John Wesley Hunt was a noted merchant, financier, and horseman of Lexington, Kentucky. Hunt was born in New Jersey, the son of a Trenton merchant. As an adult, Hunt first moved to Richmond, Virginia as a partner in a business of general merchandise. He later went into shipping in Norfolk. In 1795 he entered a partnership with his cousin, Abijah Hunt, a merchant based in Cincinnati, Ohio, to open a general merchandise store in Lexington, which John Hunt would run. Two years later Hunt married Catherine Hart of Lexington. Their family would eventually include twelve children. He began to buy and breed horses, establishing a good reputation with stallions such as Royalist and Blossom. Later Hunt opened a factory which processed hemp and manufactured cotton bagging. In 1814 Hunt commissioned the Georgian-style home in Lexington known as Hopemont (now called the Hunt-Morgan house.) He was also involved as a director and commissioner of the local branches of the Banks of the United States and invested in many other banks. Hunt was one of the founders of the Eastern Kentucky Lunatic Asylum and served as a trustee of Transylvania University. He died in 1849, one of the victims of a cholera epidemic.
From the description of John Wesley Hunt papers, 1796-1942 (bulk 1816-1832). (Kentucky Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 41433498
