-- [ From: Sanford B. Hunt III * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- Part 5 Early Hunts by Mitchell J. Hunt (This is a bit Long but worth it) ********************************** Hinsdale (now Vernon), Windham County JONATHAN HUNT 3-3-5-1-0 Subject Jonathan Hunt has the distinction of being one of the first to clear land in the territory which became Vermont and was one of the pioneers of Vermont in the Rev. War and the struggle for Independence and the creation of the Independent Republic of Vermont in which he was a member of the Legislature and Lieutenant Governor of the new State of Vermont in 1794 and 1795. In his lifetime he was a leader and one of the most outstanding citizens of southeastern Vermont, an extensive land speculator in the wilderness areas of Vermont from Massachusetts to the Canadian Border. The story of his life is summed up well in an obituary published at the time of his death 1 June 1823 in his eighty-fifth year: In early life, he shared in the fatigues and anxieties incident to the perilous state of those who plant themselves in the wilderness, liable to the privations and the depredations of savages. Preserving industry, strict integrity, laudable ambition, and well-deserved promotion to many honorable offices, civil and military, to that of lieutenant-governor of the State, rendered him a distinguished character during the struggles of the New Hampshire grantees and the New York claimants during the Revolutionary War, the formation of our State government...He preserved through his long life, and amidst his temporal prosperity, the most unassuming and unaffected deportment, and what is always honorable in the rich as well the poor, the reputation of an honest man. Jonathan's brother Arad (possibly living with Jonathan at the time of the 1791 census, and unmarried) shared a similar career, active in the Vermont Committee of Safety during the Revolution, and a General in the Vermont militia before his death. Like his brother Jonathan, Arad Hunt was an extensive speculator in wilderness lands in Vermont and New Hampshire, sharing with Jonathan (among other holdings) a large part of the early town of Lutterloch (which became Albany, VT). General Arad Hunt died 18 Feb. 1825 at age 82 and in his Will made large bequests of land to children of his brother Jonathan and gave to Middlebury College 5,000 acres of land in Albany, Orleans Co., VT. Their father, Capt. Samuel Hunt of Northfield, MA, was a participant and leader in many of the New Hampshire Charters for towns, a practice which was continued by his four sons Samuel, Jonathan, Elisha , and Arad. A good indication of the impact of this family on the development of Vermont may be found in the number of towns in which one or more of the family were listed as proprietors in the early New Hampshire Charters. The following can be found in New Hampshire State Papers, Vol. XXVI, Town Charters, Vol. III, Concord, NH, 1895: Arad Hunt: Fairlee, 9 Sept. 1761, with 61 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others. St. Albans, 17 Aug.1763, with 64 others. Windsor, 6 July 1761, with 57 others. Whitingham (Vermont Grant of 600 acres to Arad and Jonathan Hunt 15 Oct. 1787). Elisha Hunt: Hertford (Hartland), 10 July 1761, with 64 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others (Samuel and Elisha were "principal proprietors). St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763 with 64 others. Jonathan Hunt: Corinth, 4 Feb. 1764, with 65 others. Fairlee, 9 Sept. 1761, with 64 others. Hertford (Hartland), 10 July 1761, with 61 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others. St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763 with 64 others. Huntsburgh (changed to Franklin) (Vermont Grant of 23,040 acres to Jonathan Hunt and 50 others 19 March 1789). Whitingham (Vermont Grant of 600 acres to Arad and Jonathan, 15 Oct. 1787). Jonathan Hunt, Jr.: St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763 with 64 others. Stamford, 6 March 1763 with 59 others. Samuel Hunt: Cavendish, 12 Oct. 1763, with 70 others. Danby, 27 Aug. 1761 with 61 others. Fullum (became Dummerston), 27 Dec. 1753 with 49 others. Fairlee, 9 Sept. 1762, with 61 others. Hertford (now Hartland), 10 July 1761, principal proprietor, with 64 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others. St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763, with 64 others. Swanton, 17 Aug. 1763, not named as proprietor, but designated as Moderator for first proprietors'meeting. On list of petitioners on No. 19 petition. On Power of Attorney for Pownal inhabitants. Samuel Hunt, Jr.: Danby, 27 Aug. 1761, with 61 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others. Windsor, 6 July 1761, with 57 others. Other relatives of this family are also found among grantees in New Hampshire Charters: Eliphaz Hunt: (Eliphaz Hunt of Coventry, CT) Norwich, 5 July 1761 (see his brother Simeon in 1791 census). Ebeneezer Hunt: (Dr. Ebeneezer Hunt of Northampton, MA.) Arlington, 28 July 1761 with 61 others. Stamford, 6 March 1763, with 59 others; regranted 9 June 1764. Joel Hunt: St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763, with 64 others. John Hunt: Hertford (Hartland), 10 July 1761, with 64 others. Highgate, 17 Aug. 1763, with 63 others. Saltash (Plymouth), 6 July 1761, with 65 others. Rutland, 7 Sept. 1761, with 63 others. Westminster, 11 Nov. 1752, with 60 others. John Hunt, Jr.: St. Albans, 17 Aug. 1763, with 64 others. The above listing of NH Charters to towns in what became Vermont (with a few VT Charters or grants) does not, of course, cover the full scope of these Hunt Families investment in Vermont towns--lots in many other towns were purchased from the original proprietors. This is indicated by a listing of the real estate holdings of Capt. Samuel Hunt of Northfield, MA, and his sons Jonathan and Arad Hunt of Hinsdale (Vernon) given in Thomas Wyman's 1862-3 Genealogy of the Name and Family of Hunt. This listing is too extensive to go into here. This distinguished line of early Vermonters was continued through Jonathan's sons Jonathan and Arad. Son Jonathan, born 12 May 1787 (the 2d of this name, an earlier one lived only four months), graduated from Dartmouth in 1807, represented Brattleboro in the State Legislature in 1816-1817, was elected in 1821 the first President of the "Bank of Brattleborough" (which later absorbed many of the banks of the Vermont towns of the lower Connecticut River as far north as Woodstock) and in 1824 was elected Vermont's Representative in Congress where he served until his death in Washington in 1832, still a young man. His four sons (William Morris, Jonathan, Richard Morris, and Leavitt) were educated in Europe and each achieved prominence in different careers. William became a distinguished painter in Paris in 1848 and moved to Newport, RI , in 1855. Jonathan became a doctor in Paris, France, and died there. Richard became one of America's most distinguished architects in the 19th century. Leavitt combined a talent for photography with a legal profession and entered the army in the Civil War as an aide to General Heintzelman, later became a lawyer in New York, m. at Weathersfield, VT, Kate Jarvis, had two children b. at Weathersfield. and died at Weathersfield 16 Feb. 1907 (VVR). Lt. Gov. Jonathan Hunt m. relatively late in life 15 July 1779 Lovinah Swan of Boston. Her name is spelled in various records as Lavina, Levina, Lovina, Levinah, the latter on her gravestone in Vernon, VT, cemetery. Jacob Ullery's 1894 Men of Vermont in a story of their son Congressman Jonathan Hunt of Brattleboro describes her as "a woman of superior intellectual endowments, a former pupil of President John Adams, and their home in Vernon, with its wealth and generous hospitality, was long a social center for the best and brainiest people in New England." Their home, a square frame structure in what is now Vernon Village, was indeed a masterpiece, featured in Congdon's Old Vermont Houses, plain on the outside (the Hunts were not ones to flaunt their wealth) but exquisitely modeled and decorated on the inside. The old house has survived the "progress of civilization", but with difficulty. A large power dam was constructed