Whiteside Godfrey Hunter (December 25, 1841 – November 2, 1917) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Early life

Born near

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Hunter completed preparatory studies. He immigrated to the United States in 1858 and settled in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

. He studied medicine in Philadelphia and was admitted to practice.

Career

Hunter was a surgeon in the Union Army 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 ...

. He moved to

Burkesville, Kentucky Burkesville is a home rule-class city in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in the United States. Nestled among the rolling foothills of Appalachia and bordered by the Cumberland River to the south and east, it is the seat of its county. The populati ...

, at the close of the war. He served as member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

from 1874 to 1878. He served as delegate to the

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

and

1892 Republican National Convention The 1892 Republican National Convention was held at the Industrial Exposition Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from June 7 to June 10, 1892. The party nominated President Benjamin Harrison for re-election on the first ballot and Whitelaw Reid ...

s. He served as the United States Minister to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

from November 8, 1897, to December 8, 1902. Hunter was elected as a Republican to the Fiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1888 to the Fifty-first Congress and for election in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress. Hunter was elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897) and was instrumental in the election of Kentucky's first Republican governor,

William O'Connell Bradley William O'Connell Bradley (March 18, 1847May 23, 1914) was an American politician from the state of Kentucky. He served as the 32nd Governor of Kentucky and was later elected by the state legislature as a U.S. senator from that state. The fir ...

, in 1895. His bid for election to the U.S. Senate by the legislature was blocked by Republican factionalism. The winner of the election, William J. DeBoe, got President William McKinley to appoint Hunter as minister to Guatemala and Honduras in 1897 after Hunter was defeated for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress. Hunter was elected to the Fifty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Vincent S. Boreing Vincent Boreing (November 24, 1839 – September 16, 1903) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Biography Boreing was born near Jonesboro, Washington County, Tennessee in 1839. He moved with his father to Laurel County, Kentucky, in 1847. H ...

and served from November 10, 1903, to March 3, 1905. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1904. He was interested in public utilities and the development of oil lands.

Personal life

Hunter resided in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, until his death there on November 2, 1917. He was interred in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

in Louisville.

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Whiteside Godfrey 1841 births 1917 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Guatemala Ambassadors of the United States to Honduras Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Irish emigrants to the United States People from New Castle, Pennsylvania Politicians from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania People from Burkesville, Kentucky Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Union army surgeons Military personnel from Pennsylvania Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives