Hunt
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Hunt Surname Genealogy
The Hunt surname is derived from the Old English hunta meaning "to hunt." Like its Border surname equivalent Hunter, Hunt was originally used to describe a huntsman. The term was not just for the hunting of stags and wild boar that was the pastime of kings but also for humbler pursuits such as bird catching.
England. The Hunt surname distribution shows a fairly wide spread, from Lancashire and the Midlands to the south and southwest. Early Hunts were:
Ireland. Hunt in Ireland can be of English or of Irish origin. If English it is the name brought by settlers to Ireland in the 17th century (as with the Hunts of Danesfort in Cork). If Irish, it can be anglicization of the Gaelic sept O'Fiachna found in county Roscommon. The Doorty township in Roscommon contained a sizeable number of these Hunts, many of whom were tenant farmers there.
John Hunt, born in London, came to Ireland in 1939 and settled in Limerick where he became well-known as an antiquarian and art collector. After his death in 1976, his collection has been housed at the Hunt Museum in Limerick.
America. Ralph Hunt was an early colonist of Long Island who arrived there in 1652 when it was still Dutch territory.
His son Samuel was a wealthy landowner in Hunterdon county New Jersey and a later Hunt - known as Miller James Hunt - was one of the pioneers of the New Jersey Hopewell community. The Hunt line subsequently went south to Rowan county, North Carolina and then to Missouri.
John Hunt was a prominent Quaker minister from the Moorestown township in New Jersey. He kept a diary, most of which has been preserved, from 1770 to 1824. A descendant was Alfred Hunt, the first president of what was to become the Bethlehem Steel Company.
Theodore Hunt, a New Jersey native, had moved to St. Louis in 1814 after a brief spell as a sea captain. His son Charles was a prominent member of the pro-Confederate "Knights of the Golden Circle" in Missouiri in the years building up to the Civil War.
Canada. In 1832 John Hunt and his wife Latetia from Ireland were one of the first settlers of Fitzroy township, Ontario. The Hunts stayed in Fitzroy and, one hundred years later, celebrated their centennary there.
Charles Hunt, who had fought in the Crimean War, was a later settler from England. He arrived in 1863, settled in Rydal Bank Ontario, married and raised seven children there. The town of Huntsville in Ontario is probably named after George Hunt who arrived with his family there in 1869.
Australia. Henry Hunt was an early arrival, having been transported from England to Tasmania in 1829. After obtaining his conditional release he lived on in Tasmania to the ripe old age of eighty nine, dying there in 1901.
George and Elizabeth Hunt from Northamptonshire arrived in South Australia with their family in 1853. They settled in the Magill area of Adelaide. Also coming to South Australia were two brothers, William and Henry from the East End of London, who arrived in 1861. Thomas was a sheep-grazier in Kalangadoo.
Select Hunt Miscellany
Select Hunt Names
Leigh Hunt was an early 19th century English critic and essayist, a contemporary of Keats and Shelley.
William Holman Hunt was an English Victorian painter, one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
H.L. Hunt was an American oil tycoon and the forebear of a formidable Hunt family of the 20th century - including, most prominently, Nelson Bunker Hunt, the oil developer and speculator, and Lamar Hunt, the co-founder of the American Football League..
Howard Hunt was the crime writer and CIA intelligence officer who became embroiled in the Watergate scandal.
James Hunt was the British racing car driver who won the Formula One world championship in 1976.
Select Hunts Today
The Hunt surname is derived from the Old English hunta meaning "to hunt." Like its Border surname equivalent Hunter, Hunt was originally used to describe a huntsman. The term was not just for the hunting of stags and wild boar that was the pastime of kings but also for humbler pursuits such as bird catching.
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Hunt Resources on
The
Internet
- The Leigh Hunts. Ancestors and descendants of Leigh Hunt.
- The Hunt Family. Hunts from Tanworth in Warwickshire.
- Geoff's Genealogy - The Hunt Family. Hunts originally from Essex.
- Hunt Family Genealogy. Descendants of Ralph Hunt of Long Island.
