The Rev. Thomas Hunt Hall, M.D.

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Reverend Thomas Hunt Hall, M.D. and yes, that title carries two callings at once, which tells you something right there. Born on November 29, 1839, Thomas Hunt Hall was a Georgia man by origin. But in 1854, he came to Texas and put down roots in Smith County, and Texas, it seems, was ready to make something of him.

He came from a line of Methodist ministers, his father before him, his grandfather before that, and when a family has that kind of gravity pulling at a man, well, he followed. Thomas Hunt Hall became a Methodist minister, carrying on what two generations had already laid down. Then the Civil War arrived and rearranged the plans of a great many men.

Hall enlisted in the Confederate Army and served in the 14th Texas Cavalry. When the war was done, he didn't simply settle into the pulpit and call it a life. He studied medicine.

He opened a practice, serving people in both Smith and Henderson counties. So here was a man riding out to tend the body and the soul both, depending on what the hour required. By 1895, he had settled in the New York community, still holding both of those titles.

He died on September 5, 1914. Two generations had handed him one calling. He went ahead and added a second.

Some men answer one purpose. Thomas Hunt Hall answered two.

What the marker says

(November 29, 1839 - September 5, 1914) A native of Georgia, Thomas Hunt Hall came to Texas in 1854 and settled in Smith County. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he became a Methodist minister. He enlisted in the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the Civil War and served in the 14th Texas Cavalry. Afterwards, he studied medicine and opened a practice in Smith and Henderson counties. Active as both a minister and doctor, he settled in the New York community in 1895.