Peter Hall (17 May 1851 – 1937) was a Gold Coast-born Jamaican teacher, missionary and Presbyterian clergyman who was elected the first Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, equivalent to the rank of chairperson of the synod or chief executive of the national church organisation, a position he held from 1918 to 1922. Hall was the son of John Hall, one of 24 West Indian missionaries who arrived in the Danish Protectorate of Christiansborg and worked under the auspices of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society.
Childhood and family Peter Hall was born at Akropong-Akwapim on the Gold Coast on 17 May 1851, the tenth child of eleven children of his parents. His parents, John and Mary Hall, had been born into slavery in Jamaica. The older Halls came to the Gold Coast in 1843 as part of a group of 24 Caribbean Moravian missionaries recruited by the Danish minister, Andreas Riis and the Basel Mission in 1843, to aid the work of the society in evangelism and formal education. Though his parents were Jamaicans, Peter Hall regarded himself as a native of Akropong-Akuapem.
His father, John Hall was born in Williamsfield, Jamaica in 1802 and was a rum distiller by occupation and Elder or Presbyter at the Irwinhill Moravian Church in Montego Bay. Mary Hall, his mother, was also born in Williamsfield in 1811 and was also a congregant at the Moravian church in Irwinhill, Montego Bay. When they arrived in colonial Ghana, John Hall was appointed the first Elder or Presbyter of the Christ Presbyterian Church, Akropong. John Hall performed a critical role in pioneering mission work with Christian converts at Akropong. Four of Peter Hall's siblings did not survive infancy in Jamaica and an additional five died after being born on the Gold Coast. Peter Hall had an older brother, Andrew, born on 18 January 1841 in Williamsfield. Andrew Hall later died in 1859 on the Gold Coast after a short spell in Germany. Hall's younger sister, the last child, Rebecca Hall (later Mrs. Clerk), born in August 1856, died in Christiansborg, Osu on the coast in 1920. The proclamation of emancipation that granted full freedom to slaves in the Commonwealth Realms of the British Empire was on 1 August 1838. In his autobiography, Peter Hall stated that his parents migrated to the Gold Coast as mission volunteers out of love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to prove to native Africans that there monogamous black Christians in the world. The West Indian group in 1843 comprised six distinct families and three bachelors: the Halls, Greenes, Miller, Mullings, Rochester, and Walkers, in addition to Clerk, Hosford and Robinson. On 27 May 1843, Mary Hall gave birth to a boy, Henry Hall at Frederiksgave, the old villa and royal plantation of the Danish Governor of the Gold Coast. The newly born child was baptised by the Basel missionary, Johann Georg Widmann who was part of the recruitment team that went to Jamaica in 1842, together with Andreas Riis and George Peter Thompson.Anquandah, James (2006). Ghana-Caribbean Relations – From Slavery Times to Present: Lecture to the Ghana-Caribbean Association. National Commission on Culture, Ghana: Henry Hall became a teacher-catechist in service of the Basel Mission and died at Abomosu many years later. The West Indians relocated to Akropong from Frederiksgave between 17 and 18 June 1843. It took five years for the first African native at Akropong to be baptised and the Halls decided to permanently make the Gold Coast their home. The Basel Mission gave the Hall family land for gardening and farming as well as a stone house. Cocoyam, mango, coffee, banana, plantain and pear were seedlings introduced to the Gold Coast food economy by Peter Hall's father and his West Indian colleagues in 1843.
Peter Hall recalled his mother, Mary affectionately calling him, “Last baby; little bowl” as a child and he was always found tied to her apron strings. His father was described as very strict and often flogged Peter Hall's older siblings for the least misconduct. His parents who were regular churchgoers often prayed with the family at bedtime. He was made to read a Bible verse once he became literate as a child. The Hall family lived on Hanover Street in Akropong where all the other West Indians lived in small stone houses. In his recollection, he stated, “When I was young, I remember that a bond of unity bound all the West Indians together. Instead of “Mr.” they used “brother” when referring to one another. It was Bro. Clerk or Bro. Miller and so on, and we the children always addressed them as “Uncle so and so” or “Aunt so and so.” Among ourselves, we referred to one another as ‘sister’ or ‘brother’” The community of brethren is a key tenet of the Moravian movement, from which the West Indians were raised.
A notable incident in his childhood was the 1854 naval bombardment of Osu by the British forces as revenge for the organised resistance to the then newly introduced poll tax. Hall recalled the fleeing of refugees, mostly traders, from Osu to Akropong. The refugees founded their own settlement, “Kotobaabi” near the mission house where the women sold corn bread (abolo), deep fried plantain, fried cakes (tatale), corn porridge (mpampa), malt or corn wine (ahai), Bambara beans (aboboi), parched groundnuts and corn. The poll tax dispute spread to Akropong where a tax collector named Neils Holm visited the town frequently to collect the tax paid in cowries (ntrama), with twenty-five strings of cowries equaling a shilling and a penny.
In 1871, there was an outbreak of smallpox at Akropong. Peter Hall's parents and two brothers were afflicted by the infectious disease. Unfortunately, one brother, James Hall, who had a wife and a daughter, died from the smallpox outbreak.
Education and training Peter Hall was first homeschooled by his mother. He did not start school until 1859 when he was about eight due to his asthmatic condition which was cured by an Islamic cleric and herbalist. The Muslim healer, a friend of Peter's father, John Hall, frequently visited their home and offered to help Peter Hall prescribing a potion to be used over three days. After that episode, he had a bout of intermittent fever making him bedridden for weeks before a certain Mr. Wood, a tenant f his father gave him some medication. With the influence of the Basel missionary, Auer, the inspector of schools and a family friend of the Halls, Peter Hall enrolled in the local primary school. Initially, he disliked formal leaning but with time he came to enjoy schooling. He received instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, Biblical studies, history, geography, science, music and religion. His teacher-catechists were alumni of the foundational or pioneer class of the Basel Mission Seminary, Akropong and included John Rochester (died in 1859), Paul Staudt Keteku, Philip Kwabi and Robert Miller. Flogging was an integral part of the enforcement of discipline in the Basel mission education experience. Many academically weak students fled the school after a short stay. In 1862, there was an earthquake at Akropong which terrified all pupils with the teacher almost jumping through the window. In September 1865, he entered the Basel Mission middle boarding school at Akropong which was under the headship of the Reverend Mader pending the arrival of the Rev. M. Bellon who was the incoming headmaster. He spent three years instead of the usual four to complete his education. Hall had an accelerated promotion to the fourth year as the original final year class had been dismissed for indiscipline. He was appointed the lamp lighter of the school, which made him exempt from his manual duties. His enjoyed studying Greek and devoted his free time to the study of the language. His tutor in Greek was the Rev. Simeon Koranteng. Peter Hall was also influenced by the no-nonsense disciplinarian and new principal, M. Bellon.
Peter Hall was confirmed on 16 February 1866 by the senior Basel missionary, the Rev. J. G. Widmann. Hall's chosen Scripture for the occasion was 2 Timothy 2:22: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
In 1868, Peter Hall entered the Basel Mission Seminary at Akropong to train as a teacher-catechist. The Rev. J. A. Mader was the principal at the time. Hall's classmates included W. Hyde, E. Ofori, W. Addo and Joshua Adaye. In his final year at the seminary, there was an outbreak of smallpox at Akropong and the college had to temporarily close down for four months. After the epidemic subsided, Peter Hall continued his studies and on 18 August 1872, he and his classmates were consecrated as teacher-catechists by the Rev. J. G. Widmann. One of his mentors, Johnson left him with the parting words, Matthew 16:24 “If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Teaching and Christian mission
Peter Hall and Joshua Adaye were appointed teachers at the Basel Mission boarding middle school at Akropong. Hall taught two classes and later became a housemaster. In 1878, after six years as a teacher catechist, Peter Hall was appointed the Itinerary Preachers’ Department for the whole of Akuapem. His duties involved preaching the Gospel in various towns and villages and submitting quarterly reports. He went to distant towns such as Nsakye and Nsawam, accompanied by the Rev. Dieterle. From 1880 to 1882, Peter Hall was appointed a catechist at Akropong where he was an assistant to the Rev. D. Eisenschmid. While at Akropong, he took three mission journeys to hinterland, at the invitation of the Rev. Joshua Miller. The first and second journeys were to the Kwahu area, where he met and worked with Rev. Fritz. Ramseyer who was later instrumental in the opening of a mission station in Asante. The third trip was to Buem and Akpafo. During one of the journeys, a heavy rainfall made him spending the night under an open hut sitting on his tin trunk as the ground was too wet for him to spread his mat.