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Robert Hunt family papers
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Robert Hunt (1843-1903) was a native of Savannah, Georgia. He served in the Confederate States Navy during the Civil War as a seaman on the
. After the war, he performed various jobs in Savannah (including time as a policeman) before becoming the Superintendent of the city's Streets and Lanes Department. On March 3, 1878, Robert Hunt married Ella Josephine Blackwell at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Savannah, Georgia. Ella Blackwell (1858-1935) was also a native of Savannah, the daughter of S. B. and Mary R. Blackwell. Robert and Ella had nine children (four daughters and five sons): Bessie Jane was born December 30, 1878; Robert E. Lee was born August 29, 1880; Richard Alexander Stephens was born February 3, 1883; Agnes Louise was born December 27, 1884; Ella Calanthe was born January 22, 1887; Henry Frank Jackson was born March 31, 1889; Charles Joseph was born June 28, 1891; George Stone was born October 27, 1894; and Edna was born October 20, 1897. Two of their children died young: George died May 17, 1895 and Edna died October 23, 1897. Robert Hunt was a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Confederate Veterans Association (Camp 756). His wife and oldest daughter became charter members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter in Savannah. Robert Hunt died in Savannah on September 18, 1903 in Savannah at the age of 60. After his death, his wife eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and lived with her oldest daughter Bessie. Ella died there on June 20, 1935. Both Ella and Robert are buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah.
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This collection consists of various papers from the Robert Hunt family of Savannah, Georgia, spanning from 1878 to 1940. It includes an 1882 family Bible, which contains birth, death, and marriage dates for many of the members of Robert Hunt's family as well as for members of the Blackwell family. The pages of the Bible with this genealogical information have come loose from the book and have been placed in the oversized folder. Other materials in the oversized folder include certificates for membership in the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and the Confederate Veterans Association (CVA).
Folder 1 contains papers of Robert Hunt, including an 1888 letter to him from E. E. Baldwin of Jackson, Mississippi regarding membership in the CVA and an 1887 letter from Robert Hunt to Jefferson Davis in which Hunt asks Davis to vouch for his service in the CSA Navy in order for Hunt to become a member of CVA. Jefferson Davis reply is at the bottom of this two-page letter. There are also three copies of a memorial to Robert Hunt from the CVA, Camp 756 dated November 3, 1903. It gives a good summary of Hunt's life and activities during the Civil War. Folder 2 includes a poem, a UDC notice, and grade school annual certificates for two of the Hunt children from Savannah public schools.
Folder 3 contains loose newspaper clippings, which deal with topics such as the deaths of Jefferson Davis and Henry W. Grady in 1889, violence between whites and blacks, the Hunt family, and Robert Hunt's reminisces of the Civil War. Only some of the clippings are dated, but most appear to be about 1889.
There is an 1887 Badge Book for the City of Savannah which lists names and amounts paid for 'badges,' which appear to be licenses required for street peddlers and dog owners. This ledger has been used as a scrapbook and newspaper clippings relating to Jefferson Davis and his wife are pasted in it. The clippings are not dated and it is not known from which newspaper they came (although most are probably from Savannah papers). There is one page of clippings dealing with Robert Hunt's funeral and obituary. The clippings only cover a small portion of the book so it is still possible to read part of the ledger. On some of the first pages of the ledger, the clippings have been removed. Prior to this, all the clippings in the ledger were photocopied, and these photocopies are in the oversized folder.
Also included is one photograph of an unidentified woman. The folder containing the photograph is noted as 'VM' (visual materials) in the collection inventory.
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Artifacts were separated and cataloged with the Georgia Historical Society Artifacts Collection.
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2 volumes, 4 folders, 1 oversize folder
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Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
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GHS 2121, Robert Hunt family papers, 1878-1940. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
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