Great Famine and the fever; small tenant farmers were being evicted by landlords and many of the young men were emigrating to escape the deprivation and poverty. The area was predominantly Catholic, and the local priests mistrusted the Presbyterian missionaries and questioned their motives. Hall's work included school inspections, preaching, distributing religious literature and establishing Sunday-schools. One scheme involved creating industrial schools where women could be taught new skills such as knitting and needlework. Much of the effort was non-denominational, with financial contributions from Methodists, Episcopalians, Quakers and Catholic teaching staff. During this period Hall started writing poems and articles for weekly newspapers, a practise that he continued for many years.Marriage
As a missionary, Hall travelled over a wide area, working long hours, and his health suffered as a consequence. One of the ladies who established a school in the district was Mrs Emily (Bolton) Irwin (1816–1904), a widow with three children. Hall boarded with her relatives, and they nursed him back to health. A friendship developed between Emily Irwin and Hall and they eventually married in 1852.Armagh
Hall's work as a missionary came to the notice of the congregation of the First Church in Armagh; they invited him to be their pastor, and he was installed in June 1852. The southern and western areas of County Armagh had suffered in the Great Famine, but the worst was over by the time Hall arrived. He travelled extensively, holding prayer meetings and sermons in remote locations, gradually increasing the size of his congregation. In 1855 he put his experience of journalism to good use, editing the ''Children's Missionary Herald of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland''. He continued this for five years, passing the responsibility for the publication to his colleague, Matthew Kerr, in 1860. He was also involved with the temperance movement, speaking and writing on the subject. All but one of his five children were born during his tenure at Armagh. (see Family)Mary's Abbey, Dublin
In 1858 Hall became the associate pastor in Mary's Abbey, Dublin, joining Dr William B. Kirkpatrick. In 1861 he was appointed to the ''Commissioners of National Education (Ireland)'', a secular government committee. From about 1862 he edited a monthly magazine called the ''Evangelical Witness''; this featured contributions from leading churchmen, and it became an influential publication. In 1862 wine merchant Alexander Findlater provided a site in Rutland Square (nowAmerica
In 1867 Hall attended the General Assembly of theBuilding a new church
By 1872 the Fifth Avenue church on the corner of 19th Street was no longer large enough to accommodate the growing congregation, and plans were made to build a new one further up-town. Newspaperman Robert E. Bonner identified a site on Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Fifth Street and made a large financial contribution towards the construction costs. The new church was opened in 1875. Hall's fears that the Church would be debt-burdened were not realised when other wealthy members made large contributions. Another fundraising scheme was the "sale" of the pews in the new church. Among the parishioners was the family ofOutside interests
Despite his heavy workload, Hall was involved with several activities outside the Fifth Avenue Church, these included being the chancellor of the University of New York – a post he held for ten years; he was a trustee for theShooting
On November 29, 1891, a man fired three shots at Hall after he had left the church and was entering his parsonage next door. They missed their target, and the man, a 47-year-old German, John George Roth, was apprehended. He had formerly been in an asylum and became angry with Hall after he failed to get a reply to letters that he had sent him. Hall said that the man had occasionally attended church and that he had tried to help him.Hermann Warszawiak
In 1892 a Polish Jew named Hermann Warszawiak arrived in New York from Scotland with letters of introduction to Hall. Warszawiak, who had initially trained to be a religious leader in the Jewish faith, had been christened by Scottish missionary Daniel Edwards in 1889. After theological studies in Edinburgh, he moved to New York and proposed to become a Presbyterian missionary to the Jews in the city. He joined the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and received support for his work from the New York City Mission and Tract Society. After several successful years, he came into conflict with the leaders of the mission, who felt that he had become unmanageable. This escalated even further when he made a request to the Fifth Avenue Church to be ordained. A committee appointed to review his suitability rejected his application and questioned his integrity; a senior member of the church even employed a private detective to follow and report on his activities. Hall supported Warszawiak and considered he was being victimised, as did others in the church. Eventually Warszawiak was cleared of wrongdoing, but a damaging split had occurred within the church. Many of Hall's supporters from the early days had died or been replaced by this period. The board of trustees felt that it was time for a change and forced Hall into a position where he felt he had to resign. However, a backlash from within the church reversed the decisions; Hall was reinstated and six members of the board of trustees resigned instead.Final days
In 1898 Hall began to struggle with his health and he was advised to visit England to seek some rest. He stayed at Buxton and, perhaps feeling the end was near, returned to Ireland to see his sisters. He managed to make it to Dublin and visited his old church in Rutland Square. He wanted to get to his old home in Ballygorman but was too weak and died in Bangor on September 17. His body was returned to New York and the funeral service held in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on October 4, 1898.Family
Emily and John Hall had five children; they were: * Professor Robert William Hall (1854–1934), fellow executor of John Hall's will. * Bolton Hall (1854–1938), who founded theReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John 1829 births 1898 deaths People from County Armagh Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Irish Presbyterian ministers Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers 19th-century American clergy