Ward Hunt

Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810 – March 24, 1886) was an American

He was a Democratic member from Oneida County of the New York State Assembly in 1839, and was Mayor of Utica in 1844.^[5] In 1848, he joined the Free Soil Party, and in 1855 he was among the founders of the New York Republican Party.^[5]

Hunt remained in private practice until

U.S. Supreme Court

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Hunt was a friend and patron of political boss

Hunt had little impact on the court, siding with the majority in all but 22 cases in his ten years on the job and writing only four dissenting opinions.[8] His most notable contribution came while riding circuit in New York, where he presided over United States v. Anthony. Citing the 14th Amendment, Susan B. Anthony argued that she was constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote and had not broken the law when she voted in the 1872 election.^[8] Justice Hunt refused to allow Anthony to testify on her own behalf, allowed statements given by her at the time of her arrest to be allowed as "testimony," explicitly ordered the jury to return a guilty verdict, refused to poll the jury afterwards, and read an opinion he had written before the trial even started. Hunt found that Anthony had indeed broken the law and fined Anthony $100 (which she refused to pay).^[9]

In 1878, Hunt suffered a severe paralyzing stroke, which prevented him from attending court sessions or rendering opinions. Nonetheless, he did not retire, because at the time in order to retire with a full pension a person had to put in at least ten years of government service and be at least 70 years old.^[8] To encourage him to retire, Congress passed a special provision under which he could receive a pension if he would retire within 30 days.^[10] Hunt did so on January 27, 1882, and enjoyed his pension until his death in Washington, D.C., four years later.^[8]

Personal life

On November 8, 1837,

• Elizabeth Stringham "Eliza" Hunt (1838-1905), who married Arthur Breese Johnson (1829–1883).[12] Johnson was the great-grandson of Second President of the United States John Adams and great-nephew of Sixth President of the United States John Quincy Adams. They had six children:
  • Ward Hunt Johnson (1864-1937); named after Ward himself
  • Mary Savage Johnson (1866-1951); named after Ward's first wife
  • Laura Savage Johnson (1870-1933)
  • Montgomery Hunt Johnson (1872-1952); named after Ward's father
  • Louise Eliza Johnson (1873-1875)
  • Leon Arthur Johnson (1877-1909)
• John Savage Hunt (1839-1864), who was named after Mary's father; served as a first lieutenant in the
  United States Civil War and died after drowning in the James River in Virginia
  .
• Ward Hunt, Jr. (1843-1901), who married Grace Annette Taylor (1844-1928)
  • John Savage Hunt (1866-1911); named after his uncle[13]

After his wife's death, he remained a widower for eight years until June 18, 1853, when he married Maria Taylor (1827-1912), the daughter of James Taylor, the former Cashier of the Commercial Bank of Albany.^[2]

Hunt died on March 24, 1886, in

See also

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

References