DOCUMENT
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES HALL, WESTERN
LITERARY PIONEER
edited by DAVID DONALD
Instructor in History, Columbia
University
Collecting data for his projected Cyclopaedia
of American
Literature, Evert A. Duyckinck in 1855 addressed the most prom-
inent living writers in the United
States, requesting pertinent
biographical and bibliographical
information. One of the most
interesting replies came from James
Hall, veteran Cincinnati editor
and author. Taking time from his duties
as bank president, Hall
dashed off nine folio pages of
"notes hastily written, and more
voluminous perhaps than necessary"
as "a notice of myself, and
my
writings." This autobiographical sketch was
sent to
Duyckinck with complete "liberty to
use according to your own
discretion."1 As Hall anticipated,
his memorandum was far too
long for a work of the type Duyckinck
proposed, and in the
Cyclopaedia only two pages were devoted to the career of the
"literary cashier."2 Duyckinck's
article in general followed Hall's
notes quite closely but condensed or
omitted over half of his
manuscript. The concluding paragraphs in
which Hall formu-
lated his literary creed were deleted
altogether.
Hall's manuscript autobiography is found
in the Duyckinck
Collection of the New York Public
Library. So far as can be
determined, it has not previously been
known to students of
American literary history. Because of
Hall's significance as the
1 James Hall to E. A. Duyckinck,
March 20, 1855, in Duyckinck MSS., New
York Public Library.
2 This was the slurring nickname given
Hall by his detractors. (John Cleves
Short to William Short, June 19, 1840,
in Short Family MSS., Library of Congress.)
The sketch of Hall' appeared in Evert A.
Duyckinck and George L. Duyckinck, Cyclo-
paedia of American Literature;
Embracing Personal and Critical Notices of Authors...
(New York, 1855), II, 145-147. It
is followed (pp. 148-150) by one of the stories
from Hall's The Wilderness and the
War-Path.
295
296 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
foremost literary figure in the
ante-bellum West the document is
here presented in its entirety.
James Hall.
was born in Philadelphia August 19,
1793, and commenced the study
of law in that city in 1811.
In 1813 I was one of a company of
volunteers, the Washington Guards,
commanded by Condy Raguet Esq,
afterwards U. S. Minister to Brazil,3
who entered the service of the U.S. and
spent several months in camp, on
the Delaware, watching the motions of a
British fleet, performing all the
duties of soldiers. At the close of that
year was commissioned a 3d Lieu-
tenant of Artillery, in 2d Regiment,
commanded by Col. Winfield Scott, who
about that time became a Brig. Genl.
In the spring of 1814, I marched to the
frontier with a company of
artillery commanded by Capt. Thomas
Biddle,4 and joined the Army at
Buffaloe [sic], under Genl
Brown--in which Scott, Ripley, & Porter were
Brigadiers.5 In the battle of Chippewa I
commanded a detachment from
my company, and had a full share of that
brilliant affair. I was in the
battle of Lundy's Lane, (or Bridgewater)
at Niagara, the seige of Fort
Erie, and all the hard fighting &
severe service of that campaign, and was
commended afterwards officially, as having
rendered "brave and meritorious
services."
At the close of the war, unwilling to be
inactive, I went to Washington
and solicited a midshipman's warrant in
the Navy, in the hope of going out
in Decatur's6 Squadron,
against the Algerians [?], but without success. Sub-
sequently it was decided to send out
with that expedition a bomb vessel, and
some mortars to be used in the
bombardment of Algiers, under the com-
mand of Major Archer of the
Artillery7--and I had the honor of being
selected as one of four young officers
who accompanied him. I sailed in
September 1815 from Boston, in the U. S.
Brig Enterprise, commanded by
Lieut. Lawrence Kearney [sic], now
the veteran com[m]odore.8 The war
3 Condy Raguet (1784-1842), Philadelphia editor and economist, was never
minister to Brazil but served as charge
d'affaires at the American embassy in Rio de
Janeiro from 1825 to 1827.
