Ward Hunt

Ward Hunt
Ward Hunt, by Mathew Brady, c. 1870-80
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office January 9, 1873 – January 27, 1882[1]
Nominated by	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Samuel Nelson
Succeeded by	Samuel Blatchford
Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
In office January 12, 1868 – December 31, 1869
Preceded by	William Wright
Succeeded by	Robert Earl
Personal details
Born	(1810-06-14)June 14, 1810 Utica, New York, U.S.
Died	March 24, 1886(1886-03-24) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Utica, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (Before 1848) Free Soil (1848–1854) Republican (1868–1886)
Spouses	Mary Ann Savage ​ ​ (m. 1837; died 1846)​ Maria Taylor ​ ​ (m. 1853; died 1866)​
Children	3
Education	Union College (BA) Litchfield Law School

Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810 – March 24, 1886) was an American jurist and politician. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1868 to 1869, and an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1872 to 1882.^[2]

Hunt was the son of Montgomery James Hunt (d. 1871), long-time cashier of the Bank of Utica, and Elizabeth (née Stringham) Hunt.^[3] He was a classmate of Horatio Seymour at the Oxford and Geneva Academies, and graduated from Union College in 1828, where he was an early member of the Kappa Alpha Society. Then he studied law with Judge James Gould at Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut and with Hiram Denio in Utica, and was admitted to the bar in 1831.^[3][4]

He was a Democratic member from Oneida County of the New York State Assembly in 1839, and was Mayor of Utica in 1844.^[5] In 1848, he joined the Free Soil Party, and in 1855 he was among the founders of the New York Republican Party.^[5]

Hunt remained in private practice until 1865, when he was elected to an eight-year term on the New York Court of Appeals on the Republican ticket, to succeed to the seat held by his former law teacher and partner Hiram Denio. Hunt became chief judge in 1868 after the sudden death of Chief Judge William B. Wright. In 1870, he was legislated out of office but was appointed one of the Commissioners of Appeals.^[3]

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Hunt was a friend and patron of political boss Roscoe Conkling, who was an associate of President Ulysses S. Grant. When Samuel Nelson retired from the Supreme Court, Conkling asked Grant to nominate Hunt for the vacancy. Hunt was nominated on December 3, 1872, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 11,^[6] and was sworn into office on January 9, 1873.^[1][7]

Hunt had little impact on the court, siding with the majority in all but 22 cases in his ten years on the job and writing only four dissenting opinions.^[8] His most notable contribution came while riding circuit in New York, where he presided over United States v. Anthony. Citing the 14th Amendment, Susan B. Anthony argued that she was constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote and had not broken the law when she voted in the 1872 election.^[8] Justice Hunt refused to allow Anthony to testify on her own behalf, allowed statements given by her at the time of her arrest to be allowed as "testimony," explicitly ordered the jury to return a guilty verdict, refused to poll the jury afterwards, and read an opinion he had written before the trial even started. Hunt found that Anthony had indeed broken the law and fined Anthony $100 (which she refused to pay).^[9]

In 1878, Hunt suffered a severe paralyzing stroke, which prevented him from attending court sessions or rendering opinions. Nonetheless, he did not retire, because at the time in order to retire with a full pension a person had to put in at least ten years of government service and be at least 70 years old.^[8] To encourage him to retire, Congress passed a special provision under which he could receive a pension if he would retire within 30 days.^[10] Hunt did so on January 27, 1882, and enjoyed his pension until his death in Washington, D.C., four years later.^[8]

On November 8, 1837,^[11] Hunt was married to Mary Ann Savage (1819–1846), the daughter of U.S. Representative and chief justice of the New York Supreme Court John Savage, and great-niece of Congressman Samuel Lyman. They had three children,^[2] one of whom died in early manhood.^[8] Together they were the parents of:^[12]

• Elizabeth Stringham "Eliza" Hunt (1838-1905), who married Arthur Breese Johnson (1829–1883).^[12] Johnson was the great-grandson of Second President of the United States John Adams and great-nephew of Sixth President of the United States John Quincy Adams. They had six children:
  • Ward Hunt Johnson (1864-1937); named after Ward himself
  • Mary Savage Johnson (1866-1951); named after Ward's first wife
  • Laura Savage Johnson (1870-1933)
  • Montgomery Hunt Johnson (1872-1952); named after Ward's father
  • Louise Eliza Johnson (1873-1875)
  • Leon Arthur Johnson (1877-1909)
• John Savage Hunt (1839-1864), who was named after Mary's father; served as a first lieutenant in the United States Civil War and died after drowning in the James River in Virginia.
• Ward Hunt, Jr. (1843-1901), who married Grace Annette Taylor (1844-1928)
  • John Savage Hunt (1866-1911); named after his uncle^[13]

After his wife's death, he remained a widower for eight years until June 18, 1853, when he married Maria Taylor (1827-1912), the daughter of James Taylor, the former Cashier of the Commercial Bank of Albany.^[2]

Hunt died on March 24, 1886, in Washington, D.C.^[2] He was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

• [1] Supreme Court Historical Society
• [2] Oyez

• Ward Hunt at Find a Grave