Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

in addition to his other business inter-
ests. He is a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Larsen married, April I, 1894, Margaret
Huggins, daughter of James Huggins.
She is a native of Ireland, and came
to America at the age of fifteen years.
Their children are: Lawrence Christian,
born March i, 1895, died August 1, 1912;
Anna N., born December 29, 1897, married
John Neilson, of Greenwich ; Wil-
liam, born December 30, 1899, who is a
member of the class of 1921 at the New
York University.
HUNT, Louis Whitney,
Business Man.
Among the early Saxons it was customary
to assume a family name from a
trade, calling, profession or name of place.
The surname of Hunt is from the Saxon
word, "hunti," a wolf. This word used
in connection with the wolf came to mean
the pursuit of all game. The family probably
took the name on account of prowess
in the hunting field. There are many
different spellings of this name found, as
in the early days words were written according
to the ear of the writer. Other
forms of the name are Huntre, Honties,
Hundt. There was an Adam le Hunt in
Nottingham, England, as early as 1295.
(I) The earliest known ancestor of
Louis W. Hunt was Gilbert Hunt, who
was born about 1740. The compiler of
the Hunt records states that this Gilbert
Hunt was "undoubtedly a son of John
Hunt and his wife Filenia." Gilbert Hunt
married Hannah Gorham, of Fairfield,
and about 1768 settled in North Salem,
New York, where he died May 15, 1819.
His widow died June 21, 1820, and they
are both buried in the cemetery at North
Salem.
(II) Timothy Hunt, son of Gilbert
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
398
Hunt, was born November 5, 1771, and
died January 13, 1835. In 1799 he settled
in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Timothy
Hunt married Elizabeth Whitney, born
in Ridgebury, Connecticut, March 24,
1769, died in Danbury, December 12,
1867, daughter of Richard and Esther
(Clark) Whitney, and a descendant of
Henry Whitney.
(III) Louis Clark Hunt, son of Timothy
and Elizabeth (Whitney) Hunt, was
born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, May 7,
1808, and died in 1884. He learned the
trade of mason as a boy and followed it
more or less all his life. In addition Mr.
Hunt owned an eighty-five acre farm in
Ridgefield and thirty-five acres were under
cultivation. He married (first), June
25, 1832, in North Salem, New York,
Maria Cable. He married (second),
March 1, 1846, Lucretia Ann Hoyt,
daughter of Halstead and Lucretia
(Scott) Hoyt, born in South Salem, August
6, 182 1, a descendant of the immigrant,
Simon Hoyt.
(IV) James Louis Hunt, son of Louis
Clark and Lucretia Ann (Hoyt) Hunt,
was born April 4, 1847, an d died January
19, 1917. His boyhood was spent in his
native town of Ridgefield and there he
attended school. Later he went to
Bridgeport and followed a course at the
Bryant & Stratton Business College.
Thence he went to New York City, where
he obtained employment in a wholesale
produce house. In 1870 Mr. Hunt went
into business as a produce commission
merchant on his own account at Harlem
river, New York, and for twenty years
continued successfully. After the death
of his father he returned and assumed
charge of the home farm, later removing
to Stamford, where he spent his remain-
ing years retired from active business.
Mr. Hunt was a Democrat in politics, and
was several times honored with positions