Born: c. 1862
Died: July 21, 1914
Married:
Children: Marian W. Hall, Richard Brown West Hall, Alice Hall, Monroe Hall
Benjamin Elihu Hall inherited several thousand acres of land near the state dam on the Saranac river and Lake Kiwassa from his mother, and many more acres from his father, Monroe Hall, who bought up land condemned by the state for the nonpayment of taxes. He appears to have owned a camp on Twin Sisters Islands.
Plattsburgh Daily Press, November 21, 1902
Court of Claims.
Judge Theodore H. Swift, of Potsdam, the former county judge of St. Lawrence county, who was recently appointed to the bench of the Court of Claims, has taken his seat with the court. Wednesday the court tried the claim of Benjamin E. Hall for $30,000 for the permanent appropriation of land and water power in Harrietstown, Franklin county, by the state for the purpose of constructing a dam across the Saranac river at Saranac Lake village. This claim was tried once before and an award of $2,088 was made. The master was carried up on appeal and was sent back for retrial by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
Malone Palladium, January 17, 1907
…Mr. [Benjamin E.] Hall is the son of the late Monroe Hall, of Plattsburgh, who was well known throughout Northern New York, as a holder of Adirondack lands. While credited to New York, Mr. Hall is almost as much a resident of Saranac Lake as of the metropolis. He owns lands in the Adirondacks to a considerable extent, and also owns village property in Saranac Lake. He is a lawyer by profession, and stands well at the bar and in business circles.
Malone Palladium, July 22, 1914
Benjamin Hall, of Plattsburgh, former state tax commissioner and extensive Adirondack land owner, is lying at the point of death at the home of his sister, Miss Minnie Hall in that city. One physician is in constant attendance and two others in consultation. His wife and a nurse are constantly with him. Valvular heart trouble gives him much distress in breathing. Mr. Hall said several weeks ago, when he was interviewed about the Oseetah Park Club project, which he wanted kept quiet, that his physician had advised him to retire from his law practice on account of his heart and that it was this as much as anything that had led him to take an active interest in the new Club, which he furnished the land. He left his camp on Oseetah Lake a week ago last Tuesday after enjoying the fishing with his guide, Abe Moody, for a while. Nobody is allowed to see him now except those who are with him in the house. Mr. Hall inherited most of the land he owns near the state dam on the Saranac river and Lake Kiwassa from his mother, several thousand acres. He also inherited many acres of land from his father, Monroe Hall, who bought up land condemned by the state for the nonpayment of taxes.
New York Times, July 22, 1914
BENJAMIN E. HALL DIES.
Ex-State Tax Commissioner Succumbs to Heart Disease.
PLATTSBURG. July 21. — Benjamin Elihu Hall of New York City, former State Tax Commissioner, died yesterday of heart disease at the home of his sister here.
Mr. Hall was born in this city and was 52 years old. He was graduated from Williams College in the class of 1885, and then took a course in the Columbia Law School. He then joined with ex-Attorney General Leslie W. Russell in general law practice until the latter was made a Supreme Court Justice. In 1894 Mr. Hall was supported by the Republicans, Good Government Club A, and the O'Brien (anti-Tammany) Democrats and was elected Alderman from the old Twenty-first District.
Mr. Hall introduced the resolution that resulted in a complete revision of the city ordinances for the first time in sixteen years. He made a special study of municipal law and government. He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the Revolution. the Society of Medical Jurisprudence, the Republican Club, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon secret society. Mr. Hall was a lawyer with offices at 32 Nassau Street, and lived at 15 West Eighty-third Street. He is survived by his widow and four children.
Malone Farmer, July 29, 1914
Benjamin E. Hall, former state tax commissioner and a heavy land owner on the Saranac river near Saranac Lake, died at the home of his sister in Plattsburgh early last week of heart trouble, from which he had suffered for a number of years. He was stricken wit his last attack while in camp in the Adirondacks, his last illness extending over about three weeks. He was taken from the woods to the home of his sister and never rallied from the attack. Mr. Hall was born in Bloomingdale and was 52 years of age. He was the son of the late Monroe Hall, well-known throughout all this northern country, moved with. his parents to Plattsburgh, received his high school education there, graduated from Williams College and the Columbia Law School, and associated himself with Leslie W. Russell, later supreme court judge of this district, in the practice of law in New York, where he soon gained rank among the prominent lawyers of the metropolis. He served on the city board of aldermen, and during the mayoralty of Seth Low was president of the board of assessors. For six years he was a member of the state board of tax commissioners. During the latter part of his life, on account of health, he spent much of his time upon his Adirondack properties and was a man greatly interested in the problems of forest and stream conservation, particularly in the matter of power development in this north country. He is survived by his wife and four children, of New York, together with four sisters, all of whom reside in Plattsburgh.