at the old Jonathan Hunt estate on the Connecticut River at Vernon Village, and in the mid-20th century, Yankee Power and Light constructed an atomic energy plant at the site. The old Jonathan Hunt House still stands, used (in 1974 and later) for training classes at the atomic energy plant and an extension of a modern office for Yankee Power and Light. Genealogy of Lt. Gov. Jonathan Hunt Jonathan Hunt, b. 12 Sept. (per Wyman, 23 Sept. per gravestone) 1738, among the early proprietors of many Vermont towns and among the earliest settlers of what is now Vermont (cleared land in what became the town of Guilford as early as 1758), settled in Hinsdale (now Vernon--the early town of Hinsdale was on both sides of the Connecticut River in NH and VT and when Vermont became a State the residents of the Vermont side chose to change the name of their town to Vernon); built a house in what is now Vernon Village, one of the oldest houses still in use in Vermont, and an architectural classic in its time; was High Sheriff of Cumberland County in Rev. War times; Major and leader in the Committee of Safety of Cumberland County in the Rev. War; prominent member of the Vermont Legislature in its early days and Lt. Gov. of Vermont in 1794 and 1795; died at Vernon 1 June 1823, buried with family at cemetery in Vernon, a few miles north of the village. He m. 15 July 1779 Lovinah Swan of Boston who survived her husband and died at Vernon 29 June 1834, age 85, buried with her husband in Vernon cemetery. Had children: 1. Jonathan Hunt, b. 12 Aug 1780; died 14 Dec. 1780. 2. Ellen Hunt (called Helen by Wyman and some others, and shown as Eleanor and Elinor in her father's Will), b. 19 Oct 1781, m. in Aug 1801 the Hon. Lewis R. Morris, Congressman from Vermont. Ellen and her sister Fanny were known as great beauties in their day. Ellen once accompanied her husband on a venture of "redeeming" wild lands on the Blue River in New York near Ogdensburg and made such an impression that the town of Ellenboro was named after her. She had six children including son Richard Morris, a naval officer who died young. Her nephews William and Richard Hunt assumed the middle name of Morris in honor of their Aunt Ellen. 3. Fanny Hunt, b. 7 Feb. 1783, m. Charles Blake who died 20 April 1841 at age 70. Fanny died 8 July 1856 at age 73, buried at Northfield, MA. 4. Jonathan Hunt, b. 12 May 1787; Vermont State Representative, first president of Brattleboro Bank, and member of Congress from Vermont from 1827 until his death in Washington, DC, 14 May 1832. He m. Jane Maria Leavitt of Suffield, CT. After the death of her husband Jane moved with her five children to New Haven, CT, to be near her mother, then in 1838 moved to Boston to prepare for the entrance of her eldest son William at Harvard College. In 1842, William having dropped out of college, and being quite ill with a low cough, Jane was advised to take William to a warmer climate in the South or in Italy, and that fall took her children to Europe, intending to spend the winter. However, she became so captivated by the social life and the educational opportunities for the children in Europe that she remained there, primarily in Paris, where the children were educated and all became distinguished professional people and artists. In 1855, son Richard (having become a distinguished architect) decided to return to the States and the rest of the family, except son Jonathan, also returned. Jane and daughter Jane took up residence in New York City where mother Jane died in late December 1876 and was buried with her parents in their family plot at Suffield, CT. Had children: a. Jane Hunt, b. 31 Aug. 1822 at her grandfather Leavitt's home at Suffield, CT, where her mother was living while the father completed a house at Brattleboro. Never married and was living with her mother in New York City at the time of mother's death in 1876. b. William Morris Hunt, b. 31 March 1824 at Brattleboro; attended Harvard College a few years and moved with his family to Europe where he studied art and became one of America's leading artists in the 19th century. He returned to the United States in 1855 and m. 18 Oct. 1855 Eliza Dumaresq Perkins by whom he had three children. The marriage turned out to be unfortunate and they separated, the children going with the mother. Frustrated by family and professional affairs, William ended his life by drowning at his summer home at Isle of Shoals, NH, 8 Sept 1879, soon after completing two of his finest works--Columbus, the Discoverer, and Anahita, the Flight of Night--two large murals for the Assembly Hall of the new State Capitol at Albany, NY. Had children: Morris, b. 24 July 1856; Ellen, b. 13 Nov. 1858; and Guid, b. 12 Sept. 1861. c. Jonathan Hunt, b. June 1825 at Brattleboro; went with his mother and siblings to Europe and educated at Paris where he became a distinguished doctor. There he fell in love with a young French girl of a working class with whom he lived the rest of his life, but never married, social distinctions in Paris at the time making such a marriage unthinkable at first, and later an action not desired by his common-law wife Celestine for fear of ruining his career. They had a daughter Jeanne who was driven insane by taunts of her schoolmates. Torn by loyalty and guilt for Celestine and Jeanne and the obligations of his profession, Jonathan took his own life in 1874. In the words of his sister-in-law, Catherine (Howland) Hunt, one of the few to know of his problem (and from whose journal on the family of Richard Morris Hunt this and other fascinating stories on the life of the families are taken), "he was born with an inconsequent nature, but a warm heart, which made all love him, who was brought into contact with him." d. Richard Morris Hunt, b. 31 Oct. 1828 at Brattleboro, educated at private schools and at the Boston Latin School; went with his mother and siblings to Europe where he was educated at Switzerland and at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Paris where he was a pupil and colleague of Lefuel, architect to Emperor Napoleon III. He soon earned the reputation of a brilliant architect and had a great future in Europe which he chose to pass up to return to the States. The reasons (as stated by his wife Catherine Howland Hunt in her journal) as follows: "It has been represented to me that America was not ready for the Fine Arts, but I think they are mistaken. There is no place in the world where they are more needed, or where they should be more encouraged...Why should not our public hotels...rival or even surpass the palaces of Europe? It is the same thing in painting or any branch of the Arts, merit must eventually command its position with us. There are no greater fools in America than in any other part of the world; the only thing is that the professional man with us has got to make his own standing." "His success is written in the reputation he achieved as one of America's greatest architects of the 19th century, a founder and first president of the American Society of Architects." The wealthy families of America sought a mansion designed by Richard Morris Hunt and many remain in various parts of the Eastern United States as "his monuments"--luxurious homes at Newport, RI, the US Naval Observatory, the Colombian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair), the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. He died in New York City 31 July 1895. While visiting in Newport, RI, in 1860, he met Catherine (Kate) Howland, dau. of Samuel Howland, Esq., of New York City, and they were m. in 1861, and immediately went off for a combined honeymoon and recuperation from illness (which troubled Richard Hunt throughout his life) to Europe, the first of many trips of business and pleasure. Their first son Richard Howland Hunt was b. in Paris 14 March 1862--he was educated at MIT and Ecole Des Beaux Arts at Paris, like his father became a distinguished American Architect, m. Pearl Carley and had children Richard Carley Hunt, Jonathan Hunt, Frank Carley Hunt, and Catherine Hunt. The four other children of Richard Morris Hunt were: Catherine M. Hunt who m. Admiral Livingston Huit; Joseph Howland Hunt who m. Mazie LaShelle; Herbert Leavitt Hunt; and Esther Hunt. e. Leavitt Hunt, b. 22 Feb. 1829 at Brattleboro; went with his mother and siblings to Europe and studied in Switzerland and Germany, law degree from Heidelberg University; photographer and traveler in Egypt and the East; returned to America in 1855 with his mother and continued study of law at Cambridge; m. in 1860 Kate Jarvis of Weathersfield, VT, dau. of U. S. Consul Jarvis; entered the army in the Civil War in 1861 as an aide to General Heintzelman; became a distinguished lawyer in New York City; died at Weathersfield 16 Feb. 1907. Had son b. at Weathersfield 27 Aug. 1867 (prob. Clyde DuVernet Hunt) and dau. Mina Katherine Hunt, b. NY ca. 1868, of Weathersfield when she m. Francis Brown Hayes at Weathersfield 8 Sept. 1885. 5. Arad Hunt, b. 22 Sept. 1790, m. Sally Newell of Coleraine, MA, died at Vernon 30 Aug. 1833. Wyman (op.cit., p. 190) provides a touching obituary mentioning among other things that "while in the first bloom of manhood, he was assailed by a disease which neither admitted of cure, nor scarcely the hope of mitigation...During the last eight or nine years of his life, he was confined almost exclusively to his bed; suffering, from alternate distress and lassitude, the slow exhaustion of an originally vigorous constitution." Had children: a. Arad Hunt, b. 15 March 1804, m. Emeline Purple, died at Sturgis, MI in 1846. Had children: Emeline Adelia Hunt, b. 1837, m. Edward L. Draper of Boston; and Lavina Seymour Hunt b. 1839, m. John Tyler. b. Frances Hunt, b. 7 Aug. 1815, m. in 1836 Gouveneur Morris, Esq. c. Levinah Hunt, b. 9 Dec. 1817, m. Henry Seymour of Litchfield, CT, died 15 June 1873, buried in Vernon Cemetery. d. Martha Hunt, b. 27 Nov.1819; died 9 March 1850, buried in Vernon Cemetery. e. Sarah N. Hunt, b. 7 May 1821, m. at Springfield, MA, 10 Feb. 1841 Dr. George Seymour of Litchfield, CT; died at Litchfield 21 April 1843; buried at Vernon, VT, Cemetery. f. Roswell Hunt, b. 1823 at Brattleboro, died at Elmira, NY in 1877, buried in Vernon Cemetery. g. John Hunt, b. 1825, died 21 May 1827 at age 2 yrs, 2 mos. h. John Hunt, b. 16 April 1830. Was a Captain in the Civil War, from Vernon, VT; m. 10 March 1851 Leonora H. Johnson (per Wyman--VVR gives her last name as Gordon). Had children: Ellen Morris Hunt, b. 1854; Arad Hunt, b. 1857; Leonora Hunt, b. 1859. i. Rowland Hunt, b. 13 Feb. 1832; "merchant of Boston" (in 1862-3, according to Wyman); died at Brattleboro in 1878, buried in cemetery at Vernon, VT. Wyman (and others) report that Lt. Gov. Jonathan Hunt had an older daughter Anne by a presumed earlier wife. This is an error due probably because in his Will of 1813 Jonathan Hunt refers to "his daughter Anna Marsh, widow of the late Doctor Pearley Marsh" and in a codicil of 1817 makes a similar reference. However, in a codicil of 1821 he mentions his "daughters Elenor Morris and Fanny Blake" and makes a separate bequest to Anna Marsh. The Will of Anna Marsh, who lived a long life in Hinsdale, NH, and is buried there, refers to Jonathan's daughter "Helen" as her cousin, and her year of birth (1769) on her gravestone makes it clear that she was the Anna Hubbard, b. 9 July 1769, dau. of Jonathan Hunt's sister Anne, b. 23 Oct. 1736, who m. the Rev. John Hubbard of Northfield, MA, and died at Northfield 11 March 1795 following death of her husband 28 Nov 1794. It would appear that Jonathan Hunt took a fatherly interest in his orphaned niece Anna and called her "daughter" in his original Will and first codicil. Anna was a person of some note in Vermont History because the experiments of her husband with treatment for the insane led her to endow and become one of the founders of the famous Brattleboro Retreat. *** (This treatment of the pioneer Jonathan Hunt of Vermont, lengthy as it is, just scratches the surface of the history of Jonathan Hunt, his ancestors and descendants. For further details, see Mitchell J. Hunt, The Hunt Families of Vernon, VT, July 1977, Rev. Sept. 1978, copies on file at GSV, Vermont Historical Society at Montpelier, NEHGS at Boston, CT State Library, Library of Congress, Sandy Hunt pgss23a@prodigy.com, and other places.)