Jesse Lee Hall

Who was Jesse Lee Hall?

Jesse Lee Hall was a Texas Ranger of the Old West, and is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, and was later a soldier.

Born Jesse Leigh Hall in Lexington, North Carolina, son to James King Hall and Frances Mebane Rankin Hall, he later changed the spelling of his middle name to Lee. Hall moved to Texas in 1869, starting off as a school teacher, but later signing on as a Town Marshal for Sherman, Texas, as well as a Deputy Sheriff for Denison, Texas. He also served as a Sergeant at Arms for the Texas Senate.

In August 1876, Hall joined the Texas Rangers, serving under Ranger legend Leander H. McNelly, and was immediately posted to the Nueces Strip, where he solved a recent bank robbery in Goliad, Texas. The robbery suspects fled to Mexico, but eventually the band was broken by Hall. By October 1876, McNelly was extremely ill, and Hall was appointed to take command. He immediately led Rangers to Cuero, Texas to break up the Sutton–Taylor feud. By January 1877, he and his supporting Rangers had ended the feud. In February of that year he split his forces to battle cattle rustling along the Rio Grande area, and to battle a band being led by gunman King Fisher.