My Genealogy Hound

HON. WILLIAM P. HUNT, of Warrensburg, was for four years Presiding Judge of the Johnson County Court, in which responsible position he made a good record, both for himself and his constituents. In July, 1894, he was elected President of the Bank of Warrensburg, with which he had been connected as Cashier for the previous thirteen years. In 1877 he was appointed by the County Court to fill a vacancy in the office of County Collector, and at the expiration of the term, about two years later, he was regularly elected on the Democratic ticket to fill the place, in which he continued two years longer. At all times he kept the interests of his constituents near at heart, and to the best of his ability discharged the duties that devolved upon him.

The following facts are noted concerning the ancestry of Judge Hunt. His great-grandfather Jonathan Hunt, was a resident of Buncombe County, N. C., and by his marriage with Ailsey Berry there were born nine children. The second of these, William, our subject’s grandfather was born March 8, 17S9, and died May 14, 1867 He settled in Barron County, Ky., September 12 1811, and there married Nancy Jones, who was born June 21, 1795, and whose death occurred August 20, 1876. The couple moved to Howard County, Mo., in 1816, settling on Salt Creek, but in 1825 they went to Cooper County, and took up their residence on a farm near Pisgah. They lived to see ten of their twelve children attain mature years and unite with the church, nine of them becoming Baptists, and the other a Presbyterian. When the aged couple were called to their final rest, they were buried in the Apperson Cemetery, a mile east of Pisgah. William Hunt was a successful farmer, and was a very prominent man in the Baptist Church, serving as a Deacon for a number of years. Politically a Whig, his sympathies were with the Union during the war.

The parents of the Judge were Jonathan and Martha (Lee) Hunt. The former was born January 12, 1824, and was married December 12, 1844. William P. is the second of eight children by his father’s first marriage. After the death of his mother, in 1862, his father again married, having one child by his second union. The only surviving daughter by the first union is Mrs. Nanny Jones, of Bonham, Tex., who has a family of three sons. About 1857 Jonathan Hunt left his native place, Cooper County, and bought a tract of Government land in Johnson County, Mo. In addition to cultivating this farm, he engaged in merchandising and was fairly successful until the outbreak of the war. At that time he enlisted in the Confederate army and was wounded at the battle of Independence, Mo., being shot in the thigh and shoulder. In time he recovered a fair degree of health. His death occurred January 18, 1881.

The birth of Judge Hunt occurred in Cooper County, Mo., January 8, 1847. He was the eldest surviving child when death deprived him of a mother’s care, and as his father was absent in the army, the responsibility of caring for his younger brothers and sisters fell upon him. He therefore received but limited educational advantages, attending the common schools and later Prairie Home Institute for about a year. Upon starting out for himself, he settled in Kingsville, where he was successfully engaged in business for a number of years. For a time he taught school in the country. He then had charge of the graded schools of Kingsville for a year. Afterward he was successfully engaged in the mercantile business at this place.

Coming to Warrensburg in 1872, Judge Hunt has since been closely identified with the growth and advancement of this city, being numbered among its leading citizens. It may with truth be said of him that no measure having for its object the promotion of the welfare of the people fails to receive his sympathy and support. A zealous Mason, he has filled all the chairs in the blue lodge of the Masonic order, and is a member of the Warrensburg Commandery. Active in educational affairs, he was for many years a Director of the city schools. At all times he has been a faithful worker in behalf of state recognition and aid to the Normal School of the Second District, located at Warrensburg. He is now Treasurer of its Board of Regents.

September 23, 1868, Judge Hunt married Miss Medora McFarland, of Pleasant Hill, Mo. She was born in Cooper County, in 1847, and was a schoolmate of the Judge in childhood. They are the parents of five children, two of whom Annie and Louise, died in early childhood; Augusta, who was born in Kingsville, is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal. Albert Perry is pursuing his studies in that institution, having finished the preparatory course in 1893; Herbert is now in the preparatory department of the normal.

Noted for his enterprising public spirit, his sterling integrity and conservative business methods. Judge Hunt enjoys the respect and good will of the entire community. Always ready to help a friend, he has been especially earnest in his efforts for the advancement of young men. His life has been full of hard work, and as the results of his labors and the prosperity he has gained are due entirely to his unaided exertions, he is justly entitled to be termed self-made. Though amply successful in business, his best reward is in the kindly esteem in which he is universally held.