Hunt sioner of appeals under the judicial reorganiza- tion effected by constitutional amendment in 1869. In the autumn of 1872 he was nominated by President Grant to the associate justiceship on the Supreme Court left vacant by the resig- nation of Justice Samuel Nelson, and he took his seat on Jan. 9, 1873. He never returned to the bench after the Court's adjournment for recess on Dec. 23, 1878. Early in January 1879 he suf- fered a paralytic stroke affecting his right side. He recovered slowly, but never completely, and remained an invalid until his death. In spite of his physical condition he did not resign from the Court until Congress by special act of Jan. 27, 1882, extended to him the benefits of the act of 1869 which permitted federal judges to retire on full pay at the age of seventy years after ten years of service. The special act was introduced and sponsored by Hunt's former colleague on the bench, Senator David Davis. Hunt had not served ten years; he had in fact served only six years, and in the debates on the bill to pension him he was sharply criticized for having con- tinued in office so long after becoming unfit to perform his judicial duties (Congressional Rec- ord, 47 Cong., i Sess., pp. 505, 612-18). The act itself made the grant of Hunt's pension con- ditional upon his resigning within thirty days. He resigned on the day of its enactment Hunt was not a conspicuous member of the Supreme Court and his name is not associated with any outstanding decision or doctrine. He was, however, a hard-working and an able judge, and his decisions, though not brilliantly written, are clear and represent careful research. He wrote the opinion of the Court in 149 cases, only eight of which related to constitutional problems. He wrote four dissenting opinions and dissented without opinion in eighteen cases. He was mar- ried twice: to Mary Ann Savage, of Salem, N. Y,, in 1837, who bore him a son and a daughter; and to Maria Taylor of Albany in 1853. [Hunt's opinions are found from 15 Wallace to 98 U. S. Reports. For a memorandum on His resignation and an obituary notice see 105 U. S.t ix-x, and 118 U. S.t 701. Other sources include: M. M. Bagg, Me- morial Hist, of Utica, N. y. (1891) ; H. L. Carson, The Supreme Court of the U. S.: Its Hist. (1892), voL II; David McAdam and others, Hist, of the Bench and Bar of N. y. (1897), vol. I; D. S. Alexander, A Pol. Hist, of the State of N. Y., vol. II (1906), vol. Ill (1909) ; T. B. Wyman, Geneal. of the Name and Family of Hunt (1862-63); C. E. Fitch, Encyc. of Biog. of N. K. (1916); N. y. Times, N. Y. Tribune, Mar. 25, 1886.] R.E.C HUNT, WASHINGTON (Aug. 5, i8n-Feb. 2, 1867), governor of the state of New York, son of Sanford and Fanny (Rose) Hunt, was born at Windham, N. Y. He was descended from Jonathan Hunt, who moved from Connecti- Hunt cut to Northampton, Mass., about 1660. In 1818 his parents moved to Portage, N. Y., where he attended common school. In 1828 he moved to Lockport and two years later he took up the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1834. In 1836 he became the first county judge of the newly organized Niagara County and in a comparatively short time was recognized as one of the political leaders in the western section of his state/Although early in his career he had been a Democrat, he was led to join the Whigs and in 1842 he was elected to Congress. He served continuously until 1849, and in the Thirtieth Congress he was chairman of the com- mittee on commerce. Opposed to human servi- tude and political proscription in every form, he severely criticized President Tyler because he believed Tyler labored zealously for the exten- sion of slavery in the Southwest In 1849, thanks to the efforts of Thurlow Weed, for many years Hunt's intimate friend and political backer, Hunt was chosen comptroller of the state of New York. The following year, by 262 votes, he de- feated Horatio Seymour for the governorship of the state. Hunt's administration as governor was far from brilliant Personally honest, and scrupu- lous in the performance of his duties, he was not always tactful and as a consequence he became a party to a legislative squabble regarding the Erie CanaL When in 1852 Seymour defeated him for reelection he retired to his farm near Lockport His interest in politics, however, did not cease and in 1856 he was chosen temporary chairman of the last national Whig convention. His re- fusal to ally nimself with the rising Republican party, largely on the ground that it was a sec- tional organization, led to his estrangement with Weed. In 1860 he served as chairman of the Constitutional Union convention at Richmond, Va., which nominated Bell and Everett, he him- self declining the nomination for the vice-presi- dency. He was also influential in fusing the Douglas-Bell electoral tickets in New York* In the presidential campaign of 1864 he was a dele- gate to the National Democratic Convention and offered a resolution calling for a convention of the states, which was defeated in committee. He strongly opposed the reelection of Lincoln and in return was severely criticized by the Repub- lican press. His last appearance oa the political stage was in 1866 as a delegate to the National Union Convention, Personally Htait was very well liked and possessed a wide circle of friends. In 1834 he married Mary Hosmer Walbri