Biographical Sketch of Dr. Charles William Hall
January 3, 1890 – January 16,1973
Charles William Hall was born January 3, 1890, the second child and first son of John Henry and Malinda Jameson Hall in Greenwood, Sebastian, Arkansas. “Charles obtained his education in the schools of his native town and received his professional training in the medical department of the University of Arkansas, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1915.” Following graduation, he practiced medicine in Greenwood except for a short time he spent in Booneville, AR. At the time of his death he had practiced fifty-seven years in the area of Greenwood, longer than any other physician.” 1
Dr. Hall married Minnie Ramay February 8, 1917. They raised a son, Robert, and a daughter, Norma.
In October, 1918 the Arkansas Democrat reported: Fort Smith- “Dr. A. E. Hardin of this city, chairman of the Red Cross emergency committee which was organized when the epidemic of Spanish influenza broke out here, telegraphed for assistance today on behalf of the citizens of Greenwood to the Southwestern headquarters of the American Red Cross at St. Louis.
The three practicing physicians at Greenwood, Dr. J. T. Perry, Dr. B. L. Ware and Dr. C. W. Hall, are ill with the disease and a large number of citizens are also afflicted. How many cases there are at Greenwood is not known because with the illness of the physicians there is no one to report them. It is impossible to obtain medical assistance of permanent character from physicians in surrounding towns because they have so many patients at home.
Two deaths occurred at Greenwood last night, a young man about 22 years of age and a girl, aged 16. They are the first fatalities in the epidemic at Greenwood.
The schools, churches and theatres at Greenwood have been closed for two weeks and a rigid quarantine is being maintained.”2
“Dr. Hall often said the greatest thrill of his over fifty-five years of practice, was the voice of a new-born babe. He estimated he had heard that voice between four and five thousand times. In the early days of his practice, the price for delivering a baby was between $7.50 and $10.00, though he delivered many for $5.00. He delivered others for a ham, a calf, a pig, chickens, a side of bacon, one time for a sack of peanuts, and one time for a half bushel of sweet potatoes.” Before owning a car, Dr. Hall went to his patients by horse and buggy, wagon, horseback, and “afoot”. Most of the time, patients refused to go to the hospital, and a surgeon from Fort Smith came to the patient’s home, the neighbor women sterilized sheets and acted as assistant nurses to Dr. Hall and the surgeon, while the operation was performed on a kitchen or dining room table. In 1917, Dr. Hall himself, because of a ruptured appendix, made the trip by hack and train to the hospital in Fort Smith.
Dr. Hall was a life member of the American Medical Association, the Arkansas Medical Society, and the Sebastian County Medical Society; a past president of the Sebastian County Medical Society, and the Tenth Councilor District Medical Society; a Mason; a faithful member of the Baptist Church, serving as a deacon for fifty years; had served as County Health Officer of the Greenwood District for forty-eight years; served on the City Council; was a member of the Greenwood School Board for fifteen years, and served as Athletic Department physician.
Dr. Hall died January 16, 1973 at the age of 83 and is buried in Liberty Cemetery in Greenwood.
1 Physicians and Medicine Crawford and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas 1817-1976, p. 364
2 Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, Arkansas) October 18, 1918, Page 16
John T. Mitchell, BBA
November 19, 2022