John Hunt

Who was John Hunt?

John Hunt was a prominent Quaker minister and journalist from Moorestown Township, New Jersey. He kept a diary, most of which has been preserved, from 1770 to 1824. The diary relates Hunt's personal activities, concerns and beliefs. It is also a concise source of primary evidence that documents local people and events.

John Hunt, the son of Robert Hunt, Jr. and Abigail Wood, his wife, was born August 5, 1740 at the small, rural community of Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is located in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey about two miles east of the town of Columbus. His father was a first cousin to John Woolman, the renowned Quaker minister. The family moved to a farm at Colestown, a small community located a few miles south of Moorestown. Here, Abigail Hunt died February 22, 1747. Robert Hunt and Martha Bates, widow of George Ward, were married in May, 1749. Robert Hunt's seven children, from both marriages, lived together on the farm at Colestown.

John Hunt and Esther Warrington were married March 17, 1763 in the Friends Meetinghouse at Moorestown. They had ten children, three of whom died young. Hunt was a Quaker minister for more than 50 years.