Administrative/Biographical History
Lyman Bronson Hall was born on August 10, 1852 in Richmond, Virginia to Joseph Alonzo and Sarah Bronson Hall. At the age of four, his family moved to the Oberlin area, enabling him to attend the Oberlin public schools, and later, the Preparatory Academy. In 1867, he enrolled in the college, receiving an AB in 1872.
After further study in the theological departments of Oberlin and Harvard, he received a Harvard BD in 1877 and an Oberlin BD and MA in 1878. He also studied at Union Theological Seminary in the 1870s and at the University of Berlin, Johns Hopkins, Chicago, and Harvard in the 1880s-1890s. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry at Oberlin in 1881, but he never served a pastorate. He taught grammar in the Preparatory Department, 1872-1873; Tutor in Latin and Greek, 1878-1883; Associate Professor of Latin and Greek, 1883-1888; Professor of Latin, 1888-1899; and Professor of History, 1899-1918. Most of the courses he offered were in American History; he also offered a single course entitled "English History: 55 BC-1902 AD." Although known as a teacher and not as a scholar, Hall did publish several pieces in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, including "English Politics in 1906" (October 1906) and "Notes on the Founders of Oberlin College" (February 1908).
In 1918, Governor James M. Cox appointed Hall a member of the Ohio History Board. Headed by A.M. Schlessinger of Ohio State, the board was responsible for making a record of the part Ohio citizens played in World War I.
Hall's first marriage was to his classmate, Ada E. Hitchcock (1851-1892; Lit. 1872) in 1878, and his second was to Caroline I. Caldwell (1872-1956; Ph.B. 1896) in 1899. Neither union produced any children.
On July 3, 1918, Hall died suddenly of heart failure while on a bicycling trip to Birmingham, Ohio, with his two nephews. He was survived by his second wife. Hall's connection with Oberlin College as student and teacher (including service as Registrar of the College, 1901-1903) spanned a period of more than fifty years.
Author: William E. Bigglestone Subjects (links to similar collections) Administrative InformationThe papers consist, in the main, of letters received by Hall and of a diary of 13 volumes that he kept from 1884 until his death. There are also letters written by Hall, several while in Germany with his first wife in 1888-1889, and others while in Europe and England in 1905. Many of the letters written to him were by his brothers Russell (AB 1865) and Thomas (AB 1872), Theodore E. Burton and C.B. Martin. Other corespondents include W.G. Ballantine, E.I. Bosworth, John Ellis, W.G. Frost, and Azariah Root. In addition, there are several letters sent from Thomas in England to his wife in 1899.
The diary deals with day-to-day matters of all kinds, an important source of information in the study of Oberlin history. Family matters, studies, and his trips to Europe and England also receive a great deal of attention. Hall's interest in music is reflected. There is much information about Germany, bicycling in England and on the Continent, visits to art galleries and museums, and the like. (A partial calendar to the diaries is a part of the papers.)
INVENTORY
Box 1
Letters sent by Lyman Hall, 1899-1900
Letters received by Lyman Hall , 1871-1917
Letters from Thomas Hall, 1887-1908
Letters from Russell Hall, 1874-1903
Box 2
Letters from Theodore E. Burton, 1875 & n.d.
Letters from C. B. Martin, 1885-93
Letters from Annie Mannington, 1886-94
Letters received by Mrs. L. B. Hall, 1901-05
Charles Eliot to Prof. Anderegg, 1891 & other miscellaney to 1933
L. B. Hall annual report, 1905-06; sketch of life of J. Shipherd by his wife
Letters sent by Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Hall, 1888-89 & 1905
Writings by and about L. B. Hall
Journal of Lyman Hall, 1884-95
Box 3
Journal of Lyman Hall, 1895-1909
Box 4
Journal of Lyman Hall, 1909-18
Journal of Lyman Hall: "Chicago Picture" and "Our Year in Germany, 1888"
largely copied from items, 1884-90
Box 5
Partial calendar to the journal
