John Hunter (August 4, 1778 – September 12, 1852) was an American businessman and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on August 4, 1778, the son of auctioneer Robert Hunter (–1800) and Ruth ( Breck) Hunter (–1840). He had two sisters, Elizabeth ( Hunter) Ludlow (wife of Gabriel Verplank Ludlow, nephew of

George Duncan Ludlow George Duncan Ludlow (29 September 1734 – 13 November 1808) was a lawyer and Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of the British Province of New York in the Thirteen Colonies who became the first Chief Justice of New Brunswick in Canada. Early lif ...

) and Ruth ( Hunter) McEvers (wife of James McEvers, business partner of

William Bayard Jr. William Bayard Jr. (1761 – September 18, 1826) was a prominent New York City banker and a member of the Society of the New York Hospital. He was a close friend to Alexander Hamilton, who was taken to his Greenwich Village home after his fa ...

). His father had emigrated from

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to New York. After his father's death, his mother married Lt. Gov. John Broome (under Governors Morgan Lewis and

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

) in 1806. Broome died in 1810. Hunter graduated from Columbia College.

Career

Hunter continued his father's auctioneer and commission business before turning towards politics and selling the auction house at

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

and

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

s in 1810. He was one of the original directors of the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeaster ...

in 1823 and served as Supervisor of

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

before becoming a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(2nd D.) in

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...

. He again served from 1836 to 1843, sitting in the 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, 64th, 65th and

66th New York State Legislature The 66th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 18, 1843, during the first year of William C. Bouck's governorship, in Albany, New York, Albany. Backgroun ...

Hunter's Island

Sometime before 1812, he bought "Appleby's Island", which became afterwards known as Hunter's Island, located off the shore of the Town of Pelham, in

, and now part of Orchard Beach in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Hunter built a large mansion there. Hunter was originally buried on his island estate, but was re-interred in Beechwoods Cemetery in

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

after the estate was sold to Mayor

Ambrose Kingsland Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland (May 24, 1804 – October 13, 1878) was a wealthy sperm oil merchant who served as the 71st mayor of New York City from 1851 to 1853. In 1851, he initiated the legislation that eventually led to the construction of Ce ...

in 1866.

Personal life

In 1799, he married Elizabeth Desbrosses (d. 1831), a daughter of Elizabeth ( Butler) Desbrosses and James Desbrosses, considered by to have been the wealthiest man in New York. Following her father's death, Elizabeth and her sister Charlotte (wife of Henry Overing) divided the 60,000 acres their father had acquired from the 2,000,000 acre

Hardenburgh Patent Major Johannes Hardenbergh (1670–1745), also known as Sir Johannes Hardenbergh, was the owner of the Hardenbergh patent of land in the Catskill Mountains. Biography He was born in Albany, New York, in 1670. He was Sheriff of Ulster County, New ...

. Before her death in February 1831, John and Elizabeth were the parents of: * Elias Desbrosses Hunter (1800–1865), who married Anna Maria Munro, a daughter of Margaret ( White) Munro (a granddaughter of

Frederick Van Cortlandt Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699 – February 2, 1749) was an American merchant and landowner. Early life Van Cortlandt was born in 1699 and christened on April 23, 1699. He was the only surviving son born to Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1658–1739) and t ...

) and diplomat

Peter Jay Munro Peter Jay Munro (January 10, 1767 – September 22, 1833) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician from New York. Early life Munro was born on January 10, 1767, in Rye in the Province of New York in what was then British America. He wa ...

of Manor Park (who was a nephew of

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

), in 1832. Hunter died on September 12, 1852.

Art collection

During his lifetime, Hunter amassed a substantial art collection that was considered "the nation's finest private collection of old master art." After Hunter's death and the death of his son Elias, the family gathered his "extensive collection of ancient and modern pictures removed from his gallery and residence at Hunter's Island" and offered the art for sale at an auction administered by Henry H. Leeds & Miner, Auctioneers in January 1866.

Descendants

Through his son Elias, he was a grandfather of Elias Desbrosses Hunter Jr. (who died young), Elizabeth Desbrosses Hunter (who married William Heathcote DeLancey Jr., son of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

William Heathcote DeLancey William Heathcote DeLancey (October 8, 1797 – April 5, 1865) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the sixth Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. DeLancey was known as a High Churchman, and served as t ...

), Anna Maria Hunter (married Peter Jay Munro Van Cortlandt), Adele Hunter (died unmarried), and John Hunter III (1833–1914), who inherited Hunter's Island and sold it to former mayor

in 1866 for $127,501. John Hunter III married Annie Manigault Middleton of

Middleton Place Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, along the banks of the Ashley River west of the Ashley and about northwest of downtown Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th centu ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, John 1778 births 1852 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators People from Pelham, New York Columbia College (New York) alumni