Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Hunt, Mark W ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 3:49 am Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County MARK W. HUNT, one of the earliest settlers of Frankfort Township, was born in Somersetshire, England, March 7, 1830. When eighteen years old he immigrated to America, sailing on the good ship "Isaac Wright" and arriving in New York after a voyage of six weeks. He had but $5 in his possession, but he was young and strong and had no fear for the future. Proceeding via the lakes to Chicago, he came from there by team to this county, landing on Hickory Creek July 3, 1848. He at once secured employment on a farm, being first in this township and afterward in New Lenox. When the excitement caused by the discovery of gold in California reached him he determined to seek his fortune in the far west. In 1852 he returned to New York, where he boarded a vessel bound for California. Reaching the Pacific coast he remained there for almost three years, being engaged in mining and teaming in the Sacramento Valley. The year 1855 found him back in Will County, he having returned via Panama, and soon afterward, with the earnings of his western trip, he bought a tract of timber land on section 12, New Lenox Township. Here he began the life of a farmer. In 1857 he bought a farm in Frankfort Township and took up his residence on this property. The original size was eighty acres. Subsequently he bought one hundred acres in New Lenox Township on the town line, and for almost thirty years he resided on this place, following general farming and stock-raising. He made a specialty of raising Norman horses and Poland-China hogs. With both of these he was more than ordinarily successful. Frequently he placed his stock on exhibition at fairs and received premiums on the same. From all over the county men came to him to buy stock for breeding purposes. As a stock-raiser no one in the township was more successful than he. His reputation was that of a progressive stockman, whose experience in the business made his opinion very valuable. In 1878 he bought an eighty-acre farm in Joliet Township. In 1889 he moved from his farm into Frankfort Station, where he owns a ten-acre tract of land. His landed possessions aggregate three hundred and twenty-five acres, all of which bears good improvements and represents the fruits of a lifetime of toil. The success he has attained is the more remarkable when it is remembered that he landed in this country with only $5, a stranger in a strange land, and without friends or relatives to assist him in getting a start. While he is not a partisan and does not care to identify himself with public affairs, Mr. Hunt is well posted concerning politics and affiliates with the Republican party. He is interested in educational affairs and for a number of years served on the school board. In religion his sympathies are toward the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which his wife is connected and toward which he contributes. In 1856 he was united in marriage with Martha B., daughter of Rev. Francis Owen, an early settler of Frankfort Township and for many years a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. This marriage was blessed with five children, named as follows: Addie, a well-known teacher in Will County schools; Neva, who is teaching school in Missouri; Lottie, wife of Peter Folkers; Wilber A., who is in Joliet; and Francis J., a farmer in South Dakota. Rev. Francis Owen was born in Kentucky September 19, 1797, a son of James Owen, of Welsh parentage. He was one of a large family of children, all of whom were born and reared in Kentucky. He was a good farmer and came to Will County, Ill., in 1834, settling in what is now Frankfort Township, where he owned a farm of over one hundred acres of good land. His wife was Kezia Wright, a daughter of Rev. William Wright, a native of Virginia and a local Methodist Episcopal preacher. He had fifteen children who reached maturity. In 1805 he moved his family to Kentucky. The progenitor of this family, William Wright, was born in London, England. Rev. Francis Owen was a preacher of considerable local fame and his exemplary life was a blessing to Frankfort Township, where he is held in loving remembrance. He died when over seventy years of age. His wife died December 16, 1846, aged fifty-two years. They had nine children, and of these seven reached maturity. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/hunt1808nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb