he was in the minority. He was badly beaten by Federalist Richard Bassett when he ran for governor in 1798. He ran again in 1801 against Episcopalian Nathaniel Mitchell, a professed "Deist," and a person openly critical of Methodists. Hall emphasized his Presbyterian faith, and in spite of losing Kent and Sussex Counties again badly, he won Presbyterians in New Castle County by such a large margin that he carried the state by 18 votes. The Federalists considered using the recently passed Alien and Sedition Acts to try to nullify some of the recent immigrant New Castle County vote, but with their continued control of the General Assembly, they grudgingly "allowed" him to take office. Hall served as governor from January 19, 1802 until January 15, 1805. During this time Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours bought the old Jacob Broom cotton mills on Brandywine Creek and began his gunpowder business. This was also the point of the greatest abolitionist sentiment in Delaware, when the General Assembly failed by one vote to enact a gradual emancipation bill. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House in 1805 against James M. Broom; and again in 1812 for the seat won by the Federalist candidate, Thomas Cooper. The next year he was named a judge of the Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. Death and legacy Hall died at Lewes, and is buried there in the Lewes Presbyterian Church cemetery. The Col. David Hall House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Almanac Elections were held the first Tuesday of October. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and had a three-year term. Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas were selected by the General Assembly for the life of the person appointed. References External links Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States Delaware’s Governors The Political Graveyard Website of the Delaware Historical Society Library website of the University of Delaware Society of the Cincinnati American Revolution Institute 1752 births 1817 deaths American Presbyterians People from Lewes, Delaware Continental Army officers from Delaware Delaware lawyers Delaware Democratic-Republicans Governors of Delaware Delaware Court of Common Pleas judges Burials in Sussex County, Delaware Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States People of colonial Delaware County officials in Delaware 19th-century American lawyers