4 Thomas Biddle, Jr., of the famous
Philadelphia family, was later brevetted
major for his distinguished service in
the War of 1812.
5 Major General Jacob Jennings Brown
(1775-1828) commanded American oper-
ations on the Niagara peninsula during
the War of 1812. Winfield Scott (1786-1866),
later famous as a Mexican War hero and a
presidential aspirant, was one of his brigadier
generals, and Eleazar Wheelock Ripley
(1782-1839) was another. Peter Buell Porter
(1773-1844), one of the congressional
"war hawks," led the Pennsylvania and New
York volunteers in the campaign.
6 Commodore Stephen Decatur (1779-1820),
a daring and romantic naval hero,
served with spectacular success in the
war against Tripoli, in the War of 1812, and
in the expedition against Algiers.
7 Samuel B. Archer was only a
brevet-major, having been promoted in 1813 for
his gallantry in the bombardment of
Fort George.
8 Lawrence Kearny (1789-1868) had a
long and successful naval career. As
commander of the East Indian fleet at
the time of the Opium War he is credited with
initiating the idea of an Open Door
policy for China. Hall's statement is not pre-
cisely correct, for Kearny was not
made commodore until 1867.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES HALL 297
with Algiers was a short one, and after
a brief, but to me most delightful
cruize [sic] in the
Mediter[r]anean, I returned at the close of the same
year, and was stationed at Newport R.I.
and afterwards at various other
Posts until 1818 when I resigned, having
previously resumed the study of
law, at Pittsburgh, Pa., where I was
then stationed, and been admitted to the
bar.9
In the Spring of 1820, having no
dependence but my own exertions,--
with great ardor and hopefulness of
spirit, and energy of purpose, I re-
solved to go to a new country, to
practice my profession where I could rise
with the growth of the population--but
allured in fact by a romantic dis-
position, a thirst for adventure, and a
desire to see the rough scenes of the
frontier. I went to Illinois, then
recently admitted into the Union as a State,
and commenced practice at Shawneetown,
and edited a weekly newspaper,
called the Illinois Gazette,10 for
which I wrote a good deal. The next winter
I, was appointed Circuit Attorney, that
is public prosecutor, for a circuit
containing ten counties.
Courts were held in these counties twice
a year; and they were so ar-
ranged as to time, that after passing
through one circuit, we went directly
to the adjoining one, and thus went to
about 20 counties in succession. Thus
we were kept on horseback, &
travelling over a very wide region, the
greater part of our time. There was no
other way to travel, but on horse-
back. There were but few roads for
carriages--and we travelled chiefly
by bridle-paths--through uncultivated
wilds--fording rivers, and sometimes
swim[m]ing creeks--and occasionally
"camping out." There were few
towns, and we ate and slept chiefly at
the log cabins of the settlers. (See
the Preface to the "Legends of the
West" published by Putnam).
The office of prosecuting [attorney] in
such a country is no sinecure[.]
Several of the counties in my circuit
were bounded by the Ohio river, which
seperated [sic] them from
Kentucky, and afforded facilities to rogues and
ruffians, to change their jurisdictions,
which allured them to settle among
us in great gangs, such as could often
defy the arm of the law: We had
whole settlements of counterfeiters, or
horse thieves, with their sympathisers
--where rogues could change names, or
pass from house to house, so skil-
fully as to elude detection--and where
if detected, the whole'population were
ready to rise to the rescue. There were
other settlements of sturdy honest
fellows, the regular backwoodsmen in
which rogues were not tolerated.
There was therefore a continual struggle
between these parties--the honest
people trying to expel the others by the
terrors of the law, and when that
9 Hall omitted to mention a very
important episode in his career. In 1817 he
was tried before a court-martial for
negligence and insubordination and was sentenced
to be cashiered from the service. The
President intervened to remit the punishment and
restore his rank, and Hall then
resigned his commission. On this and other points in
Hall's career see John T. Flanagan, James
Hall, Literary Pioneer of the
Ohio Valley
(Minneapolis, 1941).
