Elisha Hunt (1779–1873) was the principal entrepreneur behind the

Monongahela and Ohio Steam Boat Company The Monongahela and Ohio Steam Boat Company (or MOSBC) was the second company to engage in steamboat commerce on the rivers west of the Allegheny Mountains. The company was founded in 1813 under the leadership of Elisha Hunt and headquartered in ...

that built the historic steamboat

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

Early life

Elisha Hunt was born on October 7, 1779 in

Moorestown, New Jersey Moorestown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of ...

to Joshua and

Esther Hunt Esther Hunt (September 4, 1751February 5, 1820) was a pioneer who lived on America's frontier as a wife, a mother and a leader in her Quaker faith. Early life at Moorestown Born Esther Roberts, she was the youngest of five children of Enoch Rober ...

, the former Esther Roberts. In September 1790, Joshua, Esther, Elisha and his four siblings, "with two wagons, seven horses, one cow, and provisions", began a three-week journey to Fayette County in southwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Their destination was a small, but growing, community located on the east bank of the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

in close proximity to

Fort Burd Redstone Old Fort — or Redstone Fort or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd — on the Nemacolin Trail, was the name of the French and Indian War-era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania militia colonel James Burd to guard the ancient ...

. In those days it was called

Redstone Old Fort Redstone Old Fort — or Redstone Fort or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd — on the Nemacolin Trail, was the name of the French and Indian War-era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania militia colonel James Burd to guard the ancient ...

, or simply Redstone. Later, the name was changed to Brownsville.

Salem, Ohio

On May 23, 1827, a certificate from Redstone Monthly Meeting, Brownsville, Pennsylvania requesting membership for Elisha, Mary and Emmor Hunt was accepted by Salem Monthly Meeting, Salem, Ohio. On September 28, 1831, a certificate from Salem Monthly Meeting, Salem, Ohio requesting membership for Elisha and Mary Hunt was accepted by Redstone Monthly Meeting, Brownsville, Pennsylvania.EAQG, Redstone Monthly Meeting, Page 94

Notes

References

* Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy (EAQG), Vol I-VI, 1607-1943 * Horn, W. F. d.(1945), ''The Horn papers: early western movement on the Monongahela and upper Ohio, 1765–1795'', volume 3, Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press * Roberts-Hunt Family Papers, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania * ''The Friend'' (1873), "Esther Collins and Ann Edwards", ''The Friend, a religious and literary journal'', Volume XLVI, No. 46 and 47, Philadelphia: William H. Pile, pp. 362, 370-3 * Henshaw, Marc Nicholas (2014)
"Hog chains and Mark Twains: a study of labor history, archaeology, and industrial ethnography of the steamboat era of the Monongahela Valley 1811-1950."
Dissertation, Michigan Technological University * Hunter, Louis C. (1949). ''Steamboats on the western rivers, an economic and technological history''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1949; reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1993. * Hynes, Judy, et al. (1997), ''The descendants of John and Elizabeth (Woolman) Borton'', Mount Holly, New Jersey: John Woolman Memorial Association, pp. 23–4 * Shourds, Thomas (1876). ''History and genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, New Jersey''. Bridgeton, New Jersey: 314–20. * Woodward, E. M. (1883), ''History of Burlington County, New Jersey, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men'', Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, pp. 270–1

External links

Find A Grave Memorial for Elisha Hunt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Elisha 1779 births 1873 deaths