Hunt family papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Hunt family papers consist primarily of correspondence between family members over multiple generations from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century. The Hunt family first immigrated from England in the 1830s.
Biographical / Historical
The Hunt family papers, consisting of letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings, document some of the history of the Hunt family from their arrival in the United States in the 19th century to the mid-20th century. The first generation -- Edwin and Sophia Hunt -- immigrated to the United States in the 1830s. According to later family accounts, Sophia Hunt had at least six siblings in Liverpool, including Alfred William Hunt, an English watercolor painter who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood movement of the mid-19th century. Edwin Hunt, who was Sophia Hunt's first cousin as well as husband, became a businessman involved in importing and selling goods from Great Britain with the enterprise Chance Brothers in New York City. Together, the two had ten children, including Clara, Sophia Darling, Louise, Amelia (Amy), Esther Maria, and Clement, all of whom are mentioned in the materials. The Hunts frequently went back to England to visit family and corresponded frequently with family and friends overseas.
Sometime after 1850, the family relocated to Chicago. Not much is known about the Hunt family between 1856 and 1870, and this time in their lives is not reflected in the collection. The Chicago Fire of 1871 was economically and personally devastating for the family. Some of the daughters were sent to Europe to travel and study, as documented in the materials. Between 1872 and 1874, the Hunt daughters traveled through England, Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Their mother, Sophia Hunt, visited them periodically and wrote to her husband in Chicago.
After the deaths of Edwin and Sophia Hunt (in 1874 and 1883, respectively), their children spread beyond Chicago -- some returning to England, others to New York, and still others throughout the rest of the midwestern United States.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by material type and chronologically. The correspondence is organized by recipient. The family photos are numbered in pencil to match up the person photographed with the finding aid description.
Scope and Contents
The materials in this collection consist of correspondence to the Hunt family from friends and other family between 1832 and 1959. Comprised of 73 letters and four photographs as well as five newspaper articles about various Hunt family members and a page of travel notes from Sicily, the bulk of the content dates from the 19th century and mainly documents family matters from deaths to travel to new business ventures.
Subjects
People
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to all qualified researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhitory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: Hunt family papers, MS 3229, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated by Sarah L. Wessels, the descendent of the family members whose letters are featured in the collection, March 16, 2023.
Custodial History
The Hunt family papers were passed down through the generations from Sarah Hunt (1814-1883) to her daughter Sarah Darling Hunt Weston (1849-1935). Sarah Weston then passed them to her daughter, Edith Kate Weston Ferree (1885-1975), who, in turn, gave them to her daughter, Ruth Weston Ferree Wessels (1911-2005). Ruth Weston Ferree Wessels finally gave the letters to her daughter, Sarah Louise Wessels (born 1946), the donor of this collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Paul-Louis Biondi, N-YHS intern for the Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS), July 2023.
Repository
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Correspondence to Clara Hunt, 1872-1903, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The daughter of Edwin and Sophia Hunt, Clara Hunt's correspondence includes letters to cousins back in England and her siblings over the last decades of the 19th century.
Correspondence to Edwin Hunt, 1832-1874, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The early material in this folder reflects the arrival of the Hunts in the United States in 1832 with letters from Edwin Hunt's parents and correspondence about the death of his father. Included here are letters addressed jointly to Edwin and Sophia Hunt. Many of the later letters from his wife, Sophia Hunt, in the 1870s detail their daughters' travels and studies in Europe.
Correspondence to Sophia Hunt, 1832-1856, inclusive
Scope and Contents
These letters dated between 1832 and 1856 and addressed to Sophia Hunt include correspondences from the Hunts' time living in New York City as the couple naviagted their new life in the United States. Even though Sophia and Edwin Hunt consistently returned for long visits to England, Sophia Hunt frequently wrote and received letters from family in England as well as friends.
Correspondence to Sophia Hunt, 1870-1879, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Ranging from 1870 to 1879, these materials include letters from Sophia Hunt's children as well as continued correspondence with extended family in England. Most of these letters date from the Hunts' time in Chicago and in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1871.
General correspondence to various family members, 1872-1959, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Mostly written to and by the descendents of Edwin and Sophia Hunt, the correspondence dates from 1872 to 1959. The letters reflect correspondence between siblings as well as a couple of letters to Clement from his mother, Sophia Hunt, while she was in Paris. The later letters include correspondence between further generations of the Hunts. Also of note is an undated poem about the death of a beloved sister.
Newspaper clippings, 1927-1935, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The selection of newspapers clippings include mentions of Sophia D. Hunt Weston and her husband, J.W. Weston, in the Chicago Tribune and Oklahoma City News.
Photos of the Hunt family
Scope and Contents
Four photos of the Hunt family (numbered on the back of each photo):
1. Edwin Hunt (1809-1874)
2. Sophia Darling Hunt Weston (1849-1935)
3. Louise Hunt (1839-1923)
4. (left to right) Sophia Darling Hunt, "Miss Manchester", Amy Hunt (1855-1929), Miss Fannie Manchester