Robert Hall Sr’s most important writing was “Help to Zion’s Travelers.” Having recently finished re-reading it, I want to give you an overview of this valuable book and make some observations.
My copy of “Help to Zion’s Travelers” is an 1814 printing that claims to be the First American Edition. It was published by John Paradise in Alexandria, VA, and printed by J. Rakestraw of Philadelphia. John Paradise was the second pastor of the Baptist Church in Alexandria from 1811 to 1816 when he resigned due to ill health. There is a record that shows him to be a witness in the manumission of several black slaves. Since there are known to have been black members of the church, it seems likely that this Virginia Baptist pastor was against slavery. Joseph Rakestraw was a long-time, prominent Quaker printer in Philadelphia who bought some of his equipment from Benjamin Franklin.