COLONEL THOMAS J. HUNT.     Colonel Thomas J. Hunt, now residing retired in Fayetteville, is placed by public opinion among the influential and leading citizens of Washington county and is a man whose character and business integrity entitle him to be numbered among the most desirable and useful citizens of the state.  He is a native son of this state, his birth having occurred in Washington county on the 28th of April, 1840.  He is of English descent in both paternal and maternal lines, and his grandfather, William Hunt, was a native of Virginia.  His maternal grandfather, Hiram Wilson, was likewise a native of that state.  The parents of Thomas J. Hunt were William and Rhoda (Wilson) Hunt and they were both born in Russell county, Virginia.  They were married in that county and later removed to Illinois, locating on the Illinois river for some time.  Because of the prevalence of malarial fever they left that state and in 1839 removed to Washington county, this state.  He bought land on the White river and there resided until his demise.  Mrs. Hunt died in 1862.  The father's demise occurred at the home of the subject of this review, near Fayetteville.   Eight children were born to their union, of whom T. J. is the only one living.  He was the youngest child.  The family were reared in the faith of the christian church and until the Civil war Mr. Hunt was a stanch supporter of the democratic faction.  Upon the outbreak of that war he enlisted in the Union army.   He was captured in the Boston mountains of Arkansas but was soon exchanged.  The family were divided during the war but none of the immediate family were in the Confederate army.  At the close of the war Mr. Hunt returned to Arkansas.
     Colonel Thomas J. Hunt received his education in the schools of this state, in the vicinity of his father's farm.  After putting his textbooks aside he engaged in farming for some time, when he secured a teacher's certificate and was active in that profession at the outbreak of the Civil war.  He entered the Union army from the schoolroom in 1862 and with two hundred men was mustered in as captain of B. Squad.  He later received the promotion to major of the Second Battalion.  He served throughout the southwest and Arkansas and fired the last shot at Price on the Arkansas river.  He was engaged in all the campaigns against Price, being a member of the First Arkansas Cavalry Volunteers.  At the close of the war he returned to his native state and engaged in farming.  He bought his present home in 1867, which was the former residence of Governor Yell, and he also owns a farm on the White river.  Becoming a prominent and Washington counties throughout the period of reconstruction.  Later he was appointed assessor of internal revenue for the western district of Arkansas and held that office for four years.  In 1868 he was appointed brigadier general of the state troops to suppress the Ku Klux Klan and was successful in his mission.  He was postmaster of Fayetteville under Harrison and McKinley, for eight years altogether, and during his service in the state senate he was one of the dominant factors in getting the site of the university located in Fayetteville.  In 1867 he was candidate for state treasurer on the republican ticket but was defeated.  Mr. Hunt was always taken an extremely active part along all political lines.
     In 1862 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hunt to Miss Matilda E. Campbell, a native of Washington county and a daughter of James Campbell, one of this county's earliest settlers.  To their union two children were born: Elnora, the widow of w. P. Moulden, and a resident of Fayetteville; and Josephine, the wife of W. T. Satterfield of Little Rock, manager of the Southern States Coal Company.  Mrs. Hunt died in 1868.  On the 16th of May, 1869, Mr. Hunt was again wedded, taking Miss Margaret Simpson, a native of Washington county, for his wife.  Her father was Hugh Simpson, a veteran of the Mexican war.  To the second union four children were born: Samuel L., who died in infancy; Gertrude, the wife of Augustus Cole, a resident of Monett, Missouri, who is in the railroad mail service; Nelle, the wife of Oscar Knight, a traveling salesman of Jonesboro; and William H., engaged in the lumber business at Okmulgee.  The second Mrs. Hunt died on the 23d of February, 1920.
     Mr. Hunt's sole fraternal affiliation is with the Masons, of which organization he became a member in 1862.  He is now a Royal Arch Mason.  His religious faith is that of the Christian church.  Starting out into the business world at an early age he worked his way upward until he attained the success that now enables him in live retired.  He is ever ready to extend a helping hand to those who are attempting to make their way upward, for he remembers his own struggles and is quick to encourage and assist young men of enterprise, determination and honorable purpose.
Source:  History of Arkansas, by Dallas T. Herndon, Vol. IIi, publ. by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922 - Pg. 672