Claude was born a freeman, not a slave in Berwyn, Oklahoma, within the Chickasaw Nation. His mother Saphronia was enslaved by one of the Kemps, in the Chickasaw Nation.
Being literate early on, he made history becoming one of the first Chickasaw Freedmen to emerge as an educator.
While a young man, because of his high degree of literacy, he was appointed as the first black teacher at a Freedmen School in Tishomingo where a large Freedmen settlement resided. Hall was one of the few Freedmen educators in Indian Territory.
In 1901, Claude married Carrie Williams, and they had four children. Being an educated man, he emphasized education among his own young children.
Claude passed away young in 1908, but he instilled a spirit of determination in his young children. They were told of his accomplishments and followed in his footsteps. His son Ira DeVoyd Hall continued his father’s legacy attending Langston University and emerged as a noted Oklahoma educator, becoming a teacher and later principal and superintendent of schools located in Clearview Oklahoma.
He was able to instill a love of education among the Chickasaw Freedmen community as well as his family.
Claude DeVoyd Hall brought much to the Freedmen of the Chickasaw Nation and should not be forgotten.
Threads of Untold History