Frank Alfred Butcher Hall was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi
in 1870, the son of former slaves. He came to Cincinnati in
1892 and operated a lunch stand in Walnut Hills for five years
until he was appointed a sub-patrolman of the Cincinnati Police
Department. In 1899 he was made a patrolman and rose through
the ranks until he reached the position of detective from
which he retired in 1926. He was the city's first African
American detective.
In 1931, Mr. Hall was elected to City Council and served
a two-year term but was defeated for re-election. He was the
first African American elected to Cincinnati City Council.
Frank A.B.
Hall.
Hall Photoprint Collection (Photo SC#14)
Cincinnati Historical Society Library.
Cincinnati Museum Center.
Mr. Hall was also very active in the community. He was trustee, steward
and chairman of the Building Committee of the Brown Chapel AME Church.
He was an ardent supporter of the freemasons. From 1925-1930, He was
the Ohio State Grand Master of the Prince
Hall Lodge. He was also a member of the Elks, the Universal Negro
Improvement Association, the Ancient United Knights and Daughters
of Africa, the Negro Civic Welfare Association, NAACP,
and president of Mercy Hospital from 1922 to 1926.
Frank A.B. Hall died March 11, 1934. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth
who lived to be 103, a daughter, Mabel, and a son, Arthur who was
a deputy sheriff.
To learn more about Frank A.B.
Hall, consult the following resources:
Hall
Photoprint Collection
Photo SC#14 and unprocessed collection
Photo collection SC#14 consists of 9 photographs. The Photograph
Department also has an unprocessed collection of 95 photos, donated
by his daughter, Mabel Hall Davidson. The photos, which cover from
the 1890s to the 1960s, include images of the Hall family and the
Davidson family, mostly unidentified. Mrs. Davidson was a teacher
at Wilberforce and a physical education teacher in the Cincinnati
Public Schools. View
catalog record
Request this
Sources Used for Biographical Sketch:
Obituary
of Frank Hall and tributes from various Cincinnati dignitaries
in The Crusader [newspaper], March 17, 1934.
Cincinnati Historical Society Library, Cincinnati Museum
Center.
Other newspaper obituaries, Cincinnati Historical
Society Library, Cincinnati Museum Center.
