Editing Ward Hunt

{{Short description|US Supreme Court justice from 1873 to 1882}}
{{about|the U.S. jurist and politician|the British politician and First Lord of the Admiralty|George Ward Hunt|other uses|Ward Hunt (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Ward Hunt
| image        = Ward Hunt - Brady-Handy.jpg
| caption      = Ward Hunt, by [[Mathew Brady]], {{circa|1870-80}}
| office       = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
| nominator    = [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
| term_start   = January 9, 1873<!--Term start date as per www.supremecourt.gov, reflects date oath taken-->
| term_end     = January 27, 1882<ref name=SCOTUSjustices>{{cite web| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx| title= Justices 1789 to Present| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 9, 2022}}</ref>
| predecessor  = [[Samuel Nelson]]
| successor    = [[Samuel Blatchford]]
| office1      = [[Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals]]
| term_start1  = January 12, 1868
| term_end1    = December 31, 1869
| predecessor1 = [[William B. Wright|William Wright]]
| successor1   = [[Robert Earl (judge)|Robert Earl]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1810|6|14}}
| birth_place  = [[Utica, New York]], US
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1886|3|24|1810|6|14}}
| death_place  = [[Washington, D.C.]], US
| resting_place = [[Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York)|Forest Hill Cemetery]]<br />Utica, New York, US
| party        = {{ubl|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] {{small|(Before 1848)}}|[[Free Soil Party|Free Soil]] {{small|(1848–1854)}}|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] {{small|(1855–1886)}}}}
| education    = {{ubl|[[Union College]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}|[[Litchfield Law School]]}}
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Mary Ann Savage<br>|1837|1846|reason=her death}}
* {{marriage|Maria Taylor<br>|1853|1866|reason=her death}}
}}
| children     = 3
}}
'''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.<ref name="JWHObit1886"/>

==Early life, family and education==
Hunt was the son of Montgomery James Hunt (d. 1871), long-time cashier of the Bank of [[Utica, New York|Utica]], and Elizabeth ([[née]] Stringham) Hunt.<ref name= "litchfieldhistoricalsociety">{{cite web |title=Ward E. Hunt |url= https://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/1320|website= litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org| publisher=[[Litchfield Law School|Litchfield Historical Society]] |access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=8 February 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180208004838/http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/1320|url-status=live}}</ref> Ward attended the [[Oxford, New York|Oxford]] and [[Hobart and William Smith Colleges|Geneva]] Academies<ref name= "litchfieldhistoricalsociety"/> and was a classmate of [[Horatio Seymour]]. He attended [[Hamilton College]] in 1827, then transferred to [[Union College]] in 1828,<ref name= "litchfieldhistoricalsociety"/> where he was an early member of the [[Kappa Alpha Society]]. 

After graduating with honors in 1828,<ref name= "litchfieldhistoricalsociety"/> he subsequently 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 (law)|bar]] in 1831.<ref name= "litchfieldhistoricalsociety"/><ref name= "supremecourthistory">{{cite web |title= Timeline of the Court – Ward Hunt| url= https://www.supremecourthistory.org/timeline_hunt.html |website= supremecourthistory.org |publisher= The Supreme Court Historical Society |access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=7 October 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181007040036/https://www.supremecourthistory.org/timeline_hunt.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Career==
===Politician and attorney===
Hunt was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member from Oneida County of the [[New York State Assembly]] in 1839, and he was [[List of mayors of Utica, New York|Mayor of Utica]] in 1844.<ref name="Hough1858">{{cite book |last1=Hough |first1=Franklin Benjamin|title=The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origin of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers from the Revolution to the Present Time| year= 1858 |publisher= Weed, Parsons and Co., Publishers |location= Albany, New York |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E3sFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA283 283] |language=en| via= Google Books}}</ref> In 1848, he joined the [[Free Soil Party]], and in 1855 he was among the founders of the New York [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name="Hough1858"/>

Hunt remained in private practice until 1865 when he ran for a slot on the [[New York Court of Appeals]].

===New York Court of Appeals===
Hunt was [[New York state election, 1865|elected in 1865]] for an eight-year term on the [[New York Court of Appeals]] on the Republican ticket, acquiring 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.<ref name="litchfieldhistoricalsociety"/>

