Augustus Pingry Hunton (February 23, 1816 – June 20, 1911) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

lawyer and Senator. He served in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

including three years as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. In addition, he served as

President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate The president ''pro tempore'' of the Vermont Senate presides over the Vermont Senate, Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, lieutenant governor. The president ''pro tempore'' also sets the policy ...

Early life

Augustus Pingry Hunton was born in

Groton, New Hampshire Groton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 569 at the 2020 census. History It was originally named "Cockermouth" in honor of Charles Wyndham, Baron Cockermouth and Earl of Egremont, who was Great Br ...

, on February 23, 1816. He was raised in Hyde Park and

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

, Vermont, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1837.Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
edited by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, page 232 Hunton practiced in Stockbridge,

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

and Chelsea before settling permanently in Bethel in 1848. Hunton usually practiced in conjunction with one other attorney, and one of his early partners was

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Julius Converse. In addition, Hunton was a relative of Lt. Col.

Samuel Pingree Samuel Everett Pingree (August 2, 1832June 1, 1922) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he served as lieutenant governor from 1882 to 1884 and governor from 1884 to 1886. Pingree was a Union Army veteran of the Ame ...

, later Governor of Vermont, and Samuel's brother Stephen M. Pingree, both of whom studied law with Hunton before forming the

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

firm of Pingree and Pingree.

Political career

Originally a Whig, he became a Republican when the party was organized in the mid-1850s. Hunton represented Bethel in the Vermont House of Representatives In 1849, 1854, and 1859 to 1862. From 1860 to 1862 Hunton served as Speaker. From 1856 to 1857 Hunton represented Windsor County in the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

, and in 1857 he served as the Senate's President pro tem. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Hunton was superintendent of Union Army recruiting for Windsor County. In 1864 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention which nominated

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. After the war Hunton was a U.S. Pension Notary, responsible for verifying the documents presented by claimants before they were delivered to Vermont's U.S. Pension Agents.

Other activities

Hunton was a trustee of

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

from 1862 to 1867. He was the recipient of honorary master's degrees from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1847 and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1859.

Death and burial

Hunton died in Bethel on June 20, 1911. He was buried in Bethel's Cherry Hill Cemetery, of which he was an original incorporator. Hunton was married to Caroline Paige of Bethel, and had two children, Mary and Albert. His granddaughter Mary Stickney married State attorney Robert Ashton Lawrence, family member of Capt.

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British Americans, British-American Colonialism, colonial administrator. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, a ...

of the

Yale family Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges char ...

.Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
edited by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, p. 232-323The Burlington Free Press
Burlington, Vermont, Mon, Mar 11, 1912, Page 1

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunton, Augustus P. 1816 births 1911 deaths Yale family People from Bethel, Vermont People of Vermont in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont lawyers Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Norwich University 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly