Jonathan Hunt (September 12, 1738 – June 1, 1823) was an American pioneer, landowner and politician from Vernon, Vermont. He served as second lieutenant governor of Vermont and was a member of the prominent Hunt family of Vermont.

Early life

Hunt was born in Northfield, Massachusetts, the son of Captain Samuel Strong Hunt of Northampton and Ann (Ellsworth) Hunt of Windsor, Connecticut.The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Massachusetts, Vol. II, Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight, Joel Munsell, Albany, 1871 He was one of the earliest settlers of Vermont, and he began clearing land at Guilford, Vermont in 1758.Memorials of a Century, Embracing a Record of Individuals and Events Chiefly in the Early History of Bennington, Vermont, Isaac Jennings, Gould and Lincoln, Boston, 1869

There are indications that the Hunt family had ties to Vermont even earlier, when Hunt's grandfather Jonathan witnessed a 1687 Massachusetts deed conferring land in what was later Vermont by several Native Americans.Vermont: Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, Vol. III, E.P. Walton, J. & J.M. Poland, Montpelier, 1875 Hunt's father, Captain Samuel, had himself been the proprietor named in the charter of many New Hampshire towns.There are indications that the Strong family's push into Vermont may have been spurred, as with many Vermonters, by an independent cast of mind. Captain Samuel, a highly opinionated individual, was not always comfortable with the ruling Puritan-influenced oligarchs of Northampton and the surrounding Connecticut River Valley. Northampton was a hotbed of religious fervor since the days of Reverend Jonathan Edwards

Hunt and his associates were granted extensive tracts of land by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, as well as by patent from New York State and by purchase.Jonathan Hunt, virtualvermont.com

Political career Hunt held various political positions in Vermont, and served as sheriff of Windham County in 1781. He was high sheriff in 1782, and judge of the Windham County Court in 1783. He served as lieutenant governor of the state of Vermont from 1794 to 1796. In 1800, Hunt served as one of Vermont's presidential electors; Vermont was carried by the Federalists, and Hunt cast his ballots for Federalist candidates John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.Vermont: Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, Edited and Published by the Authority of the State, E. P. Walton, Montpelier, 1876

Hunt is considered one of the founders of Vermont as well as one of its earliest pioneers and largest landowners. He lived in Vernon, Vermont, the name suggested by his wife Lavinia (Swan) Hunt, a Massachusetts native and former pupil of President John Adams.

Vernon, Vermont When Hunt was instructed by the Vermont General Assembly to change the name of the town he represented from Hinsdale to Huntstown in his honor, he demurred. He asked his wife, who suggested "Vernon" instead, making it the only Vermont town said to be named by a woman.History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, Mass, 1901Vernon, Windham County, Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Abby Maria Hemenway, 1891, The Governor Hunt House, built by Hunt in 1779, and once featured in Herbert W. Congdon's "Old Vermont Houses," is now on the grounds of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.

Death and legacy Hunt died in Vernon on June 1, 1823. Governor Hunt Road in Vernon, Vermont is named for Hunt.

Family life Hunt was the great-great-grandson of Jonathan Hunt and his wife Mary Webster, daughter of Governor John Webster of the Connecticut Colony. Gov. John Webster, History of Hadley, Sylvester Judd, 1905The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Massachusetts, Vol. II, Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight, Joel Munsell, Albany, 1871

Hunt's brother General Arad Hunt, who also lived in Vernon, was general of the Vermont militia, a member of the Westminster Convention of 1777, and a prominent early backer of Middlebury College, to which he donated over of land in Albany, Vermont. Grant of land to Jonathan and Arad Hunt, Green Leaves from Whitingham, Vermont: A History of the Town, Clark Jillson, Worcester, Mass., 1894 He and his brother were among the largest speculators in Vermont lands, owning tens of thousands of acres across the state.Arad Hunt to Middlebury College grant, The American Quarterly Register, American Education Society, Andover, Mass., 1829

Hunt married Lavinia Swan on July 15, 1779. They had four children: Ellen Francis Hunt, Anne Hunt, Lavina S. Hunt and Jonathan Hunt. Their son was a U.S. congressman from Vermont,Annals of Brattleboro, 1681–1895, Mary Rogers Cabot, Brattleboro, 1921 and their daughter Ellen was married to Lewis R. Morris, U.S. congressman from Vermont and nephew of statesman Gouverneur Morris.Annals of Brattleboro, Mary Rogers Cabot

Hunt's brother-in-law Benjamin Swan served as Vermont's state treasurer for many years. His brother-in-law Timothy Swan was an eccentric composer and poet who lived in Suffield, Connecticut.The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Massachusetts, Vol. II, Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight, John F. Trow & Son, New York, 1874 His family became one of the most prominent in the entire state.

References

Further reading Vermont Place-Names: Footprints of History by Esther Munroe Swift

External links

The Hunt/Henshaw House, Deacon Jonathan Hunt family, Northampton, Mass., Megan Gardner, Smith College, 1997, sophia.smith.edu