John Hall (1829-1898) was born in Ballygorman, Ireland, and died in Bangor, Ireland. He attended Belfast College and was ordained a Presbyterian missionary in 1850. He married Emily Hall (b. Bolton), a widow with three children, in 1852, and they went on to have five more children. He became pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Armagh, in 1852, and associate pastor of Mary's Abbey, Dublin, in 1858. In 1865 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from American University of Washington and Jefferson. In 1867, while visiting the United States to attend the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, he was offered and accepted the pastorate of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York, New York, serving in that capacity for the rest of his life. He also served for ten years as chancellor of the University of New York, trustee of Princeton Theological Seminary and Wellesley College, chairman of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, and director of the Union Theological Seminary of New York. Hall was an editor and author of several books and articles on theological topics. He died while visiting his family in Ireland.

See more letters.