Biography

From History of Cayuga County, New York (1908): "HALL, HON. BENJAMIN F.  Born in the town of Whitehall, Washington County, NY on July 23, 1814, and came to Auburn in the fall  of 1835 he had completed three years of law study in Washington County and finished his reading in the offices of Judge Elijah Miller and his successors in practice, Seward & Beardsley, being admitted to the bar in 1837 the following year he  became the junior partner in the law firm of Porter, Beardsley & Hall in which he remained until the close of the year 1841 when he formed a partnership with John P. Hurlbert in 1846 the firm was dissolved and Mr. Hall practiced alone until March of 1861, when he was appointed chief justice of the Territory of Colorado and discharged the duties of that responsible and high judicial office in such a commendable manner that upon his retirement he was presented with a resolution adopted by the bar and entered in the minutes of the court containing the following clause best evidencing their respect and admiration for him as a jurist and the extraordinary success of his administration."

"In political matters he acted with the old Whig party until it disbanded, and since that time with the Republicans. He framed the platform of the Republican party in this State, and wrote a book to demonstrate that its principles descended from Jefferson. For more than five and twenty years he was the intimate and trusted friend of William H. Seward, and stood by him and his policy, through good and evil report to the end of his illustrious life." 

It appears Seward helped him get his chief justice of Colorado job from letter 18610227FMS_WHS where she lets WHS know that Mrs Abby Farnham Hall had recently visited and reminded FMS about an appointment for her husband.

Also mentioned on page 335 of FWS's biography of WHS.