James O. Hall Papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-930826
The James O. Hall Papers comprise the research files and correspondence of James O. Hall (1912-2007), a noted scholar of the American Civil War in general and the Lincoln assassination in particular.
The James O. Hall Papers contain research materials about the alleged missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary, the alleged meetings between Samuel A. Mudd and Booth, the effort to exhume the body of Booth, and the book "Dark Union" by Ray A. Neff and Leonard Guttridge, among other topics. The James O. Hall Papers are stored in two archival boxes (1.0 linear feet).
The James O. Hall Papers complement several other collections in the Georgetown University Library Booth Family Center for Special Collections pertaining to the Lincoln assassination, including the David Rankin Barbee Papers, the Margaret K. Bearden Papers, the Richard D. Mudd Papers, and the E.H. Swaim Collection.
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
James O. Hall (1912-2007) was a respected scholar who focused his research on the Lincoln assassination and the American Civil War.
James O. Hall was born in Afton, Oklahoma. After graduating from Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, he worked as a history teacher. In 1941, Hall was employed by the U.S. Labor Department. He soon joined the army in 1942 and saw duty as a military policeman in Europe during World War II. Hall moved to Virginia in the 1960s, and he worked once again in the Labor Department. After retiring from the government in 1972, Hall spent much of his time researching and writing about the Abraham Lincoln assassination.
For three decades, Hall instructed interpreters at the Surratt House Museum in Clinton, Maryland. Moreover, he assisted Surratt House in its scholarly efforts. In 1988, Hall, William A. Tidwell, and David Winfred Gaddy co-authored the book entitled, "Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln." That book won the National Intelligence Study Center's award the year it was published. In his honor, the Surratt House Museum named its research center the James O. Hall Research Center.
Hall's wife Lois Arric Hall died in 1995. The couple had no children. James O. Hall died on February 26, 2007 at the age of 94.
[Source: "Washington Post" obituary, March 5, 2007.]
1 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
English
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository