Lyman Hall graduated from Yale College in 1747 and studied theology with his uncle, The Rev. Samuel Hall in Cheshire, Conn.
In 1749, Lyman Hall was called to the pulpit in Bridgeport, Conn. His pastorate was a turbulent one. A forthright group of parishioners opposed his ordination in 1751. He was released after charges against his ethical and moral character that, according to one of his life stories, “were supported by proof and also by his own confession.”
Hall continued to give sermons for two more years, satisfying unoccupied pulpits while he studied medicine and taught school.
In 1752, he married Abigail Burr of Fairfield, Conn., but she died one year later.
Journey to Liberty
In 1757, Hall remarried to Mary Osborne. He traveled to South Carolina and established himself as a physician at Dorchester, a community settled by Congregationalist travelers from Dorchester, Mass., decades beforehand. When these settlers moved to the Midway District, now Liberty County, Hall accompanied them. He soon became one of the leading citizens of the newly founded town of Sunbury.
On the eve of the American Revolution, St. John’s Parish, in which Sunbury was located, was a breeding ground for extremist opinions, where the rest of the young colony was mostly supportive in its compassion.
Though Georgia was not originally represented in the First Continental Congress, through Hall’s persuasion, the parish was influenced to send a delegate, Hall himself, to Philadelphia to the Second Continental Congress.
He was admitted to a seat in Congress in 1775 — a seat he held until 1780. He was one of the three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence.
In January of 1779, the British burned Sunbury. Hall’s family took flight to the North, where they stayed until the British departure in 1782. Hall then returned to Georgia, settling in Savannah.
In January 1783, he was elected an early governor of the state, a position that he held for one year. While governor, Hall supported the chartering of a state university, believing education, especially religious education, would result in a more honorable community.
His hard work led to the chartering of the University of Georgia in 1785.
At the conclusion of his tenure as governor, he recommenced his medical practice.
In 1749, Lyman Hall was called to the pulpit in Bridgeport, Conn. His pastorate was a turbulent one. A forthright group of parishioners opposed his ordination in 1751. He was released after charges against his ethical and moral character that, according to one of his life stories, “were supported by proof and also by his own confession.”
Hall continued to give sermons for two more years, satisfying unoccupied pulpits while he studied medicine and taught school.
In 1752, he married Abigail Burr of Fairfield, Conn., but she died one year later.
Journey to Liberty
In 1757, Hall remarried to Mary Osborne. He traveled to South Carolina and established himself as a physician at Dorchester, a community settled by Congregationalist travelers from Dorchester, Mass., decades beforehand. When these settlers moved to the Midway District, now Liberty County, Hall accompanied them. He soon became one of the leading citizens of the newly founded town of Sunbury.
On the eve of the American Revolution, St. John’s Parish, in which Sunbury was located, was a breeding ground for extremist opinions, where the rest of the young colony was mostly supportive in its compassion.
Though Georgia was not originally represented in the First Continental Congress, through Hall’s persuasion, the parish was influenced to send a delegate, Hall himself, to Philadelphia to the Second Continental Congress.
He was admitted to a seat in Congress in 1775 — a seat he held until 1780. He was one of the three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence.
In January of 1779, the British burned Sunbury. Hall’s family took flight to the North, where they stayed until the British departure in 1782. Hall then returned to Georgia, settling in Savannah.
In January 1783, he was elected an early governor of the state, a position that he held for one year. While governor, Hall supported the chartering of a state university, believing education, especially religious education, would result in a more honorable community.
His hard work led to the chartering of the University of Georgia in 1785.
At the conclusion of his tenure as governor, he recommenced his medical practice.