William G. Hunter

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Land and public record

William G. Hunter was established in the future Brooks County area by 1838. A reconstructed Lowndes deed abstract records District 12 transactions involving Hunter that year, and Folks Huxford's militia-officer transcription lists Wm. G. Hunter as captain of the 790th, or Tallokas, District on August 27, 1838.

Later deed entries track Hunter in Lowndes County and on Land Lot 491. A 1855 settlement involving William G. Hunter and Mary Hunter supports Mary as his wife or former wife, although the underlying record should be inspected before its terms are quoted more precisely. The repeated middle initial, District 12 land, militia office, church work, and later Brooks County appointment make one continuing William G. Hunter identity strong probable from 1838 through 1861.

Church and county service

Huxford's transcription of Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church records names Hunter as pastor during several terms between 1839 and 1854 and places him in the 1854 presbytery that ordained James J. Renfroe. The original church minute book has not been inspected.

Brooks County's Inferior Court appointed Hunter to the courthouse building committee on April 6, 1859. Huxford reports that he resigned on July 16, 1861. The court-minute images remain to be inspected.

Evidence assessment

Roster: supplemental early settler with strong land and public-office support.
Present by: 1838.
Traditional 1826 arrival: unverified.
Parents, children, death, probate, and direct Barney residence: unresolved.

Sources

Folks Huxford, The History of Brooks County, Georgia, 1858–1948 (1948), pp. 29–33, 56, 69–70, 86, and 307–311.
Wiregrass Region Digital History Project, reconstructed Lowndes County deed-book abstraction, William G. Hunter entries dated 1838, 1844, 1853, and 1855.
C. E. Hightower, Lowndes County, Georgia Deed Book A and Other Records, identified reconstructed-record source; original deed images not inspected in this review.