B. Frank Hall Collection

Collection

Identifier: SC-MS-164

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the personal papers of professor and pastor Dr. Benjamin Franklin "B. Frank" Hall. Content spans 1850-1984 and includes personal and business correspondence, financial documents, sermons, social essays, poetry, newspaper clippings, and advising material from Wilmington College and later UNCW, where Hall taught in the Philosophy and Religion department. Hall's writings focused on religion, human decency, and ethics, of which he shared at the pulpit and in his Wilmington Star-News newspaper column. A significant amount of ephemera collected by Hall over the years is also included, as well as correspondence with several U.S. presidents, including Harry S. Truman, who was a friend of Hall's from Missouri.

Dates

Creation: 1850-1984, undated
Creation: Majority of material found within 1920-1980

Creator

Hall, B. Frank (Benjamin Franklin), 1908-1991 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Access to portions of this collection have been restricted in accordance with extant statutory restrictions. Contact staff at the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives & History (csencah@uncw.edu) for information on access to this collection.

Copyright Statement

Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical Note

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Hall was born in Wilmington, NC on February 26, 1908. He attended New Hanover High School, Davidson College, and then Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, where he received his Doctorate of Theology. He married his wife Adelaide, and they had three sons: John, Michal, and Frank. Hall later became a prominent pastor and professor in Wilmington, NC, after first working in Morehead City, NC and St. Louis, MO.

After moving back to Wilmington in 1949, Hall taught at and became an administrator for Wilmington College, where he helped found the Philosophy and Religion department, serving as its first chair from 1963-1975. He also worked with several local churches in Wilmington, including Pearsall Memorial Presbyterian and the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk in Wrightsville Beach, and in 1958 was the second president of the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society. Hall was also involved in the Civil Rights movement in Wilmington and strongly supported and advised Black students during his time at Wilmington College. He passed away on June 30, 1991 and is buried at Oakdale Cemetery.

Extent

11 Containers (Contains 4 bankers boxes, 3 document boxes, 1 artifact box, 1 oversize box, and 1 oversize folder.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into four series: Personal Papers; Essays, Outlines, and Manuscripts; Education and Teaching; and Ephemera. At the file level, material is arranged by topic.