Memucan Hunt (August 7, 1807 – June 5, 1856) was the first Minister of Texas to the United States, Secretary of the Texas Navy, and an unsuccessful candidate for Vice-President of the Republic of Texas.

Early life

Hunt was born on August 7, 1807, in

Granville County, North Carolina Granville County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford. Granville County encompasses Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, the son of Col. William Hunt and the grandson of

Memucan Hunt Memucan Hunt (1729–1808) was an early American statesman and the first person to hold the position of North Carolina State Treasurer in its current form. Biography Early life Memucan Hunt was born in 1729 in Virginia. Career He moved to Gra ...

. He was a planter and businessman moving to

Madison County, Mississippi Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95,203. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for U.S. President James Madison. Madison County is part of the Jackson, ...

in 1834 to manage a plantation given to him by his father.

Thomas Jefferson Green Thomas Jefferson Green (February 14, 1802 – December 12, 1863) was an American politician who served in the legislatures of three different U.S. states and also of Texas, which was not yet a state. Biography Born in Warren County, North Carol ...

arrived in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

to recruit volunteers to fight in the Texas Revolution. Hunt, along with neighbor

James Pinckney Henderson James Pinckney Henderson (March 31, 1808 – June 4, 1858) was an American and Republic of Texas lawyer, politician, and soldier, and the first governor of the State of Texas. Early years He was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on March 31, ...

and several hundred others, joined Green, arriving at Velasco in June 1836, after the

battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engage ...

Service in Texas

Almost immediately upon arriving in Texas, Hunt began publicly expressing his views on current policies, writing to interim President

David G. Burnet David Gouverneur Burnet (April 14, 1788 – December 5, 1870) was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas (1836 and again in 1841), Vice President of the Republic of Texas (1839–1841), and Se ...

to disagree with his decision to return captured Mexican

General Santa Anna A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

to Mexico in exchange for his assurances to recognize Texas's Independence. As soon as Santa Anna was released the Mexican government abrogated the Treaty of Velasco. As a result, Hunt was appointed a brigadier general in the Texas Army in August 1836 by President Burnet with the task of deterring an expected invasion from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The invasion never materialized and Hunt resigned his commission. The next year, President Sam Houston appointed Hunt as Texas's agent in the United States to assist the diplomat William H. Wharton in securing the United States' recognition of Texas. In March 1837, after successfully concluding that mission, Hunt became Texan Minister in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. His proposal for the annexation of Texas in 1837 was rejected by the United States, but he succeeded in negotiating a boundary convention in 1838. Under Texas's second President,

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

, Hunt was

Texas Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas was a member of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Texas responsible for naval affairs and management of the Texas Navy. The office lasted from 1836 until 1841, when it was merged wit ...

from December 1838 to May 1839, when he became the Texas's representative on the joint United States-Texas boundary commission. In 1841, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President running as David G. Burnet's

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

against Sam Houston.

After statehood and final years

Hunt volunteered to serve in the Mexican War in 1846 on General J. Pinckney Henderson's staff. Hunt married Anne Taliaferro Howard of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

on Feb. 14, 1850, in Galveston, Galveston Co., TX. After Texas's annexation by the United States, Hunt was elected for one term to the legislature, in 1852, and in 1853 he was appointed United States commissioner to adjust the southwestern boundary with

. He spent his last years trying to recoup his fortune, which he had sacrificed in the cause of Texas. The legislature granted him full compensation in land. To develop his holdings he promoted a railroad from Galveston Bay to the Red River. While he was thus engaged, his health failed, and he died at his brother's home in

Tipton County, Tennessee Tipton County is a county located on the western end of the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Mississippi Delta region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,970. Its county seat is Covington. Tipton County is part of the Memphis, TN-MS ...

, on June 5, 1856. Mrs. Hunt died in 1916 and is buried in the Montgomery New Cemetery located in Montgomery, Montgomery Co., TX. On 28 July 1859, in Galveston Co., TX, Anne married to Abner S. Lipscomb who died in 1873. On 18 June 1874, in Montgomery Co., TX, Anne married Abner Womack who died in 1875. On 20 Nov 1880, in Montgomery Co., TX, Anne married Emmett Jones who died in 1894.

Legacy

Memucan Hunt Jr. is the namesake of

Hunt County, Texas Hunt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,956. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named for Memucan Hunt, Jr., the first Republic of Texas Minister to the United States from 183 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Memucan Jr. 1807 births 1856 deaths People of the Texas Revolution People from Vance County, North Carolina People from San Augustine, Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians