John A. Hall, of Pleasanton, county attorney of Linn county, is a native born Kansan, having been born at Trading Post, Linn county, Nov. 4, 1879, a son of Austin W. and Corolin (Fisk) Hall, both natives of Lamoille county, Vermont, and descendants of old New England families. When the Halls came to America they first settled in Connecticut, but later removed to Vermont. Jesse Hall and his wife, the parents of Austin W., both died near Johnson, Lamoille county. Austin W. Hall first came to Kansas in 1856. The following years he brought his family and preëmpted a claim about two and one-half miles northeast of Trading Post. His brother, Amos Hall, also came to Kansas about the same time and located in the same vicinity, not far from the Missouri line, hence they were in the district where the border troubles raged fiercest. Both were avowed free-state men, though they never participated in any of the raids which were so common at that period. In May, 1858, when Capt. Charles Hamilton came into Kansas with a company of forty-six Missourians and captured eleven free-state men, Austin and Amos Hall were two of the prisoners. These men were lined up and wantonly murdered about five miles north of Trading Post. When the volley was fired Austin Hall was unhurt, but having the presence of mind to fall with the others, and by feigning death, made his escape. (See Marais des Cygnes in Vol. II.) While in Vermont he had been a teacher, but upon coming to Kansas he gave up that profession and followed agricultural pursuits until the close of the Civil war. At the time of the Hamilton raid, above mentioned, he was a member of the Home Guards, but could not enter the army because of his defective vision. Subsequently he went to Boston, Mass., for treatment and succeeded in saving one eye. Notwithstanding the troublous times of the Civil war Austin Hall and his brother remained upon their homesteads. Soon after the restoration of peace, Amos Hall removed to Montana, where he became a man of wealth. Austin Hall engaged in the business of general merchandise for some time, and then turned his attention to the milling business. He was the first postmaster at Blooming Grove, now Trading Post, and held that position for several years. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens' Bank at La Cygne, invested extensively in land in Linn county, and at the time of his death was the owner of over 1,000 acres of fine farming land. When the Republican party was organized he cast his lot with it and remained firm in the faith of that party for the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, which he joined in 1871. He and his wife had six children—three of whom died in infancy—and the survivors are: Amos H., a miller and merchant at Amsterdam, Mo.; Carlton F., a merchant at Amoret, Mo.; John A., whose name introduces this sketch. The mother of these children died in 1884, and in 1889 the father married Edith Hill, by whom he had one son, Clyde W., a student in the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan. The mother, Edith Hill Hall, is still living. Austin Hall was modest and quiet in his demeanor, little inclined to talk of his early adventures in Kansas or his business affairs, and while not a member of any church was a liberal contributor toward the support of church work and a believer in religious observances.

John A. Hall received his early education in the public schools, graduating in the La Cygne High School in 1896, after which he entered the liberal arts department of the University of Kansas at Lawrence, where he was graduated with the class of 1901, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and completed the course in that institution in 1904. Shortly afterward he began practice at Pleasanton, where he has gained rapidly in prominence through his ability in his chosen profession. In 1908 he was elected county attorney of Linn county, and his efficient services were given recognition by his reëlection in 1910. Like his father, he is a Republican in his political belief, and is a member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity.