William
Hunt
Born about in Halifax, Yorkshire, England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Elizabeth (Best) Hunt
— married
about 1630 in England
Husband of
Mercy (Unknown) Hunt
— married
about Nov 1664 in Marlborough, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Descendants 
Died
at about age 64
in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay
Profile managers:
Richard Draper 
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| Created 14 Apr 2010
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| William Hunt migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 174) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Disputed Origins
A previous version of this profile claimed, without sources, that William Hunt the Great Migration-era immigrant, was the same as the William Hunt who was baptized 27 Jan 1603 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, son of Robert Hunt and Jane Fysher.
Biography
William Hunt married first Elizabeth ______.
- Anderson considers the maiden name of "Best" to be inconclusive at best because "Cousin" doesn't mean sister.[1]
On 2 May 1635 – William and Elizabeth (Best) Hunt and their children set sail aboard the Susan and Ellen for America with the Peter Bulkeley Company (Puritans). The Reverand Peter Bulkley, had been a lifelong friend of William Hunt. In Aug 1635, Peter Bulkeley's Company landed in Boston, remaining there one month to obtain grant from government for incorporation of land at a new settlement at Musketaquid (now Concord, Massachusetts).[2].
William's wife Elizabeth died 27 Dec 1661. He married second 1664 Mercy (____) who was the widow first of Thomas Brigham and widow second of Edmund Rice.[3],[4]. Her last name has sometimes been referred to as "Hurd" but this has not been documented.
William removed from Concord to Marlborough, Massachusetts, where he died in October 1667.[5][6]. His will written 21 Oct 1667, names his wife Mary, his sons Samuel, Nehemiah and Isaac Hunt and daughter Elizabeth Barron.[7]
Children[8]
- Nehemiah b. 1631; d. 6 Mar 1717/18 m. Mary Toll
- Samuel b. 1633; m. Elizabeth Redding
- Elizabeth m. 1 Apr 1664 John Barron
- Hannah b. 12 Feb 1640/1 living in 1654 when she was mentioned in the will of Robert Best (as were the other children); no further record; not named in her father's 1667 will.
- Isaac b. 1647; d. 12 Dec 1680; m. Mary Stone.
A previous version of this profile claimed, without source, that he had the following additional children for which there is no documentation:
- Susannah
- Ann
- Mary
The wills of William Hunt and of Robert Best of Sudbury, name the living children of William. Given the wording of both wills, it is clear that they were the only living children of William. Susannah, Ann and Mary were not named.[8]
Although some Wood researchers have implied that William had a daughter Ann (who had a "sister" Mary), neither is mentioned in his will. The will is dated 23 Oct 1667 at Marlborough, Massachusetts [9] and mentions wife Mary [should be Marcy or Mercy], sons Samuel, Nehemiah and Isaac; and daughter of Elizabeth Barnes.[10]
Sources
- ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration, Boston: NEHGR (year?); series 2, volume 1, page 401. For correct information, Robert Charles Anderson suggests these three sources for this man: The American Genealogist, 30:100-3, 175; Hoyt 211; Ancestry and posterity of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale 135-38.
- ↑ Thomas B. Wyman, Genealogy of the Name and Family of Hunt 5, Water Street, Boston, Massachusetts: John Wilson and Son, 1862-3, p 90
- ↑ Author?, History of the Town of Marborough, Publisher? Year? Page?
- ↑ Mrs. Brinkerhoff, "Rice Genealogy" in The American Genealogist, vol. 30 p. 5, 101
- ↑ Marlborough Vital Records, p 372
- ↑ Vermont Hunt families in 1791 Census by Mitchell J. Hunt; Oct. 1990
- ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB536/i/14463/12305-co2/38297465
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "William Hunt of Concord, Massachusetts and the supposed Wood Connection. TAG 30:100 lin at American Ancestors ($) (1954)
- ↑ Thomas B. Wyman, Hunt Genealogy, pp 42-44.
- ↑ "William Hunt of Concord," in TAG 30(1953):101-2.
See also:
- Thomas B. Wyman, Genealogy of the Name and Family of Hunt, Water Street, Boston, Massachusetts: John Wilson and Son, 1862-3), p 90;, pp 42-44.)
Volume Number 112
Page 22-22A
Summary: ATTESTED COPY OF SEVERAL ENTRIES FROM THE CAMBRIDGE BOOK OF RECORDS DETAILING THE GRANT OF WOODED LOTS LEFT OVER AFTER THE FIRST DIVISION OF WOODED LOTS.
- Series 2043: RECORDS: GENERAL COURT
- Original Date 1653/12/28
- Other Dates 1648/02/10
- Geographic Locations: CAMBRIDGE (MA)
- WATERTOWN (MA)
- Personal Names: Signature Type
- BRIGHAM, THOMAS
- Mercy Hurd (F) b.1592, #115781 from: http://www.conovergenealogy.com/famous-p/p2316.htm#i115781
See also:
- Hoyt, David W., Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts.
- Crane, Ellery B., Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County Massachusetts.
- Delorey, Janet I., "The English Origins and Descendants To The Fourth Generation of Edward Wood of Charlestown, Massachusetts", in The Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 1988.
- Cutter, William R., Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts,
- Author?, "Article title?," in The American Genealogist, vol. 30 p. 101
- Author? "Warren, Clark Genealogy" p. 206
- ? Crane?, "Genealogies and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts," vol. 1. p. 423
- Mitchell J. Hunt, "Vermont Hunt families in 1791 Census;" Oct. 1990).
- Clarence A. Torry, New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004, p ??
- Author? Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts : 1638-1900 publication info? page?
- Ancestry.com. England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 [database on-line].
Original data: England, Marriages, 1538–1973. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
- Fleming, George T. History of Pittsburgh and Environs (The American Historical Society, New York and Chicago, 1922, Vol. 4, p. 16-18)
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Categories: Hunt Name Study | Puritan Great Migration
And those are as-the-crow-flies estimates; by road, I'd think you would need to add 5-10 mi. So I'm still not at all sure about this family group, and just don't know whether Elizabeth (wife) should remain Elizabeth Best, or become Elizabeth Unknown.
Would someone else with an Ancestry membership please look at the image of that handwritten bp. record alleged to be for William? Again, the URL is https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8912660:2256?tid=&pid=&queryId=f5ba5544feb9d33e7f5ace7a052df1ad&_phsrc=lKk214&_phstart=successSource . I'd like to know if anyone else is actually able to make out "Willm Hunt" or "Willm Hunte" from that faint handwriting. I really can't.
Then the father does start with "Ro" and possibly it's "Robt". Check the Robt, son of Robt right above William Rich. With "invert colors" that seemed to make it a little more clear.
The last name starts with an "H" (comparing to the "H" at the end for their village), the last two letters do look like "te", but you could argue it's an "le" (ell-ee) but the "e" is pretty certain. Was it Hunte? or Harte? Or something else? Not sure but that's how it looks to me.
But so far, no luck. I would welcome another pair of eyes on this if anyone has time; it is slow going. -- The most likely surname I have found so far as a possible match to the critical entry is "Hoyle", which occurs several times. This would however require that the writer's pen nib went dry -- or was lifted from the page -- as he was finishing the "y", because there is absolutely no trace of the downward-stroked tail of a "y" in what remains of the original entry. (That said, what looks like a hint of the crossbar for a "t" might also be a joining stroke, as the writer moved on from "l" to the final "e".)
edited by Christopher Childs
Might someone have more specific reference for "Anderson's suggestions" ala, "Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration, Boston: NEHGR (year?); series 2, volume 1, page 401. For correct information, Robert Charles Anderson suggests these three sources ...
Not finding this on 401 in Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B (1999), 401; digital images by subscription, Hathi Trust.
edited by GeneJ X
None of the few other GMSP mentions seem to have anything to do with any Ms. Best as far as I could see.
Thank you.
What seemed ever so briefly to be interesting remarks about these various associations appear on FindAGrave, memorial 34480196, William Hunt. The memorial is maintained by Linda Mac. Not clear if she or someone else wrote the sketch, however.
The narrative suggests this William is the son of Robert and Jane (Fysher) Hunt, reporting what I presume is a baptismal date for William at Halifax ... West Yorkshire, "27 Jan 1604." Further reporting ""England Select Marriages 1538-1973" for the record of a Rossington, Yorkshire, England, marriage 1628, William Hunt and Elizabeth Best ...
The 1628 Hunt-Best marriage appears in indexed FamilySearch records. See Hunt-Best, England Marriages, 1538–1973, here, (His profile on FamilyTree, PID LZJM-HL5, links to several of these indexed only records.)
But from there, it the trace seemed to go nowhere.
(1) FamilySearch FamilyTree has an entry for Robert Hunt m. Jane Fysher, reporting their marriage and the baptism of a son William--but that baptism is shown 21 Mar 1591. See the sources on Robert Hunt, PID LRYN-VRK.
(2) William's two eldest children, Samuel and Nehemiah, are thought to have been born at England, but, but I didn't see that those claiming these items to be about the PGM immigrant had located English baptismal records for either of the children.
I wasn't able to develop access to the records I wanted in oder to research it further.--Gene
See: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8912660:2256?tid=&pid=&queryId=f5ba5544feb9d33e7f5ace7a052df1ad&_phsrc=lKk214&_phstart=successSource
Do we have some specific justification for placing his birth in Yorkshire? -- Ancestry shows another "Willm Hunt" bp. there at Carleton-in-Craven, St. Mary, 14 Feb. 1607/8, a son of Ambrose.
See: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/9655480:2256?tid=&pid=&queryId=f5ba5544feb9d33e7f5ace7a052df1ad&_phsrc=lKk215&_phstart=successSource
Of interest, perhaps -- except that the bride's stated age doesn't really allow the birth of any children -- is the London marriage of a William Hunt [be aware that in the handwritten original, the "H" looks more like an "L", but it really is a flowery "H"; compare to the H and L in "Holborne, London" in the next line], "aged about 30 years" (b. abt. 1605) to an Elizabeth Poole, "widdow, aged about 48 years" (yep, 48) at St. Mary Gatley in 1635. A startling age difference, but it would make her passing away by 1661 rather unsurprising.
See https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2056&h=329397&tid=&pid=&queryId=f5ba5544feb9d33e7f5ace7a052df1ad&usePUB=true&_phsrc=lKk217&_phstart=successSource
Edit: (The links obviously require an Ancestry subscription.)
The marriage record (paywalled) is:
"Name: Elizabeth Best || Marriage Date: 10 Nov 1628 | Marriage Place: Rossington, York, England | Spouse: Willm. Hunt | FHL Film Number: 503812"
See: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4389187:9852?tid=&pid=&queryId=e5f214d60f01e38df06f36d13d26beb7&_phsrc=lKk272&_phstart=successSource (by subscription)
-- citing Ancestry's "England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014." Unfortunately, I can't tell whether this specific record is reliable or not: that collection carries the caveat, "... an index of records compiled from various sources, it is strongly recommended that you verify any information you find with original records."
So it looks good, but Ancestry (which referred me to FamilySearch for the above caveat) is vague about its actual origin.
edited by Christopher Childs
Lacking better insight, I suggest someone went in search of a "William Hunt-Elizabeth Best" English marriage, found one, then traced back in that region for a William Hunt baptism.
I just didn't see the follow through--laying out possible families in all those two areas, surveying for baptisms/marriages/burials in those parish records, banns or bonds; wills, etc.
edited by GeneJ X
These records fit the two sons, and show a father William. They do not name the mother. If there was a marriage to Elizabeth Best, it would seem that we should be searching first of all in or very near Nottinghamshire, where both these lads were born, or at least baptized. I will dig into that now.
Edit: FOUND IT... see edited comment above.
edited by Christopher Childs
"The biography for William Hunt says that there is "no further notice" for daughter Hannah Hunt, born in 1641. But the tree includes two different families for Hannah. One with John Brundage, spanning the years 1660-1685.
The other with Daniel White in Marshfield, with children spanning the years 1675-1691. But the biography for this Hannah states that she was born c. 1650. I recommend that this 2nd Hannah, being from Marshfield and not Concord, should be disconnected from William & Elizabeth."
edited by Anne B
Rick Draper
One question: where does the middle name "Enos" come from? Middle names were not used by this demographic during this time.
It makes my blood boil every time I see someone allege that this "Enos" was the father of Mary (--------) Grant, Ann (-----) Wood and Susanna (-----) Todd. Of course if anyone has any actual evidence relating to said Enos I would happily stand corrected, but people never come back with data; it's always just something on Aunt Susie's pedigree chart or whatever.
That said, a good case can be made that these three women were related in some other way to Samuel Hunt, because he shows up effectively as a close relative (e.g., surety for Mary Grant as Executrix of the estate of her husband John Grant, along with John Todd whose wife Susanna was a sister of Ann (---) Wood). And if I recall correctly Mary Grant in her will indicated that Jeremiah Hunt (who must have been the son of Samuel Hunt Jr.) was staying in her home at the time of the will, probably to help with chores about the place. But it's not possible that these ladies could have been the daughters of William Hunt of Concord & Marlborough, given the import of his will.
For example, Ann (----) Wood, my 8th great grandmother, could scarcely have been under 17 years of age at her marriage, and it would have been strange for her to have been more than a couple of years older than her husband. Consequently, I estimate her birth year at between 1633 and 1637, and Mary and Susanna seem to have been close in age to her. But that's exactly when William & Elizabeth (Best) Hunt were having the children named in William's will.
This is going way out on a limb, but I suspect that these three sisters could have been the Mary, Ann and Susanna Hunt christened at St. Olave, at Clerkenwell and at St. Giles Cripplegate (i.e., London) between 1632 and 1637, daughters of a Thomas Hunt. Of course, at this point I cannot prove the connection, if any, between any Thomas Hunt of London and Samuel / William Hunt of Yorkshire Nottingham and Concord. Normally I'm skeptical about lumping Londoners in with families from the Midlands or Yorkshire. However, here I see no reason why a man with William Hunt's accomplishments would have necessarily been a total stranger to the national capital, especially if (for example) he had a brother there. I searched the FS and FreeReg databases for any instance where women named Mary, Ann and Susanna were born to the same father (or at least men with the same name) in the same place during the 1630s, and London was the only place with christening records with the three given names associated with a father with a consistent given name.
Certainly when William Hunt went to Mass. Bay, he didn't get on a boat in Nottingham. Note that the move to Nottingham itself was a journey of at least 40 miles. And if the Dorothy Hunt, dau. of William, chr. at Escrick, Yorks. 12 Nov 1629 (367 days after the wedding) was indeed a daughter of this William Hunt, then the move to Nottingham was actually an 80 mile trip. London was about 125 miles, the most likely road going through Leicester. So its interesting that a Thomas Hunt of Leicester had sons William and Thomas chr. in 1601 and 1604, respectively.
That said, I realize that the notion of a Leicester connection is highly speculative. Accordingly, how about the Wyllyam Hunte of Bedale, Yorks., who had William (Jr.) christened there 10 Oct 1601 and Thomas on 17 June 1606, as well as sons Christopher 22 Jan 1603 and John 23 April 1609? Bedale was no stranger to nonconformist sentiments, as I have Quaker ancestors from there (not to suggest that a Puritan like William Hunt of Marlborough would have admitted to any sympathy for Quakers. Naturally, my point is not the locals' religious views, but rather the fate of Wyllyam Hunts' sons.
Based on a quick search, it seems that the only one who stayed in Bedale was Christopher, though it's a bit confusing because in addition to Christopher son of Wyllyam there was also a Christopher son of George Hunt cr. there in 1616; but possibly he was the "Christopher Hunt son of George" who was buried 15 Dec 1638. The only other burial record is for the man who I assume was Wyllyam's son; that Christopher was buried 15 Oct 1680 in Bedale.
William does not belong either (wrong plasce and time) Objections to disconnecting.
the disputed dtrs Susannah Ann and Mary are all removed and attached to Unknown Hunt.