10 The Illinois Gazette had
been published at Shawneetown since September
1819. In May 1820 it was announced that Hall and Henry Eddy had become
joint
owners, with the former directing the editorial department.
The partnership con-
tinued for two years, when Eddy purchased Hall's interest.
298
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
mode failed, forming regulating companies,
and driving them out by force.
To be a public prosecutor among such a
people, requires much discretion
and no small degree of courage.11 When
the contest breaks out into violence,
when arms are used, and a little civil
war takes place, there are aggressions
on both sides, and he is to avoid making
himself a party with either--when
called upon to prosecute either he is
denounced, and often threatened--and
it requires calmness, self possession,
and sometimes courage to enable him to
do his duty, preserving his self respect
and the public confidence. I was a
vigorous prosecutor, never flinching
from duty, and on some occasion[s]
turning out myself, and aiding in the
arrest of notorious and bold villians
[sic]. I served in that office four years; and obtained also a
large practice
on the civil side of the court. I was
then elected by the Legislature, Judge of
the Circuit Court--the court having
general original Jurisdiction, civil &
criminal. I presided in that court three
years, when a change in the Judiciary
system took place, the circuit courts
were abolished, and all the Judges re-
pealed out of office. At the same
session of the Legislature I was elected
State Treasurer, and removed to Vandalia
the seat of government. This
office I held four years, in connection
with an extensive law practice--and
in connection also with the editorship
of the Illinois Intelligencer, a weekly
newspaper,12 and of the Illinois
Monthly Magazine, which I established, pub-
lished, owned, edited, and for which I
wrote nearly all the matter.13
In 1833 I removed to Cincinnati having
lived in Illinois twelve years.
I commenced writing very early--was for
several years a contributor to
the Port Folio, while my brother John E.
Hall14 was editor--I think from
about 1816.
In 1820 when de[s]cending the river
Ohio, and afterwards during the
early part of my residence in Illinois,
I wrote a series of "Letters from the
West," which were published in the
Port Folio.15 When completed I was
advised to collect them for
republication in a vol. and a friend who was go-
ing to England offered to place them in
the hands of a London publisher.
My friend died abroad, and I heard
nothing of my "copy," for nearly a
year, when a very handsome volume
appeared,--accompanied however by
a
blunder so whimsical and so sad--that I
have scarcely yet got over the
11 Hall's description of the criminal
and terroristic elements in early Illinois,
though vigorous, is not exaggerated.
See Alice Brumbaugh, The Regulator
Movement in
Illinois (unpublished master's
thesis, University of Illinois, 1927).
12 Hall purchased a half interest in
the Illinois Intelligencer, published at Van-
dalia, on January 17, 1829.
13 The first number of the Illinois Monthly Magazine appeared in
October 1830,
and, in all, two volumes were published.
Because of "the impossibility of getting
any printing done here [i.e., at
Vandalia] or at St. Louis," Hall was compelled to have
all issues after June 1832 printed at
Cincinnati. Lacking both contributors and sub-
scribers in Illinois, Hall's editorial
work was exceedingly burdensome. As early as
May 1832 he had been approached by a
group of Cincinnati leaders with the project
of editing a literary journal in that
city, but he remained in Illinois until the follow-
ing year. (James Hall to Salmon Portland
Chase, May 2, 1832, and June 23, 1832, in
Chase MSS., Library of Congress.)
14 John Elihu Hall
(1783-1829), author, professor in the University of Mary-
land, published one of the earliest legal periodicals issued in the
United States and
edited the Port Folio from
1816 until 1827.
15 The letters ran through six
installments in the Port Folio, from July 1821
through August 1822.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES HALL 299
mortification it occasioned me. I had
written a series of letters, under the
assumed character of a youth, traveling
for amusement and giving the rein
to a lively fancy, and indulging a vein
of levity, and rather extravagant fun.
