Texan politician (1807?1856)
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
[
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]
Hunt was born on August 7, 1807, in
Granville County, North Carolina
, the son of Col. William Hunt and the grandson of
Memucan Hunt
.
[1]
[2]
He was a planter and businessman moving to
Madison County, Mississippi
in 1834 to manage a plantation given to him by his father.
Thomas Jefferson Green
arrived in
Mississippi
to recruit volunteers to fight in the Texas Revolution. Hunt, along with neighbor
James Pinckney Henderson
and several hundred others, joined Green, arriving at
Velasco
in June 1836, after the
battle of San Jacinto
.
[3]
Service in Texas
[
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]
Almost immediately upon arriving in Texas, Hunt began publicly expressing his views on current policies, writing to interim President
David G. Burnet
to disagree with his decision to return captured
Mexican
General Santa Anna
to Mexico in exchange for his assurances to recognize Texas's Independence.
[4]
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
. 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.
[2]
In March 1837, after successfully concluding that mission, Hunt became Texan Minister in
Washington
. 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
, Hunt was
Texas Secretary of the Navy
from December 1838 to May 1839, when he became the Texas's representative on the joint United States-Texas boundary commission.
[2]
In 1841, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President running as David G. Burnet's
running mate
against Sam Houston.
After statehood and final years
[
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Hunt volunteered to serve in the
Mexican War
in 1846 on General J. Pinckney Henderson's staff. Hunt married Anne Taliaferro Howard of
Galveston
on Feb. 14, 1850, in Galveston, Galveston Co., TX.
[3]
[5]
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
Mexico
. 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
, on June 5, 1856.
[2]
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
[
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]
Memucan Hunt Jr. is the namesake of
Hunt County, Texas
.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ray, Worth Stickley,
Austin Colony Pioneers, Including History of Bastrop, Fayette, Grimes, Montgomery and Washington Counties, Texas
Genealogical Publishing Company, 1995, p. 147.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Neu, C.T.
"Memucan Hunt"
.
Handbook of Texas Online
. Texas State Historical Association
. Retrieved
2007-10-31
.
- ^
a
b
"Memucan Hunt: An Inventory of Papers at the Texas State Archives, 1836-1846"
. Texas State Archives
. Retrieved
2007-10-31
.
- ^
Letter of Memucan Hunt to David G. Burnet, June 3, 1836. Executive Records Books, Texas Secretary of State, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
[1]
- ^
Texas Marriages, 1837-1973, LDS Family Search Index
- ^
Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States
. Govt. Print. Off. pp.
163
.
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Secretaries of War (1836 - 1841)
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Secretaries of the Navy (1836 - 1841)
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Secretaries of War and Marine (1841 - 1846)
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International
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National
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Other
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