James Edward Hall (August 22, 1851 - May 3, 1889) was a socialist trade union organizer and politician. He is best remembered as one of the organizers of the New York Central Labor Union and one of the first American socialists nominated for high political office, heading the New York state ticket of the Socialist Labor Party of America as its candidate for Governor in 1888.
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J. Edward Hall was born August 22, 1851, in Glen Cove which was then a village in Queens County, and is now a city in Nassau County on Long Island. He attended the common schools, and became a machinist by trade.
Hall helped to organized the national trade district of the Machinery Constructors union and was the secretary of that organization through 1888.[1] He was also one of the organizers of the Central Labor Union of New York in 1882.[1]
Hall was an early member of the American Section (i.e. English-speaking branch) of the Socialist Labor Party of America.[1]
In the election of 1887, Hall was nominated as the candidate of the Progressive Labor Party for Secretary of State.[1] In 1888, the Socialist Labor Party chose to run a state ticket under its own name for the first time and Hall was selected to head the ticket as candidate for Governor of New York, and polled 3,348 votes (about 0.25% of the total).[1]
Hall died of tuberculosis at his residence at 1,911 Third Avenue, on May 3, 1889. He left a widow and four children. His funeral was attended by hundreds of socialists from around New York and a parade of 500 escorted the carriage bearing the coffin to the ferry at Astoria, New York, from which the remains were taken to the crematory at Fresh Pond, Long Island.[2]