The whole affair was anonymous, and was
intended to be kept so. My title
page, as prepared for the London edition
read "Letters from the West. By a
Young Gentleman of Illinois." Of
course there was none of the pruning
which would have taken place, in a work
to be acknowledged as one's own.
Imagine my dismay, when the work
appeared with the title "Letters from
the West. By the Hon. Judge
Hall."16 How this came about, I have never
found out. I became a Judge about the
time I sent off the Mmss. and either
some inconsiderate friend, who thought
my new title would sound very grand,
or the London publisher, who had found
it out and thought it might help to
sell the book, made this foolish change.
The English reviews took up the
book, and made all sorts of fun of it.
They acknowledged a certain sort
of ability about it, and confessed that
the author wrote very good English--
but sneered at the levities, and asked
the English public what they would
think of a learned judge who should lay
aside the wig and robe of office,
and roam about the land in quest of
"black eyes" and "rosy cheeks," danc-
ing at the cabins of the peasantry, and
"kissing the pretty girls." The vener-
able Illinois Judge they pronounced to be a "sly
rogue,"-and wondered if the
learned gentleman was as funny on the
bench &c &c. I never allowed the
book to be republished--and was near
never writing another.
In 1828-9 I originated and got up the "Western
Souvenir for 1829"--
at Cincinnati.17 This was the first
attempt to publish any thing of the sort
in the West. It was a small Vol. in
imitation of the elegant Annuals, then
just in vogue. It cost me great labor. I
wrote about half the matter. The
rest I begged, all over the country,
with infinite travail, and poor success.
The literary matter was better than that
of most annuals, and it was highly
praised, especially by Mr Walsh, in the
Nat. Gazette18--but it was poorly
got up--printing, paper, plates, were all vile. It was
however a novelty, and
quite a hit.
The Legends of the West, was published
in [1832]19
The Border Tales " " "
[1835]20
The Soldiers Bride and other Tales21
Harpe's Head, a legend of Kentucky.22
16 The
title page read: Letters from the West; Containing Sketches of Scenery,
Manners, and Customs; and Anecdotes
Connected with the First Settlements of the
Western Sections of the United
States. By the Hon. Judge Hall.
17 The Western Souvenir, A Christmas
and New Year's Gift for 1829 (Cincin-
nati, [1828?]).
18 Robert
Walsh (1784-1859) in association with William Fry had established
the National Gazette and Literary
Register at Philadelphia in 1820.
19 Legends of the West (Philadelphia,
1832). Other editions appeared in 1853
and 1854.
20 Tales of the Border (Philadelphia, 1835).
21 The Soldier's Bride; and Other
Tales (Philadelphia, 1833).
22 The Harpe's Head; A Legend of
Kentucky (Philadelphia, 1833). A two-
volume edition was published in London
the following year under the title, Kentucky.
A Tale.
300 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
These were mostly published first in
magazines or annuals. In all of
them the design was to exhibit American
life, in most of the[m] Western life
and adventure; and so intent was I upon
the faithfull [sic] portraiture of
western life, that I curbed my fancy,
and hardly did justice to myself in the
management of the materials, which are
rich.23
Sketches of the West--published in two
12 mo. vols. of sketches of the
romance of western history.Some of the
prominent events in the settle-
ment, and early adventures, and strange
doings of the pioneers, are de-
scribed and commented on. I am re-writing this series.24
The Illinois [Monthly] Magazine was undertaken chiefly with a view
to its advantage to the country of which
I was then a very active citizen.
It was a noble region, thinly populated,
chiefly by backwoodsmen. We
wanted schools, churches,
mechanics,--all the elements and means of im-
provement, intellectual and
physical--and I devoted myself for some years,
almost singly--though not without warm
friends and abettors, as far as
praise and encouragement went--, to the
execution of plans, to build up so-
ciety. The Mag. was sustained for two
years, by my own pen, and purse. It
attracted much attention to Illinois,
and did much towards accomplishing its
object--but did not pay.
