Ohio History Journal

SAMUEL FURMAN HUNT.     CHARLES W. HOFFMAN. Under the dome of the church of St. Paul in London lies its builder, the great Christopher Wren, on his tomb is the mod-

est inscription: "Reader if you seek his mon- ument look around." The memory of Hunt will not be per- petuated like that of Wren in magnificent buildings beautiful in architecture and sym- metrical in their proportions, but it will endure for generations in that temple of respect and affection, intangible yet real, that he erected in the hearts of the people of the Miami Val- ley, and, more particularly the people of Springdale. If you seek the monument of Judge Hunt

search not in the quiet graveyard but inquire of the residents of this little town, those among he loved to live, those to whom he loved to speak, those to whom he loved to return fresh from his triumphs in the fields of law and of letters. He lies in yonder church-yard 'neath the earth on the site of the foundation of the first church in the Miami Valley. Down in the cemetery all is silent save the sighing of the wind through the trees that flourish near his grave. A stranger passing that way will some day read on a monument that Sam- uel Furman Hunt lies buried there, but neither the voice of the wind nor the name chiseled in stone will reveal to him that he who lies in that "narrow cell" was, in life, a man of so culti- vated, so refined and so loving a temperament that every one in the community in which he lived loved and respected him. There are some things in regard to Judge Hunt that his- tory or the written narrative will not reveal. These will be communicated only by means of the spoken word. Through the medium of his public addresses, we have learned the true life (238)

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Samuel Furman Hunt.                239

 

and character of the fathers in Israel who now sleep in yonder

historic burying ground. It is fitting that we should assemble

this evening and speak of Judge Hunt even as he was wont to

speak of them.

The residents of Springdale and vicinity have had, during

many years past, a privilege that rarely happens in the lives of

the great majority of men, - that of coming consciously into

the presence of "that extraordinary miracle we call genius."

There are many men in the world who are possessed of

genius of one kind or another, but they are cold, patronizing,

and repellent when they mingle with their fellow men; they are

never popular with the masses, and their genius is not compre-

hended even by their immediate friends. Judge Hunt was

affable, kind and sympathetic and his genius was idolized by all

who knew him.

Among the many men eminent in scholarship and moral and

spiritual attainment, who have lived here, it may be conceded

that in the vividness of personal impression which he produced

on all who came into his presence, -as well as in oratory,-

Judge Hunt stands first. The citizens of Springdale, his neigh-

bors, honored him because in his brilliant scholarship was reflected

all that was best in their own life and that of their ancestors.

Contrary to a familiar saying, he was a prophet in his own land.

His genius was so pervasive that there are but few homes in the

Miami Valley in which its refining and ennobling influence has

not been felt and acknowledged.

It has been said that no man ever reaches the heights of

true greatness unless he is familiarly known by his first name.

It was therefore no evidence of a spirit of disrespect but

rather a potential acknowledgment of his greatness that the ac-

complished graduate of the University, the cultured orator to

whose name were added high sounding degrees, the presiding

officer of the senate, the general, the judge, was known to the

people of Springdale and vicinity as Sam Hunt. They realized

that by him their town was made noted; they gloried in his

achievements, they placed laurels upon his brow, idolized him

in their affections, and always addressed him familiarly in words

of deep appreciation.

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240       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

It is clearly apparent that in the composition as well as the

delivery of his speeches Judge Hunt's inspiration was derived

largely from local sources.

The combats of the pioneers of this locality with the In-

dians in the early days of the last century, the peculiar religious

and physical phenomena incident to the Kentucky revival and

the New Light movement, the sturdy puritanical character of

those who in early as well as later days worshiped in this moun-

tain, the wild free life of the old town of Springfield which

found its best expression in Turner's and other taverns when

filled at night with drivers and drovers and travellers journey-

ing by stage from Cincinnati to northern points, the hills, the

meadows and the streams of the surrounding Community usually

associated with some historic event, undoubtedly made a deep

impression on his mind. His ardent and warm imagination

easily and naturally furnished the connecting links in the nar-

rative of the life of Springfield in days long past. It was prob-

ably an inspiration to him to feel that he too was in some meas-

ture adding to the fame of a town, insignificant it is true in popu-

lation and territory but renowned beyond any other of equal

proportions for the number of men it had produced who became

eminent in the world's affairs.

