John Hunt, meat-market, Mattoon; was born in Fayette Co., Ohio, Nov. 6, 1837; his father came West to Illinois and settled in Jasper Co. in 1845; his early life was that of a farmer’s boy, and his advantages for securing an education somewhat limited; most of his education he obtained in the schools of Xenia, Ohio, and as a student of Antioch College, after he had attained to manhood; he left home at the age or 18 years, and engaged in teaching school some four years; in 1860, he purchased a farm in Coles Co., and followed agricultural pursuits for ten years; in 1870, he formed a partnership with J. L. Scat, under the firm name of Hunt & Scott, and engaged in the grocery trade in Mattoon; in the spring of 1875, he retired from the firm, and for two years was engaged in buying and shipping horses and mules to the Southern market; in 1876, he engaged in his present business. He was married in 1858 to Eliza J. Gowin, a native of North Carolina; has two children – Alva and Orris. Has held the office of Assessor for the past four years, and is also a member of the Board of Education on the East Side.
