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Herman Hunt

Herman Hunt

Male 1824 - 1862  (38 years)  Submit Photo / DocumentSubmit Photo / Document    Has 54 ancestors and 9 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Herman Hunt 
    Birth 14 Oct 1824  Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 16 Dec 1862  Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Initiatory (LDS) 7 Oct 2011  PAPEE Find all individuals with events at this location 
    FamilySearch ID LHNQ-RGR 
    Burial Saranac Cemetery, Ionia, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I74562  mytree
    Last Modified 25 Feb 2024 

    Father Ormand Hunt,   b. 4 Jan 1794, Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Mar 1861, Lowell, Kent, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 67 years) 
    Mother Delia Noyes,   b. 18 Aug 1800, Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Oct 1822 (Age 22 years) 
    Marriage 3 Oct 1820  Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F25868  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elizabeth English,   b. 14 Dec 1825, Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Marriage 29 Sep 1852  Ionia, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Ormond Fremont Hunt,   b. 4 Sep 1856, Boston Township, Ionia, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. Elizabeth Mary Hunt,   b. 1860, Boston Township, Ionia, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
    +3. Edson Hale Hunt,   b. 25 May 1853, Boston Township, Ionia, Michigan, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Feb 1937 (Age 83 years)
    Family ID F25888  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 21 Nov 2024 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 14 Oct 1824 - Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 29 Sep 1852 - Ionia, Michigan, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 16 Dec 1862 - Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsInitiatory (LDS) - 7 Oct 2011 - PAPEE Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Saranac Cemetery, Ionia, Michigan, United States Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Email from Gar Watson.


      Herman Hunt was the second son of Ormond Hunt and Delia Noyes. He was bo r n in Tunbridge, VT in 1824, and emigrated with his family to Michigan a ro und the age
      of 12 in 1836. Though not a "forty-niner," he went to California for t h e "Gold Rush" with Dr. Cyrenus Kelsey of Saranac, leaving home on 30 M a r 1850. They made it to Hangtown or Placerville by 10 Aug 1850, but th e h ardships of their journey took it's toll on Dr. Kelsey who died soo n afte r. For the sake of his own health, by December Herman decided to h ead bac k home to Michigan. Having made the trip west across land, he ret urned b y boat via Nicaragua, New Orleans, Havana and New York. Returnin g poore r then he left, he wrote in his journal he had "seen the Elephant ." Tha t was a consolatory phrase for those who endured hardship on the C aliforn ia trail to find disappointment in the end. He had taken his chan ce to se e the world, but the hardships endured lead to disappointment in stead.

      After his return, he married Elizabeth English on 29 Sep 1852. Having so l d his share of the original family homestead in Boston township, Ioni a co unty, Herman
      and Elizabeth set up housekeeping in a log house, on the farm which he h a d bought, just east of Saranac. Their three children were born in the l o g house, and the family lived there until 1864, when a frame house wa s bu ilt across the road. A kitchen was added to the frame house in 1880 . A ro w of maples along the road was set out by Herman Hunt in 1860.

      When Company I, of the 21st Michigan Infantry Regiment was organized Aug u st 19, 1862, and Herman Hunt was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant. His wi f e insisted he
      had been given a field promotion to Captain, but was never able to pro v e this to the government and only received the widow's pension for a Li eu tenant.

      Word was sent back home to Michigan that Herman was in a hospital in Nas h ville. His brother Simeon and brother-in-law John English started o n a tr ip to help bring Herman back to Michigan. Along the way they wer e sen t a telegraph by a surgeon who told them Lt Hunt's condition was im provin g. Sadly the man had not taken the time to get the given names cor rect an d confused Herman with a Lt Hunt from Ohio.

      In a letter dated December 1862, Simeon Hunt wrote to Herman's widow Eli z abeth:

      "Oh how much I would have given could we have reached Nashville before H e rman died - but it was impossible - he died at 1/2 past 3 P M and we d i d not arrive there until 8 in the evening.

      Oh I cannot realize yet that Herman is dead! It was so unexpected to u s f rom the Dispatch we received from the surgeon we had hoped to find hi m be tter - and thought in a few days we should be able to bring him hom e wit h us - but it appears that there was another Lieut. Hunt (from Ohio ) at t he same Hospital and the surgeon did not take the trouble to fin d out the ir given names."

      As a firm believer in education, after Herman's death, Elizabeth sent h e r oldest son Edson Hale Hunt to Michigan Agricultural College (now MSU ) , to help him better manage the family farm. After Edson's graduatio n i n 1877, he returned home to run the farm, while Elizabeth moved to An n Ar bor, where she put her son Ormond Fremont and Mary Elizabeth throug h th e State University (now U of M).