Robert Hastings Hunkins
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Robert Hastings Hunkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 15, 1774 Vermont |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation(s) | Settler, Pioneer, Farmer |
| Known for | Historical figure |
| Spouse | Hannah Emerson |
| Children | Sargeant, Robert, Benjamin, James, Hazen, dauthers |
| Parent(s) | Captain Robert Hunkins and Lydia Chamberlain |
| Relatives | Grandson Henry Harrison Hunkins |
Robert Hastings Hunkins is a historical figure known for being a Wisconsin territory early settler, his family relations and for his political contributions.
Hunkins was the third son of Captain Robert Hunkins and his second wife, Lydia Chamberlin,[2] and father of Wisconsin State Legislator member Benjamin Hunkins. He was born in Vermont on September 15, 1774.
In 1806 Hunkins was treasurer in the town of Navy, Vermont. That same year he was a 'Selectman' for Navy, moving him into early Vermont politics. In 1807 he was the first justice for the town along with Abner Allyn. From 1811 to 1812 Hunkins was Town Representative.[3]
In 1839, Hunkins moved from Vermont to Wisconsin Territory with his wife Hannah and sons James and Hazen. He set up a large farm on which he and his sons worked. He had been preceded in the move by sons Sargeant, Robert W. and Benjamin.
Hunkins died in New Berlin, Wisconsin, in 1853.[2] Both he and his wife Hannah are buried in his brother Hazel's plot (the Hazen Hendricks Hunkins plot) at the Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Personal life
Hunkins married Hannah Emerson on November 15, 1798. Emerson was the great-great-granddaughter of Hannah Emerson Duston, a colonial Massachusetts Puritan mother that was taken captive by Indians and escaped by scalping all ten of her captors. Hannah was also cousin of the famed essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Hannah's parents were Watts Emerson and Lois Trussel.
With wife Hannah, Hunkins had five sons:[4]
- Sargeant Roger Hunkins, born March 12, 1802. He married Rebecca Whitcher (b. September 6, 1807) on September 25, 1825. Among their children was Henry Harrison Hunkins.
- Robert W. Hunkins
- Benjamin Hunkins, born 1810. Benjamin was called twice to service in the territorial legislature of Wisconsin. He was a delegate to the first constitutional convention of Wisconsin and served in the State Legislature in 1860.[5]
- James Hunkins
- Hazen Hendricks Hunkins, author of Genealogical Records of the Robert Hastings Hunkins Family.
Hunkins and Hannah also had daughters together.
References
- ^ Hemenway, Abby Maria, ed. (1877). The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Magazine Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military, Vol. 3: Orleans and Rutland Counties. Claremont, NH: Claremont Manufacturing Company. p. 115. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
- ^ a b McKeen, Silas (1875). A History of Bradford, Vermont. J. D. Clark and Son. p. 207.
- ^ Hemenway, p.114.
- ^ Memorial and Biographical Record and Illustrated Compendium of Biography. Chicago: Geo. A. Ogle. p. 1101. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
- ^ Quaife, Milo M., ed. (1919). The Convention of 1846. Publications of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Vol. 27. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. p. 778.