Hunter, W.F.

HUNTER, GATES, YOUNG, PETTINGER

Posted By: Janelle Martin (email)
Date: 5/19/2009 at 12:20:06

History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Vol. II, p. 33

W. F. HUNTER

W. F. Hunter, secretary and treasurer of the Freeman-Tribune Publishing Company, was born in Eldorah, Iowa, June 9, 1863, a son of J. D. and Sarah A. (Gates) Hunter, both of whom were natives of Ohio. His paternal grandfather was a newspaper man in Angola, Steuben County, Indiana, and was a very prominent advocate of the abolition cause, utilizing his paper as a factor in advocating his belief. He was a candidate for congress in Indiana on the abolition ticket, and he gave direct evidence of his opposition to slavery by making his home a station on the famous underground railroad, whereby many a slave was assisted on his way to freedom in the north. After some years' residence in Indiana he returned to Ohio. His son, J. D. Hunter, became a resident of Iowa in 1857, at which time he settled in Eldorah and purchased the Eldorah Ledger. In 1866 he came to Webster City and purchased the Hamilton Freeman. He was, thereafter, identified with newspaper interests here until his death and in 1900 he consolidated the Freeman with the Tribune, which has since been published under the name of the Freeman-Tribune. He kept in touch with progressive journalism in his search for news and made his paper both the mirror and the molder of public opinion. He passed away in 1907 at the age of seventy-three years and is still survived by his widow, who makes her home in Webster City.

W. F. Hunter, whose name introduces this record, was educated in the public schools to the age of fifteen years, when he began learning more difficult lessons in the school of experience. He entered his father's newspaper office, gradually acquainting himself with the business in principle and detail, and in 1900 took full charge. He has since continued at the head of the paper and is now the secretary and treasurer of the company. This is one of the old newspapers of Hamilton County, having been established in 1857, and has ever maintained a foremost position as a leading journal in this part of Iowa. In addition to his publishing business, Mr. Hunter is a director of the Webster City Savings Bank and is the owner of the Brenneck block. His real-estate holdings likewise include about six hundred acres of valuable land in Iowa, which contribute much to his success.

In 1887 Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Aletta Young, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. D. Young. Her death occurred in 1891 and in 1900 Mr. Hunter was again married, his second union being with Miss Minnie Pettinger, the daughter of Nicholas Pettinger, a farmer of this county. They now have two children, Ruth, born in 1904; and Gayle in 1907. The family reside at No. 1219 Des Moines street, and the parents are widely and favorably known in this city, where the name of Hunter has long been an honored and respected one.