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John P. Hunt
John
P. Hunt has traveled life’s journey for eighty-two years, his birth
having occurred in Leeds county, Canada, on the 12th of October, 1825.
He now owns and occupies a farm on section 29, Dawson township, Greene
county, Iowa, having resided in the county for thirty-five years. His
parents were John and Laura Hunt, whose family numbered eleven children.
John P. Hunt was reared to manhood in his native country and in the
fall of 1849, when twenty-four years of age, became a resident of
Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois, where he followed the blacksmith’s
trade until 1872. He then came to Greene county, Iowa, locating in
Hardin township, where he purchased eighty acres that had been
partially improved and in addition to blacksmithing he now gave his
attention to general farming, living upon his Hardin township property
until the fall of 1882, when he sold out there and bought his present
place of eighty acres in Dawson township. He personally operated this
farm until the spring of 1907 and now rents it. He has always done
blacksmithing and repair work for his neighbors, usually without taking
any pay for it - a fact which indicates his kindliness of spirit and
his readiness to do for others. That he has the good will and
friendship of the entire community has been manifest in many ways, a
notable example of which was that in the first fall the neighbors had a
surprise party on him, a dozen of them driving into his yard one
morning and husking his corn for him just to show their good will.
Always pleasant, always courteous, always considerate of the rights of
others, Mr. Hunt justly merits the regard in which he is uniformly held.
In 1850 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hunt and Miss Charlotte
Bishop, with whom he traveled life’s journey for twelve years, when, in
1862, they were separated by the death of the wife. There were two
children by that marriage: A. C., who is now living in Omaha; and John
D., who resides in Cedar Rapids. In 1870 Mr. Hunt was again married,
his second union being with Sarah Lyohs, who died in 1875, leaving
three children: Mrs. Cora Smith, now a resident of California; Mrs.
Jessie Coover, living in Dawson township; and Richard B., who follows
farming in Dawson township. In 1878 Mr. Hunt wedded Elizabeth Kloss, a
daughter of Jacob Kloss, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1815 and
died in Dawson township in 1885. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Rebecca Quigley, was born in Lehigh, Pennsylvania, in 1820, and is
still living, making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Hunt. She is a
remarkably well preserved woman for one of her years and yet does
considerable housework. Mr. Kloss came to America when twenty-one years
of age and for a long period followed mining in Pennsylvaia. In 1876 he
arrived in Greene county, where he followed farming until his death. In
his family were eleven children, of whom two died in infancy, while
four are yet living: David, a resident of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Hunt;
Philip, who is living in Churdan, Iowa; and Franklin, residing in
Tennessee. One son of this family, William Kloss, was killed while
serving as a defender of the Union cause in the Civil war. There have
been two children born of the last marriage of Mr. Hunt: Mrs. Annie
Burgess, the wife of Albert Burgess, who operates her father’s farm, he
and his wife living at the old homestead; and Mrs. Mabel Brown, of
Dawson township.
In politics Mr. Hunt has always been a stalwart republican but without
aspiration for office. He is a member of the Friends church, while his
wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and both are
earnest Christian people, neglecting no duty or obligation to their
fellowmen. Throughout his life Mr. Hunt has exemplified the truth of
the Emersonian philosophy that “the way to win a friend is to be one”
and there is no more popular or highly respected resident in Dawson
township or in all Greene county than John P. Hunt.
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