John Hunter, Senior

John Hunter was born in Manchester, England. In his obituary which appeared in The Presbyterian, in Richmond, Virgina, his date of birth is given as June 14, 1824. However, in notes written in his own hand, he gives his date of birth as June 15, 1825. He died on March 21, 1916 in Richmond, Virginia, and was laid to rest in the Arlington (Virginia) National Cemetery, among other Civil War Veterans.

John Hunter was the eighth child of Samuel Hunter and Catherine Cartwright Hunter. The children, in birth order, were:

• Edward
• Hannah
• Minah (Minna), in a letter from Samuel to John, dated June 20, 1850, Samuel writes that he was living with Minah and her husband, Charles.
• Elizabeth
• Mary Ann
• Samuel Jr.
• Thomas
• John
• Robert

Catherine Cartwright Hunter had a brother John Cartwright, who owned two cotton mills, described as the largest in Wiggen, Lancashire, and the Cartwrights were considered the leading family of Wiggen.

Samuel Hunter was the only son of Edward Hunter and Elizabeth Ralley Hunter. They were members of the Calvinist Chruch, Every Street, Manchester. Both Edward and Elizabeth are buried in that churchyard of their chuch. Edward Hunter was noted for putting into operation the first blast furnace for melting iron at Towmore, Yorkshire.

Samuel and Catherine and an unknown number of their children, but it did include John, left Manchester and moved to Oldham. Samuel owned a large iron foundry in Macketsfield, England, which was noted by a relative to have paid the largest tax in that town. He designed and cast the gates of the Macketsfield Parish Churchyard and was laid to rest, after succumbing to cancer, just inside those gates.

John Hunter served a seven year apprenticeship at Samuel Lees and Sons (Oldham, Macketsfield, Manchester?), learning iron molding and worked 1 1/2 years at the trade in Manchester. He emigrated to the United States engaging passage on the ship Mrs. Liddons, which departed on Feb 11, 1848 and arrived in New York on March 20, 1848. He worked in Patterson, New Jersey, for Rogers and Company, applying for US citizenship on November 1, 1852 in Passaic County, NJ.

John Hunter married married Alice Kirkman, of the Kirkman Soap family, on February 16, 1851. Alice and John had two children, born in Patterson, New Jersey.

• John Hunter Junior was born on December 28, 1851
• Isabella "Belle" Hunter was born on September 7, 1853.

In 1854, John Hunter took his family to Fredricksberg, VA, to take charge of the Scott and Herndon foundry. Experienced hard times in the "Panic of 1857" and, in 1858 moved the family again. This time to Aurburn, NY where he worked with John B. Gaylord. Here he bought a lot and built a cottage. Began working for D.M. Osbourne & Co. in 1861. Enlisted in the Federal Army in 1864, serving in the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery and the 3rd Light Artillery of New York and fought in Virginia. He was discharged at the end of the war.

After his discharge, John Hunter went back to work at D.M. Osbourne & Company, eventually taking charge of the foundry, which had about 100 employees. He held that position for approximately 13 years. After a consolidation with Harvester Companies, he took a position with Sheldon & Company at their foundry (sounds like he was 'downsized').

On July 25, 1868, his wife Alice died. On November 29, 1869 he married a second time. His second wife was Mary A. McDonald and they were married in Auburn, NY. John and Mary had two children. Mary and John also had two children, both born in Auburn, NY.

• Charles Robert Hunter was born on May 25, 1871.
• Edward Cartwright Hunter was born on November 3, 1874.

In 1878 (approximately) John Hunter decided to return to Fredricksberg, Virginia, because of the milder climate which he considered better for his "failing health". He settled at Montrose Heights, Richmond, VA, in 1886, where he started the Montrose Chapel. According to his obituary in The Presbyterian, "Montrose Presbyterian church owes her existence to the untiring efforts of Mr. Hunter, and when the church was organized in 1907, he was elected an elder."

On March 21, 1916, John Hunter died in Virginia and was buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, with other Civil War veterans.