Lyman Hall
Born: April 12, 1724
Died: October 19, 1790
Colony/State: Georgia
Occupation / Public Role: Physician, minister, legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress, governor
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, one of Georgia’s three signers, and later governor of Georgia.
Lyman Hall was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale College in 1747. He first studied theology and briefly preached, then turned to medicine and began practicing as a physician. He later moved south, first to Dorchester, South Carolina, and then to the Midway District in Liberty County, Georgia, where he continued medical practice and also became involved in rice cultivation.
Before independence, Hall emerged as one of Georgia’s Patriot leaders. The U.S. House records that he took part in the Georgia conventions of 1774 and 1775, while the New Georgia Encyclopedia notes that he was one of the colony’s early advocates of resistance and independence. In a colony that had been slower than some others to move toward open rebellion, that mattered quite a bit.
Hall served in the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777 and signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Georgia’s three signers. The National Archives signer factsheet lists him as 52 years old in 1776 and identifies his occupations as physician and minister.
The Revolution also brought personal loss. The U.S. House notes that after the fall of Savannah in 1778 and the capture of Sunbury, Hall’s property was despoiled, and he fled north with his family. He later returned to Georgia in 1782, resumed medical practice, and continued serving the state.
After the war, Hall remained an important public figure in Georgia. The New Georgia Encyclopedia states that he served as governor of Georgia from 1783 to 1784, and the U.S. House notes that he later served as judge of the inferior court of Chatham County before moving to Burke County. Hall also helped promote education in Georgia, including support for what became the University of Georgia.
Lyman Hall died in 1790 in Georgia. He is not one of the most famous signers today, but he was one of Georgia’s key Revolutionary figures: physician, delegate, signer, governor, and public builder. In a state with only three names on the Declaration, that is not a minor role. That is one-third of Georgia’s founding signature.
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