Benton Jay HALL, Congress, IA (1835-1894)

HALL, Benton Jay, a Representative from Iowa; born in Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, January 13, 1835; moved with his parents to Iowa in December 1840; attended Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., and was graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1855; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1857 and practiced; member of the State house of representatives in 1872 and 1873; served in the State senate 1882-1886; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1887); was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress; appointed Commissioner of Patents by President Cleveland and served from April 12, 1887, to March 31, 1889; resumed the practice of law; died in Burlington, Iowa, January 5, 1894; interment in Aspen Grove Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present