England. The Hunt surname distribution shows a fairly wide spread, from Lancashire and the Midlands to the south and southwest. Early Hunts were:
- Roger Hunt from Chalverston in Bedfordshire, who was the speaker of the House of Commons in 1420.
- the Hunts of Tanworth in Warwickshire, who were first recorded as
members of the Guild of Knowle in 1500. They were associated for
a long time with the Beaumont's estate. A branch of the family
held the position of Town Clerk of Stratford for 132
years.
- the Hunts from Shropshire, who date from about 1530. Thomas Hunt was High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1656 and bought the Boreatton Park estate. A later Hunt of this family, Agnes Hunt, was a cripple but became an expert nurse and opened the first open-air orthopoedic hospital.
- and John Hunt of Compton Pauncefoot in Somerset, who was born there around 1565. These Hunts were local country gentry.
Ireland. Hunt in Ireland can be of English or of Irish origin. If English it is the name brought by settlers to Ireland in the 17th century (as with the Hunts of Danesfort in Cork). If Irish, it can be anglicization of the Gaelic sept O'Fiachna found in county Roscommon. The Doorty township in Roscommon contained a sizeable number of these Hunts, many of whom were tenant farmers there.
John Hunt, born in London, came to Ireland in 1939 and settled in Limerick where he became well-known as an antiquarian and art collector. After his death in 1976, his collection has been housed at the Hunt Museum in Limerick.
America. Ralph Hunt was an early colonist of Long Island who arrived there in 1652 when it was still Dutch territory.
"Ralph Hunt seems to have been a leader
in all of the public affairs of Newtown, Long Island and was foremost
among his neighbors in defying the authority of the Dutch governor
Stuyvesant on Manhattan island. When the English acquired New
Netherlands and drove the Dutch away, Ralph Hunt was one of the first
two magistrates appointed under English rule."
His son Samuel was a wealthy landowner in Hunterdon county New Jersey and a later Hunt - known as Miller James Hunt - was one of the pioneers of the New Jersey Hopewell community. The Hunt line subsequently went south to Rowan county, North Carolina and then to Missouri.
John Hunt was a prominent Quaker minister from the Moorestown township in New Jersey. He kept a diary, most of which has been preserved, from 1770 to 1824. A descendant was Alfred Hunt, the first president of what was to become the Bethlehem Steel Company.
Theodore Hunt, a New Jersey native, had moved to St. Louis in 1814 after a brief spell as a sea captain. His son Charles was a prominent member of the pro-Confederate "Knights of the Golden Circle" in Missouiri in the years building up to the Civil War.
Canada. In 1832 John Hunt and his wife Latetia from Ireland were one of the first settlers of Fitzroy township, Ontario. The Hunts stayed in Fitzroy and, one hundred years later, celebrated their centennary there.
Charles Hunt, who had fought in the Crimean War, was a later settler from England. He arrived in 1863, settled in Rydal Bank Ontario, married and raised seven children there. The town of Huntsville in Ontario is probably named after George Hunt who arrived with his family there in 1869.
Australia. Henry Hunt was an early arrival, having been transported from England to Tasmania in 1829. After obtaining his conditional release he lived on in Tasmania to the ripe old age of eighty nine, dying there in 1901.
George and Elizabeth Hunt from Northamptonshire arrived in South Australia with their family in 1853. They settled in the Magill area of Adelaide. Also coming to South Australia were two brothers, William and Henry from the East End of London, who arrived in 1861. Thomas was a sheep-grazier in Kalangadoo.
Select Hunt Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Hunt Names
Leigh Hunt was an early 19th century English critic and essayist, a contemporary of Keats and Shelley.
William Holman Hunt was an English Victorian painter, one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
H.L. Hunt was an American oil tycoon and the forebear of a formidable Hunt family of the 20th century - including, most prominently, Nelson Bunker Hunt, the oil developer and speculator, and Lamar Hunt, the co-founder of the American Football League..
Howard Hunt was the crime writer and CIA intelligence officer who became embroiled in the Watergate scandal.
James Hunt was the British racing car driver who won the Formula One world championship in 1976.
Select Hunts Today
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