The Western Monthly Magazine, successor
of the former, was con-
ducted for three years, 1833, 4 & 5
successfully. It had a large subscription.25
23 At first Hall's western writings
greatly pleased his neighbors, who praised each
volume as "a western story,
written by a western author, and . . . eagerly sought after
by western readers." (Literary Cabinet and Western Olive
Branch, I [October 12,
1833], 135.) But Hall wrote very
rapidly, without much attention to style or struc-
ture. His brother objected to his
slovenly plots and frankly warned: "You do not
prune enough--you have too many
adjectives ushering in the substantives."
(John E.
Hall to James Hall, September 13, 1827,
Historical and Philosophical Society Library,
Cincinnati.) Emphasizing the theme of a
distinctly Western literature, Hall frequently
repeated his ideas and often resorted to
self-plagiarism. In his later writings this defect
became so obvious that he was subject to
considerable ridicule. One rimester (The
Hesperian, II [1838], 171) fancied Hall as declaring
. . . I, my dear,
Make new books out of old,
And sell again, the present year,
The work I last year sold.
24 Sketches of History, Life
and Manners, in the West (Philadelphia, 1835).
The first volume was published in
Cincinnati in 1834, but the entire work was printed
at Philadelphia the following year. The
revised edition mentioned by Hall appeared
in 1857 as The Romance of Western
History.
25 Hall
omitted from his autobiography any
reference to the painful episode
which terminated his editorial career.
At the outset his Western Monthly Magazine
was a decided success in Cincinnati, reaching
a circulation of over 2,000. (Eli Taylor
to John Russell, July 8, 1836, Illinois
State Historical Library, Springfield.)
But from
the very beginning of Hall's residence
in Ohio there had been two factions which had
claimed leadership of the social and
intellectual life of Cincinnati. The older settlers,
chiefly from the middle and southern
states, looked to the famous Dr. Daniel Drake
for leadership. Later immigrants found
guidance in Lyman Beecher, the father of
Catharine, Henry Ward, and Harriet
Beecher, who had scorn for the cultural preten-
sions of Cincinnati and offensively
boasted of their New England origins. An ardent
Westerner, Hall quickly joined the Drake
circle and made his magazine a strong
champion of social, cultural, and
economic "Westernism." By 1834 he had become a
"sore thorn" to the Beechers,
and they unsuccessfully endeavored to exclude him from
Cincinnati society. (Edward King to
Sarah King, December 24, 1834, in Rufus King
MSS., Historical and Philosophical
Society Library.) Having scant regard
for the
somewhat exaggerated pretensions of the
New Englanders, Hall did not flatter these
"jackdaws," but began
"pulling out their feathers & exhibiting their baldness." Those
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES HALL 301
About the time I came to Cincinnati, I
was invited to unite with Col.
Thomas L. McKenney, in editing &
writing "A History & Biography
of the Indians of N. America," to
be published in 20 numbers, on large folio
paper, at $6:00 per number.26 It
had been the custom, at Washington City,
when delegations of Indian chiefs
visited their great Father, the President,
to have the portraits of the more
distinguished of them, taken, and preserved
in the War Department. They were taken
by King,27 a good artist, who
from taking so many, acquired the art of
hitting off the savage expression,
and the exact tint of the tawny
complexion. McKenn[e]y having been Com-
missioner for Indian Affairs, professed
to have in his possession, as he
might have had, a vast hoard of official
correspondence, and other docu-
ments, affording materials for the
biographies of these chiefs, and histories
of their tribes. The idea was to publish
120 coloured portraits, with a bi-
ography to each, embracing historical
matter, so as to include all the exist-
ing N. American tribes. I became editor,
and set to work, with my usual
ardor and energy (which were not small).