===US Supreme Court===
{{Disputed section|date=January 2021}}
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 [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]], Conkling asked Grant to nominate Hunt for the vacancy. Hunt was nominated on December 3, 1872, confirmed by the [[United States Senate|US Senate]] on December 11,<ref name="1872Senate">{{cite news|title=WASHINGTON NOTES.; Judge Hunt Confirmed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The Attempt to Steal the Alabama Legislature. Attitude of Democrats Toward the Indian Peace Policy. Opposition to the Soldiers and Sailors' Land-Bounty Bill. More Cavalry Ordered to the Valley of the Rio Grande.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E0D71330EF34BC4A52DFB4678389669FDE|access-date=6 April 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 December 1872|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193314/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E0D71330EF34BC4A52DFB4678389669FDE|url-status=live}}</ref> and was [[Oath of office#Federal judiciary oaths|sworn into office]] on January 9, 1873.<ref name=SCOTUSjustices/><ref name="Lurie2004">{{cite book| last1= Lurie|first1=Jonathan|last2=Chase|first2=Salmon Portland|title=The Chase Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy| year=2004| publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn= 9781576078211| page=52| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wot7PgOaBTUC&pg=PA52|access-date=6 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=15 December 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191215191133/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wot7PgOaBTUC&pg=PA52|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Cushman2012"/>  His most notable contribution came while riding circuit in New York, where he presided over ''[[Trial of Susan B. Anthony|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.<ref name="Cushman2012"/>  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).<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/sbahome.html |title= Famous American Trials: The Trial of Susan B. Anthony| publisher= University of Missouri Law School| place= Kansas City| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110123114608/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/sbahome.html |archivedate= 2011-01-23 | access-date= }}</ref>

In 1878, Hunt suffered a severe paralyzing [[stroke]] which prevented him from attending court sessions or rendering opinions. However, he refused to 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.<ref name="Cushman2012"/> To encourage him to retire, Congress passed a special provision under which he could receive a pension if he would retire within 30 days.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Ward Hunt {{!}} American jurist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ward-Hunt |website= [[Encyclopedia Britannica]]; britannica.com |publisher= |access-date=6 April 2018 |language=en| archive-date=7 April 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180407060044/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ward-Hunt|url-status=live}}</ref> Hunt did so on January 27, 1882, and enjoyed his pension until his death in Washington, D.C., four years later.<ref name="Cushman2012">{{cite book| last1=Cushman |first1=Clare |title=The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–2012| year= 2012|publisher=CQ Press|isbn=9781452235349|pages= [https://books.google.com/books?id=QKN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA185 185–188] |language=en | url= |via= Google Books}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On November 8, 1837, Hunt married Mary Ann Savage (1819–1846),<ref name="MASHLitch">{{cite web|title= Mary Ann Savage Hunt |url= https://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/1321 |website= litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org| publisher= Litchfield Historical Society |access-date= 6 April 2018| archive-date=30 March 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160330012028/http://litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/1321|url-status=live}}</ref> the daughter of [[U.S. Representative]] and chief justice of the [[New York Supreme Court]] [[John Savage (American politician, born 1779)|John Savage]], and great-niece of Congressman [[Samuel Lyman]]. They had three children,<ref name="JWHObit1886"/> one of whom died in early manhood.<ref name="Cushman2012"/>  Together they were the parents of:<ref name="DAR1900">{{cite book| title=Lineage Book |year= 1900| publisher= [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=92gZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA247 247] |language=en| via= Google Books}}</ref>

* Elizabeth Stringham "Eliza" Hunt (1838–1905), who married Arthur Breese Johnson (1829–1883).<ref name="DAR1900"/> Johnson was the great-grandson of Second US President [[John Adams]] and great-nephew of sixth President [[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<ref>{{cite web |title=Ward Hunt and Mary Ann Savage |url=https://www.ourfamtree.org/browse.php?fid=501797 |website=ourfamtree.org |publisher=Ray Gurganus |access-date=29 May 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212448/https://www.ourfamtree.org/browse.php?fid=501797 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref name="JWHObit1886"/>

Hunt died on March 24, 1886, in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="JWHObit1886">{{cite news|title=Obituary. Ex-Judge Ward Hunt| url= https://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B0DE5DA1330E533A25756C2A9659C94679FD7CF|access-date=6 April 2018|work=[[The New York Times]] |date= March 25, 1886 |archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132232/http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B0DE5DA1330E533A25756C2A9659C94679FD7CF|url-status=live}}</ref>  He was buried at the [[Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica|Forest Hill Cemetery]] in Utica.

==See also==
*[[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

*[http://www.supremecourthistory.org Supreme Court Historical Society]
*[http://www.oyez.org Oyez.org]

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|5691}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before = [[William B. Wright|William Wright]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals|Chief Judge of the<br>New York Court of Appeals]]|years=1868–1869}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Robert Earl (judge)|Robert Earl]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before = [[Samuel Nelson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice of the<br>Supreme Court of the United States]]|years = 1873–1882}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Samuel Blatchford]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{ChiefJudgeNYSCoAppeal}}
{{SCOTUS Justices}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Ward}}
[[Category:1810 births]]
[[Category:1886 deaths]]
[[Category:Episcopalians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals]]
[[Category:Mayors of Utica, New York]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:New York (state) Free Soilers]]
[[Category:New York (state) Republicans]]
[[Category:Union College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant]]
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
[[Category:Litchfield Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York)]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature]]