Lewis Hunt Historic Home

Lewis Hunt House, Salem

Mary Bowditch (1760-1829) and Lewis Hunt (1746-1797)

Generation Five Family 768

MARY BOWDITCH (Mary Carleton Bowditch4, Deborah Stevens Carleton3, Sarah Abbott Stevens2, George1), b. at Salem, Jun 1760 daughter of John and Mary (Carleton) Bowditch; d. at Salem, 18 Mar 1829; m. 7 Apr 1782, as his second wife, LEWIS HUNT, b. 23 Mar 1746 son of William and Eunice Bowditch Hunt; Lewis d. 22 Oct 1797. Lewis Hunt was first married to Sarah Orne who died in 1781.

Lewis Hunt was a deacon in Salem. He made his living as a baker and ran his shop from a front room in the family home. The family home, known as the Lewis Hunt house, was held in the family for five generations. It was demolished in 1863. The house was originally built by Lewis’s grandfather Lewis Hunt who was a mariner in Salem. (1)

Lewis Hunt wrote his will 10 October 1797 just two weeks before his death. He makes a separate bequest of $100 each for the three children from his first marriage: William Hunt, Sarah Hunt, and Eunice Hunt to be paid five years after his decease. To allow his beloved wife Mary to keep the family together, he provides for her to have the entire income from his estate for five years. After that time, she is to receive her dower and the remainder of the estate is to be divided equally among his children and any child his wife is currently pregnant with. Children named are William, Lewis, Sarah, Eunice, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, and Benjamin. (The youngest daughter Deborah was born four days after her father’s death.) Friend Deacon Thomas Hartshorne was named sole executor of the estate. (2)

In her will written 19 July 1822, Mary Hunt specifies that her daughters Mary Hunt and Deborah Hunt are to have an undivided ninth part of their father's estate which had been left to their brother Joseph who is now deceased. Deborah and Mary also receive wearing apparel and household items. Son John Hunt, Jr. receives $10. Daughter Elizabeth Hinman receives $10. The residue of the estate is to be equally divided between Mary and Deborah and Mary is named sole executor. Both Mary and Deborah married between the time of the will and the probate of the estate (7 April 1829). Daughter Mary was Mary Ingersoll when she acted as executor of the estate. (3)

Lewis and Mary Hunt had nine children whose births are recorded at Salem. Two of the children, John and Elizabeth, relocated to Ohio.

1. LEWIS HUNT, b. 30 Jan 1783; d. 25 Jul 1800.

2. MARY HUNT, b. 22 Apr 1784; d. 10 Oct 1785

3. JOHN HUNT, b. 14 Dec 1785; d. in Ohio, Oct 1859; m. about 1820, LYDIA FOLGER, b. at Nantucket, 23 May 1793 daughter of Timothy and Hephzibah (Chadwick) Folger. (4) The circumstances of John Hunt are uncertain. In her will, John Hunt’s sister Mary Hunt Ingersoll Burley left John’s bequest in the form of a trust managed by a trustee rather than as a direct bequest to John. Mary specified that after John’s decease any remainder would be dispersed to his heirs. John Hunt’s heirs in the probate document are Marcus A. Hunt, John W. Hunt, and William P. Hunt. (5)

4. SAMUEL HUNT, b. 21 Aug 1787; d. 25 May 1790.

5. JOSEPH HUNT, b. 28 Jun 1789; d. at Salem, 7 Aug 1808.

6. MARY HUNT, b. 10 May 1791; d. at Salem, 3 May 1858; m. 1 Sep 1822, her first cousin, JOHN INGERSOLL (Hannah Bowditch Ingersoll5, Mary Carleton Bowditch4, Deborah Stevens Carleton3, Sarah Abbott Stevens2, George1) b. 1794 son of John and Hannah (Bowditch) Ingersoll; John d. at Salem, 5 Oct 1829. Mary later remarried to John Burley on 2 Jun 1848.

7. ELIZABETH HUNT, b. 5 Jan 1793; d. at Cincinnati, OH, 30 Mar 1853; m. at Salem, 1 Feb 1815, EBENEZER HINMAN, b. at St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire 31 Mar 1790 son of Whuriel and Sarah (-) Hinman (6, 7); Ebenezer d. at Yellow Springs, OH, 9 Feb 1868. Ebenezer Hinman served as recorder of the city council of Cincinnati from 1834-1838. (8)

8. BENJAMIN BOWDITCH HUNT, b. 9 Sep 1795; d. at Salem, Oct 1820.

9. DEBORAH HUNT, b. 26 Oct 1797; d. at Hopkinton, NH, Oct 1831; m. at Salem, 27 Apr 1825, MICHAEL CARLETON, b. at Blue Hill, ME, about 1796 son of Moses and Mary (Webster) Carleton; Michael d. at Salem, 6 Mar 1865. Michael’s uncle Edward Carleton married Phebe Abbott.

Notes:

1) “The Lewis Hunt House,” http://www.historicsalem.org/blog/the-lewis-hunt-house

2) Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Will of Lewis Hunt, 10 Oct 1797.

3) Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Probate of Mary Hunt, 7 Apr 1829, case number 14259.

4) Nantucket births has the following entry: Folger, Lydia w. John Hunt (widr. of Ohio formerly of Salem), d. of Timothy and Hepsabeth (Chadwick), 23rd, 5 mo. 1793. New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Vital Records of Nantucket, Massachusetts to the Year 1850.

5) In the 1850 U.S. Census, John and Lydia Hunt are living in Spencer, Ohio with sons 22-year old John W. Hunt and 16-year old Marcus A. Hunt.

6) England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970, The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 2972.

7) The name of Ebenezer’s father and date of birth are given on his cemetery index card (Cincinnati Ohio, Spring Grove Cemetery).

8) Henry and Ford, History of Cincinnati, Ohio, p. 381.