John Hart Hunter (May 3, 1807 – February 12, 1872) is recognized as the father of the American college fraternity system. He founded the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

(KA) in 1825 at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Early life

John Hart Hunter was born on May 3, 1807. His father, John Hunter, emigrated from Dublin, Ireland to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1805 and then soon to New York where he worked as a bookkeeper. The elder John Hunter married Sarah Hart of White Plains. Hunter, a superb mathematician, soon gave up business for teaching. He also passed on his love for scholarship to his only son, John Hart Hunter. The younger Hunter developed his early education by extensive reading at the Apprentices' Public Library in New York.

College life

John Hart Hunter entered college directly into the Junior Class at Union in 1824. He quickly became one of the leading academic scholars of the school at age 17. When Arthur Burtis Jr. entered Union in 1825 (also as a Junior following two years at Columbia), college president

Eliphalet Nott Eliphalet Nott (June 25, 1773January 25, 1866), was a famed Presbyterian minister, inventor, educational pioneer, and long-term president of Union College, Schenectady, New York. Early life Nott was born at Ashford, Connecticut, on June 25, 1 ...

personally insisted Hunter take him under his wing as roommate. Thus Hunter's plans for a single room were disrupted, and indirectly President Nott had set the stage for the foundation of Kappa Alpha. On November 26, 1825, John Hart Hunter founded the

, the world's first Greek letter social fraternity, along with eight other students: six of them seniors in the class of 1826, and two juniors of the class of 1827. Upon graduating near the top of his class at Union in 1826, Hunter was admitted to the

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

where he studied until 1828.

After Union

Hunter was called in 1828 to serve as pastor of the Congregational Church of Fairfield, Connecticut. During his six-year tenure at Fairfield, he developed into a powerful preacher. John Hunter married Julia Maria Judson in 1830. Julia was a well-educated member of a prominent Stratford, Connecticut, family. She was born on January 11, 1811, in Stratford to Daniel and Sarah Judson. Julia graduated from Troy Female Seminary in 1827. John and Julia Hunter had nine children, including Daniel Judson Hunter, Julia E. Hunter, Kate P. Hunter, James Hunter, and Mary H. Hunter and four others. John Hart Hunter went on to serve as pastor of churches at

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was ...

, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Nanville, Kentucky. In 1851, Hunter moved west to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

with his son James, age 19, in hopes of improving the financial situation of his growing family. They had hoped to profit from land that Hunter had bought several years earlier. Hunter put the land to work for industrial purposes rather than simple farming. He later traded the land in Missouri for deeds to land in Texas. John Hart Hunter died of Congestion of the Lungs on February 12, 1872, at City Hospital in Galveston, Texas. He was buried the next day, February 13, 1872, in Galveston's Potter's field which is known today as Municipal Cemetery located at 61st Street and Avenue T 1/2. Julia Maria Judson Hunter died at the age of 95 on Saturday, October 14, 1905, at her home at 62 W 93rd Street in New York City. Prior to her death, Julia had been instrumental in campaigning for her late friend

Emma Willard Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American woman's education activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women's higher education, the Emma Willard S ...

's induction into the

Hall of Fame for Great Americans The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is an outdoor sculpture gallery located on the grounds of Bronx Community College (BCC) in the Bronx, New York City. It is the first such hall of fame in the United States. Built in 1901 as part of the U ...

. John and Julia's son Daniel Judson Hunter died at the age of 62 on February 2, 1907, at his home in New York.New York Tribune. October 16, 1905. p4

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, John Hart 1872 deaths College fraternity founders 1807 births Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Union College (New York) alumni People from Fairfield, Connecticut Kappa Alpha Society