David Hall ( Delaware governor ) David Hall ( January 4 , 1752 – September 18 , 1817 ) was an American lawyer and politician from Lewes , in Sussex County , Delaware . He was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution , and member of the Democratic - Republican Party , who served as Governor of Delaware . Early life and family . Hall was born in Lewes , Delaware , son of David and Mary Kollock Hall . His grandfather was Nathaniel Hall , who known as " the Indian Fighter . " He came to Delaware from Connecticut in 1700 . His father , David Hall , Sr . was a well known farmer from around Lewes , who was a Justice of the Peace and a frequent member of the Colonial Assembly from 1753 until the American Revolution . In 1776 , David Jr . married Catherine Tingley , daughter of Samuel Tingley , the Rector of St . Peter ' s Episcopal Church . They had six children : Elizabeth , Mary , Jane , Catherine , Lydia , and Martha . In time he built a home at 107 Kings Highway , across the road from the Zwaanandael Museum . They were members of the Lewes Presbyterian Church . Military career . Hall studied law and was admitted to the Bar in New Castle , Delaware , in 1773 . Already a member of the Sussex County militia under General Dagworthy , he joined the 1st Delaware Regiment at the beginning of the War of Independence and served as captain under Colonel John Haslet at the battles of Long Island and White Plains . Following Haslet ' s death at Princeton in January 1777 , he became the leader of the regiment , and was promoted to colonel in April 1777 . He led the regiment at the Battle of Brandywine and again at the Battle of Germantown where he was wounded on October 4 , 1777 . The following year he spent recovering , recruiting new soldiers in Wilmington and serving on Courts Martial . He returned to active service in June 1779 at the Middlebrook encampment , spent the inactive summer with the regiment , but returned home in October 1779 , complaining of his wound and lack of provisioning . When the Delaware Regiment went to South Carolina in April 1780 , Hall did not go . Responding to his continuing requests , the General Assembly authorized some payment , but it was never enough , and finally , in April 1782 , Hall resigned his commission . Political career . Meanwhile Hall pursued his law practice in Lewes and entered politics . He was a Jeffersonian Democrat - Republican , like most Presbyterians , but in Anglican Lewes , 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 .