Charles Henry Hall Papers

This collection documents the life and work of Charles Henry Hall, a prominent Episcopal clergyman during the second half of the nineteenth century. Hall was a strong Unionist during the Civil War, though the church he served in Washington during this period was divided in its sentiments. He was a leading citizen of Brooklyn, NY, serving as civil service commissioner and park commissioner. He was a close friend of Henry Ward Beecher. Hall generally avoided political matters in the pulpit but did speak on civic and social reforms.

The Sermons of Series I provide very thorough documentation of Hall's preaching. More than 1500 manuscript sermons are in a numbered sequence that corresponds roughly to chronological order. Dates and places preached are noted on most of the sermons. The numbered sequence is followed by four volumes of indexes to the sermons, which refer to sermons preached on various texts and topics.

The Notes and Writings of Series II include unnumbered, published, and fragmentary sermons, lectures, addresses, and notes. The bound volumes in this series include volumes of notes and quotations, a parish register from the Church of the Epiphany, Washington, DC, two letter copybooks, and a visiting book. Series III, Biographical Documentation, primarily contains tributes following Hall's death.