Do you know McKenney? If
you do, you will imagine the sequel--if
not, and whether or not, what I
write of him, is to be strictly inter
nos. I found the 1st No partly written--
and I had to begin there, in the middle
of that No and finish it. With some
most agre[e]able social qualities, my
friend the Col. was as lazy a man as
ever lived, and as unreliable a mortal
as ever made big promises. His hoard
of materials dwindled down to almost
nothing, and after exhausting them, I
could neither get him to furnish more,
or to aid in writing. I went on alone.
The labor was Herculean. Here were [sic]a
long list of Indian heroes, to
be supplied with biographies--of
whom we knew nothing but the names.
But I was compromised to the work--and I
determined to do it--and to make
the work what was intended: an authentic
National work. I openned [sic]
correspondence with Indian Agents,
Traders, and Military officers stationed
among these Tribes. I went several times
to St. Louis, where I met these
Agents, traders, and officers, and where
several men were still living who had
spent their lives on the frontier. I
visited Washington City several times,
when Indian delegations were there, and
where I found also various officers
and employees of the Government; all
these I took by the button, and cross
whose feelings he injured developed a
scheme for deposing him as editor of the Western
Monthly Magazine. (Edward King to Sarah King, August 12, 1835, in Rufus
King
MSS.) The issue was brought to a crisis
in 1835 when Lyman Beecher published A
Plea for the West, an address violently abusive of Catholics. A
Presbyterian himself,
Hall resented the bigotry of Beecher's
"pernicious and absurd" statements and scath-
ingly reviewed the pamphlet in his
journal. (Western Monthly Magazine, III [1835],
320-327.) Cincinnati was a center of anti-Catholic sentiment, and many of
Hall's
readers misinterpreted his plea for
tolerance as an advocacy of Catholicism. His sub-
scription dropped to less than 800; he
had a difficult time with his publishers; his debts
mounted; and in June 1836 he gave up his
editorial chair. The magazine died shortly
afterward.
26 Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785-1859)
was, after 1824, in charge of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs of the War
Department. When it eventually appeared the
work was titled History of the Indian
Tribes of North America, with Biographical.
Sketches and Anecdotes of the
Principal Chiefs (Philadelphia,
1836-44).
27 Charles Bird King (1785-1862) resided
in the national capital after 1822, mak-
ing numerous but hasty portraits of
visiting dignitaries, both Indian and white.
302 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
examined. I called on the old
territorial governors, and Superintendents of
Indian Affairs--such men as Gov. Cass,
Genl Harrison, and others.28 With
the exception of a few facts from Long's
Expeditions, Pike, [and] School-
craft,29 nothing was complied
from books--all was collected from original
sources--mostly from living and highly
respectable individuals, whose testi-
mony was examined carefully, and
compared one with another. I claim there-
fore that this work is not only full of
new and interesting facts, but that it
is strictly reliable. The large and
expensive form of the work ($120. for
the whole, has confined it to public
libraries, or to the collections of wealthy
persons, so that it is not known in the
literature of the country, nor has it
gained me any reputation. But it is the
most authentic work on the subject.
And I have no doubt, that, though I may
never reap any benefit from it, the
day will come when some scholar whose
studies shall be directed into that
channel, will discover, and recognise
the value of my labors. I was engaged
in that work about eight years. The
first publishers, Key & Biddle failed--
one of their assignees published a few
numbers--then another got it and
published a few--at last a couple of
Yankees got hold of (Rice & Clarke)
and finished it. McKenney & I were
to have had half the profits, but got
little or nothing.
During the canvass between Harrison and
Van Beuren [sic] I wrote a
Life of Gen. Harrison, which was
published in one vol. 18 mo.30 Though
published under such circumstances, it
was not written with any reference
to the election.31 I had the materials
prepared, and was writing out the mat-
ter for my Sketches of the West, when I
was requested to prepare that mem-
oir, and I selected that time for
publishing, and that form, in reference to
the then position of Genl H. It is a
very nice little history.
The West, Its Soil, Surface, and
productions
The West Its Navigation, and Commerce.32
These two volumes were published at
Cincinnati.
They contain descriptions of the
country--sketches of scenery--produc-
tions--the Ohio, and Mississippi
rivers--commerce--and a good deal of valu-
able statistical matter.
28 Lewis Cass (1782-1866), before
becoming cabinet member, senator, and Demo-
cratic nominee for President, served as
territorial governor of Michigan. William Henry
Harrison (1773-1841), victor of
Tippecanoe and ninth President of the United States,
had been governor of the territory of
Indiana.
29 Stephen Harriman Long (1784-1864) led
several exploring parties along the
upper Mississippi, the Platte River, and
the Lake of the Woods. Zebulon Montgomery
Pike (1779-1813) made a celebrated
expedition to the headwaters of the Arkansas and
Red rivers and returned by way of
Mexico. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864),
voluminous writer on Indian subjects,
was for many years Indian agent of the Lake
Superior tribes.
30 A Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrison, of Ohio (Phila-
delphia, 1836).
31 Hall's memory proved faulty on
this matter. Shortly before the publication of
the book he wrote a friend: "I have
nearly completed a biography of the General
[Harrison] and hope to have it out in a
few weeks. . . . I hope it will help the [Whig]
cause. I am writing it for that purpose
solely." (James Hall to Orlando Brown, Octo-
ber 10, 1835, in Brown MSS., Filson
Club, Louisville.)
32 The West: Its Soil, Surface, and Productions (Cincinnati, 1848);
The West:
Its Commerce and Navigation (Cincinnati, 1848).
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF JAMES HALL 303
The
Wilderness and the War Path--Wiley &
Putnam's series of Choice
Reading[s]
1846. Contains 3 new Tales, and some of those included in the
former
volumes.
To
recapitu[l]ate33--
Legends
of the West 1 vol. Letters from the
W. 1
vol
Border
Tales 1 Harpes Head 1
Soldiers
Bride &c 1 Sketches of the West 2
The
West &c 2 Life
of Harrison 1
5 5
making
10 12 mo. volumes--
The
Western Souvenir--Ill. Magazine--Western Monthly--
The
Hist. & Biog. Am. Indians 3 large Folio Vols.
In
1836 I accepted the office of Cashier of the Commercial Bank of
Cincinnati--a
very large and well managed bank, having One Million of dol-
lars
capital, and being the principal Deposit bank, for the government, under
the
Pet bank system. The office was one of great labor and responsibility.
The
charter of that bank expired in 1844, when I was appointed the Agent
for
winding up its affairs. It maintained its high credit to the last, and hon-
orably
wound up, and divided a large surplus to its stockholders, after paying
them
back their capital. Under a new bank law, then enacted in Ohio, a few
of us
established a smaller bank, with the same name, of which I was the
Cashier,
until 1853, when I became its President, which Office I now hold,
and
am a principal stockholder. My circumstances are quite easy--thanks
to
banking--not to authorship. I was for a number of years Agent for Pay-
ing
Pensions, in the State of Ohio, but was removed by Mr Pierce.34 In
all
these
offices, I have acquitted myself of all pecuniary responsibility, and owe
no
man anything.
There,
my dear sir, you have the whole story, as briefly as I could write
it. I
do not expect you to follow me through all these details, as I know you
have
a great many authors to be made up in to a small package, and that my
share
of the space must be small. But I give it all to you to be used at your
own
discretion. I shall be content with the smallest share that may be allotted
to
me.
If
you wish to look at my writings, so as to express an opinion of their
character,
you may find the Legends of the West, and the Wilderness & War
Path,
at Putnam's. The other books are out of print, and I cannot lend them
to
you, as I have barely a copy of each, for myself. I think Dr Griswold35
has
some of them.
