Robert Menzo Hunt (1828July 15, 1902) was an American physician in the

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Hunt was the first physician to practice medicine in Nevada City. For 44 years, he served as county physician of Nevada County, superintending the management of the county hospital. He was a charter member of the California Medical Society.

Early years

Hunt was born in

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...

, in 1828. He attended the common schools, and later worked in a machine shop. He also worked with a surveyor for three years. In 1847, he began to study medicine with his brother, Harvey Hunt, at

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, receiving his medical education at

Geneva Medical College Geneva Medical College was founded on September 15, 1834, in Geneva, New York, as a separate department (college) of Geneva College, currently known as Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In 1871, the medical school was transferred to Syracuse ...

Castleton Medical College The Castleton Medical College Building, now known as the Old Chapel, is a historic building of the Castleton Medical College on Seminary Street in Castleton, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1818, it was the first medical college in Vermont, an ...

, and

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

Career

Immediately upon graduation, in 1850, he decided to go to California via the

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, and upon arriving in California, he headed for the mines on an ox team from

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to Nevada City, arriving about May 1, 1850. He was engaged in mining and lumbering for about two years, and then went into the drug store business. Since 1853, Hunt was in active practice. He was county physician from 1859, superintending the management of the Nevada County Hospital. During his long years of service he "officiated" at 2,800 cases of confinement.

Personal life

Hunt was married to Jennie Briggs whose sister, Susie, married

Thomas Bard McFarland Thomas Bard McFarland (April 19, 1828 – September 16, 1908) was a miner, politician and judge in the U.S. state of California. He served as a California State Assembly, state assemblyman, Superior Courts of California, Superior Court judge, and ...

, also of Nevada City; McFarland was associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

. Hunt was a director of Citizens Bank, and a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. After he died at Nevada City, in 1902, his ashes were returned to Utica, and placed in the family vault.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Robert M. 1828 births 1902 deaths People of the California Gold Rush People from Herkimer County, New York People from Nevada City, California Albany Medical College alumni Physicians from California