My Genealogy Hound

William Hunter was born in Tennessee in 1827, his parents being Squire and Rebecca (Burden) Hunter, natives of Tennessee, where they were reared and married. The father was well educated and a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church. From his native State he went to Missouri, settling near Springfield, Greene County. A short time after (about 1856) he came to Franklin County, Ark., where he died in 1861. Mrs. Hunter died at Fort Smith during the war. She was the mother of ten children. Those living are William, Marion and Elizabeth. Sarah, Charles, Ira, John, James, Mary and Squire are dead. The paternal grandparents were natives of North Carolina, who immigrated to Tennessee in an early day, and there passed the remainder of their lives. The maternal ancestors were founders and large property owners of Stanton, Va., where they were born. William Hunter, our subject, received but a meager education during his youth, which was passed upon a farm in Missouri. When eighteen he left home and came to Franklin County, Ark. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted at Fort Smith in company D, of the First Arkansas Volunteer Infantry, and served until discharged at the same place in 1865. He served on detached duty, and was wounded at the battle of Big Creek. After the war he was engaged in farming in this county, and he now owns 260 acres of good land, 120 of which he cultivates. In 1847 he was united in marriage to Barbara Powell, of Arkansas, who died in 1865. She was the mother of six children: Elizabeth, Rebecca, Matilda (deceased), Polly A. (deceased), Rachel (deceased) and an infant (also deceased). In 1866 Mr. Hunter married Sarah, daughter of Isaac Ellis, of Benton County, Ark. This marriage has been blessed with four children: Ellen, Annie, William and Sarah. Mrs. Hunter is an active member of the Christian Church, and Mr. Hunter is a Republican in politics.