John Hunt Jr. 

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Born on February 20, 1719 in Rehoboth, MA to John and Susannah (Sweeting) Hunt. On March 20, 1749 he married Rachel Carpenter, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Barstow) Carpenter. Together they had six children: Molly, John Jr, Judith, Huldah, Peter, and Nathaniel. After the death of Rachel in 1759, he married Sarah Bullock and together they had one child, Josiah. 

 

John Hunt served in the American Revolutionary War. According to Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War and the Massachusetts muster and payroll records, John was a patriot and a soldier. During the Revolutionary War, a patriot was any colonist who supported independence from British rule, while a soldier was specifically an individual serving in the military. Patriots included civilians, politicians, and women who provided supplies, money, or support.

 

John Hunt appeared on a list of men, dated July 1776, belonging to the 1st Rehoboth Company who served for five months at York. The New York Campaign of July to November 1776 was a pivotal series of battles for control of New York City and the Hudson River, marking the largest military effort by Great Britain to suppress the American rebellion. Command was led by General George Washington for the Continentals and General William Howe for the British. It ended with a British victory and the capture and seven year occupation of New York City. In 1778, John appeared on a list of men who gave money to raise Continental soldiers. 

 

After the war, John remained in Rehoboth, MA. He was a clothier by trade and resided in the building that currently houses the East Providence Historical Society’s John Hunt House Museum at 65 Hunt’s Mills Road. The house stands on 44 acres that were once part of the Hunt family’s property going back to 1713, which contained a grist mill, sawmill, fulling mill, and eventually a cotton mill. The property stayed in the Hunt family until the late 1800’s. 

 

John died on February 19, 1806 at the age of 87. He is buried in Newman Cemetery in Rumford, RI. His gravesite is marked with a slate stone which was carved by Samuel Tingley Jr. Over the years, the stone slowly started to “cartwheel.” In the spring of 2025, TNT Gravestone Solutions was hired by the city of East Providence to repair and reset 112 gravestones and John’s was one of them. 

 

John Hunt Jr. is remembered for his service in the fight for American independence. His contribution helped secure freedom for future generations.