Ward Hunt (1810-1886)

Ward Hunt was born in Utica, New York, on June 14, 1810. He graduated from the Litchfield Law School in Connecticut in 1831, and began practicing law in Utica. Hunt served as a New York state legislator and as Mayor of Utica in the 1830s and 1840s. He also helped found the Republican Party in New York in the 1850s. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Hunt was elected to the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in that state. After the retirement from the Court of Samuel Nelson, a New Yorker, Hunt was chosen by President Ulysses S. Grant to the Court. In late 1878, Hunt suffered a stroke. He did not resign because he was ineligible for a federal pension, having served less than 10 years on the Court. After a private bill was adopted granting him a pension, Hunt resigned from the Court in January 1882.  He served just under 10 years on the Court. Hunt was a liberal in matters of race, but may be better known for his work while riding circuit in denying Susan B. Anthony's claim that she had a right to vote. Hunt wrote a dissent in just four (4) cases. He dissented without an opinion another 18 times. Hunt was married twice, first to Mary Ann Savage, and then to Maria Taylor. He was the father of two children. He died in March 1886.

Additional reading: Marian C. McKenna, "Ward Hunt," in The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (1992).