KIMBALL UNION ACADEMY
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��the care of Rev. Wm. Eaton, of Fitch- burg, Mass.
He was ordained pastor of the church in Concord, Vt.,in 1823. In visiting the schools of the town he be- came convinced that more could be accomplished for their good by teach- ing the teachers, than in any other way. He made arrangements with his people to establish a school for elevating the character of the teachers, and in this way advancing the interests of schools. Such an institution was established in that retired part of the country in 1S23. It was soon known and patronized. It is said to have been the first school in the land where the black-board was introduced.
In this school Mr. Hall gave a course of lectures, which were pub- lished in 1S29. They drew attention to him as a teacher, and to his work — the importance of providing qualified instructors for schools. The Hon. Henry Barnard said of this school, "Here, in an obscure corner of New England, under the hand of one who was, to a remarkable degree, self- taught, self-prompted, and alone in planning it, was an institution with all the characteristics of a normal school, eighteen years before the establish- ment of any other institution of the kind in the country. Said Mr. Quint, in his history of normal schools, " what the state failed to do was done by one whom we are proud to reckon a pastor of a Congregational church."
In 1830 Mr. Hall was called to the instruction of teachers in connection with Phillips Academy, in Andover, Mass., where he successfully conducted his work for seven or eight years. The influence of his instruction was ex- tensively felt, and commended itself to the good sense of the people. But a regard for his health made it neces- sary for Mr. Hall to leave the cold winds of Andover.
In 1836 he commenced work in Plymouth, N. H., where he taught three years. But his mind had been early drawn to the ministry, and upon this work he again entered in Crafts-
��bury, Vt., in 1S39. In this field he was permitted to labor thirteen years. The larger portion of the time he was acting principal of an academy in connection with his work in the minis- try. In this time he received to the church one hundred members. From this place he removed to Brownington and labored on a salary of $400 a year for twelve years, and gathered into the church sixty members. Here he died in 1S77, aged 81.
Mr. Hall had great persistency and enthusiasm in whatever he engaged — breadth of generalization and ability to labor. These were the characteris- tics of the man.
He was the author of nine distinct publications, beside numerous contri- butions to the Journal of Education and to other periodicals.
He received from Dartmouth Col- lege the degree of A. M., and from the University of Vermont the degree of LL. D.
George Freeman, from Hanover, was at Meriden in 1816; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1822 ; stud- ied theology with the class under the president and professors of the college.
He was ordained as a home mis- sionary in 1S25 ; became the pastor of the church in Pulaski, N. Y., in 1828.
In the course of his life he was much engaged in teaching.
His last pastoral charge was in Par- ma, N. Y.
It may be said of him that he was a faithful and devoted servant of his Lord — useful every where and at all times.
Seth Farnsworth, from North Charlestown, a shoe-maker by trade, entered the school in 1817. Diligent and earnest in his studies, he entered the college in 1818; graduated in 1822, and studied theology with the class under the officers of the college, and was settled in the ministry in Ray- mond in 1 8 24.
In this ministry he surpassed all the expectations of his teachers, and was one of the useful and acceptable min-
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