33
Hall omitted several of his minor writings. For a complete bibliography see
Flanagan,
James Hall, 207-208.
34
Hall was removed by President Franklin Pierce because of his devotion to the
Whig
Party.
35
Rufus Wilmot Griswold (1815-1857) was
one of the most famous editors of
the
pre-war period and compiled such works as The Poets and Poetry of America and
The Prose
Writers of America.
304 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
As an author I claim, that I have
written the English language, in a
simple, pure, unpretending
style--without any of the modern slang or cor-
ruptions. I take pride in saying that I
have always been government [sic]
by a high standard of morality in
sentiment, and delicacy in language. I
have written no line which dying I would
wish to blot. In my fictions, es-
pecially, I have endeavored to instruct
and elevate--while I have been careful
to utter no sentiment which could
mislead or corrupt. I think, that in all
I have written, no word nor allusion can
be found which is immoral or in-
delicate--nothing which a lady might not
read to a gentleman, or a parent
to his child. You may find levity
perhaps--for I have been a light hearted
and joyous person--but no jest will you
find, no witticism, at the expense of
religion, or of good breeding. I have
always held, and imposed as a rule on
myself, that a writer, should not put on
paper, that which he would be un-
willing to speak or read in good
society, and that when writing he should
imagine a modest woman, or a sober
minded well bred gentleman to be look-
ing over his shoulder. I have never
polluted my page with slang, with
modern or fashionable corruptions, or
false grammer [sic]. I claim another
thing: I have written to and for my
country. My subjects are all American,
and they are treated in an independent
American Spirit. If there is an
American Literature, I hope to have a
place, however humble, in it. If there
is no Am. literature, I am nobody.
I have been married twice, am happy in
my domestic relations, and am
a father and grandfather.36
36 Hall married Mary Harrison Posey of
Kentucky in 1823; she died in 1832. In
1839 he married Mary Louisa (Anderson)
Alexander. During his final years he resided
in or near Cincinnati, maintaining an
active interest in social and literary life. He died
July 5, 1868.
DOCUMENT
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES HALL, WESTERN
LITERARY PIONEER
edited by DAVID DONALD
Instructor in History, Columbia
University
Collecting data for his projected Cyclopaedia
of American
Literature, Evert A. Duyckinck in 1855 addressed the most prom-
inent living writers in the United
States, requesting pertinent
biographical and bibliographical
information. One of the most
interesting replies came from James
Hall, veteran Cincinnati editor
and author. Taking time from his duties
as bank president, Hall
dashed off nine folio pages of
"notes hastily written, and more
voluminous perhaps than necessary"
as "a notice of myself, and
my
writings." This autobiographical sketch was
sent to
Duyckinck with complete "liberty to
use according to your own
discretion."1 As Hall anticipated,
his memorandum was far too
long for a work of the type Duyckinck
proposed, and in the
Cyclopaedia only two pages were devoted to the career of the
"literary cashier."2 Duyckinck's
article in general followed Hall's
notes quite closely but condensed or
omitted over half of his
manuscript. The concluding paragraphs in
which Hall formu-
lated his literary creed were deleted
altogether.
Hall's manuscript autobiography is found
in the Duyckinck
Collection of the New York Public
Library. So far as can be
determined, it has not previously been
known to students of
American literary history. Because of
Hall's significance as the
1 James Hall to E. A. Duyckinck,
March 20, 1855, in Duyckinck MSS., New
York Public Library.
2 This was the slurring nickname given
Hall by his detractors. (John Cleves
Short to William Short, June 19, 1840,
in Short Family MSS., Library of Congress.)
The sketch of Hall' appeared in Evert A.
Duyckinck and George L. Duyckinck, Cyclo-
paedia of American Literature;
Embracing Personal and Critical Notices of Authors...
(New York, 1855), II, 145-147. It
is followed (pp. 148-150) by one of the stories
from Hall's The Wilderness and the
War-Path.
295