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Dr. Benjamin Franklin Hall 1803-1873
Faithful Gospel Preacher Of The 19th
Century B.F. Hall preached throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and ultimately Texas. He was married to Dorindo Chisholm Hall (daughter of John and Esther) until her death in June, 1831. In 1826 he noticed in his preaching that there were many responding mourners that found no comfort. Upon reading the Campbell/McCalla debate of 1823 he noted that baptism was for remission of sins. As he read, ". . . he sprang to his feet and clapping his hands, cried out, ‘Eureka! Eureka! I have found it! I have found it!’" After this he began teaching that the gospel must be obeyed, and it was obeyed through baptism for the remission of sins. He did much to solidify the Stone/Campbell teaching on the purpose of baptism. In the fall of that same year while in a meeting on Cypress Creek just north of Florence, Alabama, he preached these truths to the people inviting a response. Many responded including a young sixteen year old boy named Tolbert Fanning. Fanning responded to the preaching and obeyed the gospel September, 1826. James E. Matthews baptized Fanning the next morning after Hall had stressed baptism for the remission of sins in his preaching, making Fanning one of the first people in that region to be baptized scripturally, unto remission of sins. Later Hall migrated west, following family members and friends who left from Waterloo, Alabama to established the first church in Clarksville, Texas, in the 1830s. He ultimately settled about forty miles north of Dallas, just south of Sherman in Grayson County. He purchased property and operated a farm about four miles west of Howe, Texas. From his farm he traveled in many different directions, starting and nurturing congregations of the Lord's church through his evangelism. (A cemetery bearing his name, Hall Cemetery, was located on the edge of his property where many of the earliest New Testament Christians in Texas are now buried.) During the Civil War he was an active participant in the South, strongly condemning Northern aggression. After the war he continued preaching and teaching in that area until his death May 1, 1873. History owes a great debt of gratitude to this man of God for standing for the truth. He held the feet of Stone, Campbell, and many other early restoration leaders to the fire, so to speak, in insisting that baptismal regeneration was only part of the truth concerning what took place in baptism, that only through full immersion in water could one be forgiven of his/her sins.
Biographical Sketch Of B.F. Hall by W.C. Rogers
Directions To Grave Head north out of Dallas, Texas on State Highway 75 about 50 miles. Look for Van Alstyne exit and turn right on FM 121 toward town. In town, turn right on Wilmeth Rd., (Hwy 5 south) and go two blocks. Turn left on E. Fulton St., then right on Preston St. Go two blocks and turn left (east) on Austin St. Cross the railroad tracks, street becomes E. Austin. The road will head straight into the Van Alstyne Cemetery. (east side of town). Head straight into the cemetery. Go until you see a Texas Historical Marker on the left. The Hall Plot is about 35 feet behind the marker (north). The grave faces west.
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