It was the half-true half-legendary episodes in the history

of New England towns that played on the fancy of Hawthorne

and produced Twice Told Tales and The Scarlet Letter. It

was the traditionary exploits of Hendrick Hudson and his crew

in the Catskills that fired the imagination of Irving and pro-

duced Rip Van Winkle. It was the stories of the Mother

Church and the struggles of the pioneers in this valley that stirred

the genius of Hunt in his youth and eventually produced ora-

tions that commanded the applause of multitudes.

The colonial writers thought that America afforded no sub-

ject worthy of their art; they drew upon England for subject,

style and inspiration, in consequence of which they were narrow

and provincial and their works are now but literary curiosities.

Judge Hunt found subjects worthy of his art in his own

immediate locality, yet he was not provincial nor imitative.

Through the medium of incidents in the history of Springdale,

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Samuel Furman Hunt.             241

 

of Springfield Township and of the Old Church he expressed

thoughts and sentiments that were national and universal. The

distinguishing characteristic of his genius was that in the discus-

sion of local themes he could express sentiments that found their

response in the hearts of all men.

When he spoke of the Mother Church or the Campaigns of

Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne, his listeners were interested

whether they were residents of Springdale, of Boston or of

New York.

He loved the Springdale Church and it was in this house

that the speeches which appealed most strongly to his immediate

friends and neighbors were delivered. How frequently have

we seen him stand in this place and looking toward the village

graveyard, recount in eloquent phrase the life work of the

fathers in Israel who are buried there. It may be that he then

thought of that day when he, too, would rest there, and, with the

eyes of faith peering through the dim mist of the unknown, he

may have beheld in fancy some of the glories of the eternal

kingdom.

He was the intimate and steadfast friend of Dr. William

H. James, that great and good man whose benedictions linger

over this community.

Dr. James at the celebration of the Centennial of the Church

organization said that Judge Hunt had always been a friend of

the pastor and the church, and, "had been most constant in his

support and in his encouragement of the good influences that

had gone out from this place." Judge Hunt in responding to

the kind words of Dr. James alluded to the historic associations

of the place and the tender memories of home, of boyhood and

family and said that they filled him with emotions he could

scarcely suppress. On the same occasion Judge Hunt closed his

address summing up the work of this church in these words:

"The Sabbath call has been ringing out on the morning and

evening air for every ear willing to hear the Word of Life for

one hundred years. There has never been any recognition of

rank or title in those who loved the prosperity of Zion. This

people indeed has loved the Gates of Zion more than all the

Vol. XVII-16.

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242      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

dwellings of Jacob. Eternity alone can measure its influences

for good. It has exerted a lasting power. Civil liberty is the

outgrowth of morality. Freedom   of conscience comes from

education. Righteousness alone can exalt the Nation."

If there is one lesson above all others that the life of Judge

Hunt conveys to us, it is to be found in his spirit of optimism

and hope and good will to all men.

He had none of the rugged sternness of Cotton Mather or

Jonathan Edwards. Like them he believed in God, but his was

the God of love, of mercy, and of infinite compassion and not

the God "that abhors and is dreadfully provoked."

The spirit of darkness, of gloom  and despair found no

place in his creed, but light, joyousness and hope were always

present. His mind dwelt in that realm where the melodies of

the birds are always heard, and the flowers never cease to

bloom; where the fingers of kindly invisible spirits play on the

heart strings and lull the soul into blissful sleep. It was his re-

fined temperament keenly sensitive to the beautiful in nature and

art, and his sympathetic identification with the people of the

rural hamlet of Springdale that gave him the gift of catching

bright fragments of sentiment from common place affairs of

men and of weaving them into a rich tapestry of words. Along

the pathway of life that he trod flowers of perennial beauty

grew; above him the skies were always fair.

When the hour came for him to die, his rapt and parting

soul familiar through life as it had been with the beauty and

sublimity of this terrestrial world, perceived in a measure the

glory of the celestial kingdom, and in a spirit of exaltation and

love for those of his kindred who has gone before and for those

who remained he said, "I am going over the sunny hills to meet

my mother."

When we think of that region of sunshine in which his soul

lived and of his state of mind when passing through the sunset

gates of life we are reminded of the words of the Apostle:

"0, death where is thy sting? 0, grave where is thy victory?"

Glendale, O.

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