BIOGRAPHY - Enoch S. Hunt
ENOCH S. HUNT, the original owner of the town site of Melvin, and one
of the most successful farmers of Ford County, claims Illinois as the State
of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Marshall County, on the 15th
of October, 1833. He is a son of Cornelius and Ann (Sidle) Hunt, who were
pioneer settlers of his native county, and a sketch of this worthy couple is
given on another page of this work. Our subject was reared to manhood upon a
farm, and enjoyed but limited educational advantages, as schools were not
only few but poor in Marshall County in his youth, and his services were
required on the farm in assisting his father. When fourteen years of age he
removed with his parents to La Salle County, where he made his home until
coming to Ford County.
On the 21st of December, 1854, in Lacon, Ill., Mr. Hunt was joined in
wedlock with Miss Mary Griffln, who was born and reared in Marshall County,
and is a daughter of David and Ruth Griffin, who were pioneers of that
county of 1830, having come there from Pennsylvania. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hunt
have been born three children who are yet living and they lost one. Esther,
the eldest, is the wife of C. B. Ellis, a resident of Independence, Iowa;
Jessie is the widow of S. A. Bookwater and resides in Melvin; Mary is the
wife of W. P. Sreve, a farmer of Peach Orchard, and William Wallace died in
1862, at the age of fourteen mouths.
Mr. Hunt was successfully engaged in farming in La Salle County until 1867,
when he removed to Peach Orchard Township, Ford County, and purchased a
large farm, one half section of which is the site of the present village of
Melvin. He made the original plat of that village and subsequently platted
two additions to the town. His farm house was situated near the northwest
corner of the village plat and one hundred rods from the post-office. There
he made his home until 1800, when he purchased and removed to his present
fine residence to the southeast of the depot. He still has three hundred and
fifty acres of his original farm which he leases, besides fourteen lots in
the village of Melvin, and his wife owns a farm of two hundred and forty
acres, so their aggregate possessions amount to six hundred acres, all in
Peach Orchard Township.
In politics, Mr. Hunt is an out-and-out Republican, a stalwart supporter of
that party's principles, and has served as Assessor and Road Commissioner
for Peach Orchard Township, and held the office of Collector for many years
in La Salle County. His wife and daughters are members of the Congregational
Church. For a quarter of a century, Mr. Hunt has been a resident of Ford
County, and of Peach Orchard Township; in fact, he was on the ground when
the township was set off and organized and is properly the founder of the
village of Melvin. His life has been a busy and useful one, and by untiring
industry, the exercise of good judgment and by strict integrity has
succeeded in acquiring a valuable property. His success is certainly well
deserved. He has recently retired from active farming and is living
comfortably with his family in the enjoyment of a well-earned competence and
the kind regard of his old neighbors and friends.
Extracted 22 Aug 2019 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County, Illinois, published in 1892, pages 257-258.
