William Hunt

William Hunt

• Father: Joseph Hunt b. circa 1828, d. 14 May 1897
• Mother: Fanny Jane Lyons b. January 1830, d. 3 August 1915

• William Hunt was born circa 1863 in Canada West (later Ontario), Canada.
• He married Sarah Gilroy circa 1892.
• The following appeared on 3 August 1915 in the Buffalo Courier: Mrs. Fannie J. Hunt, eighty-five years old, died early this morning at the home of her son, William Hunt, commissioner of charities and corrections, No. 408 Trenton avenue. Death followed an illness of several months.
       Mrs. Hunt, a resident of Berlin, Ont., until the death of her husband Twenty years ago, then came to Buffalo to reside with her son. The body will remain in Buffalo until Wednesday, when it will be taken to Berlin, Ont., for interment. The funeral will be held at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Fred Sheppard, in Berlin. Mrs. Hunt was a member of Linwood avenue Methodist church in Buffalo.
       Six sons and two daughters survive. They are: Mrs. Fred Sheppard of Berlin, Ont; John Hunt of Regina, Man; and Mrs. Frank G. Gilchrist [sic], Harry J. Hunt, William Hunt, Walter Hunt, Charles Hunt and Robert Hunt of Buffalo.
• William Hunt became a widower at the 17 January 1926 death of his wife Sarah Gilroy.
• The following appeared on 18 January 1926 in The Buffalo Evening News: Mrs. William Hunt, wife of William Hunt, superintendent of Great Meadows prison at Comstock and former county commissioner of charities and corrections, died last night at the home of her niece, Mrs. A. Guest, at No. 163 East Delavan avenue. Mrs. Hunt came here during the Christmas holidays with Mr. Hunt. She suffered a recurrence of heart trouble and was unable to return to her home.
       During her residence in Buffalo, Mrs. Hunt was active in charitable work. She was a leading member of the Crippled Children's Guild and served on the board of directors. For the last six years her home has been in Comstock. She was 58 years old and was born at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Besides her husband, she is survived by two brothers, E. Gilroy and Michael Daly, and two sisters, Mrs. James Fitter and Mrs. E. A. Carroll. The funeral will be held from Saint Mark's church on Wednesday morning. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
• The following appeared on 2 February 1927 in the Buffalo Courier-Express: (Albany, Feb. 1) William Hunt of Buffalo, warden of Great Meadow prison at Comstock, and Miss Loretta Dundas, former Buffalo health department nurse, will be amrried at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning at Comstock, it was announced here today.
       The party of Buffalo officials here for the state building conference today dispatched a congratulatory telegram to the prospective bride and bridegroom. Mayor Schwab's name headed the list of seventeen signers, including several absentees.
• He married Loretta Margaret Dundas, daughter of Alexander Dundas and Mary Ready, on 2 February 1927 in Comstock, Washington County, New York.
• The following appeared on 23 April 1943 in the Buffalo Courier-Express: Warden William Hunt of Attica State Prison announced yesterday that he will retire July 1st and make his home in Buffalo at 298 Woodward Avenue.
       His retirement will end 35 years of prison work, starting as county jailor.
       Warden Hunt, who will be 76 next month, served past the 70-year retirement mark at the request of department of correction heads.
       Attica's first warden, he took the post in 1931 after eleven years as head of Great Meadows Prison, Comstock. He also had been head of the old Erie County Penitentiary at Trenton Avenue and Pennsylvania Street.
       He was county commissioner of corrections for six years before going to Great Meadows.
• William Hunt died on 9 July 1944.
• Loretta Margaret Dundas became a widow at his death.
• He was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie County, New York.
• The following appeared on 11 July 1944 in the Buffalo Courier-Express: William Hut, who served as warden of Great Meadow Prison for 11 years and as warden of Attica Sate Prison for 14 years, made many contributions to the art of penal management. Humane and reasonable, he possessed the gift of thoroughly understanding men. He preferred to treat prisoners as individuals rather than as a group, and his motto was: "Treat them as you'd want to be treated if you were an inmate." It was his policy to give prisoners every possible chance for education and improvement. Work and recreation, he maintained, are major factors in preserving tranquillity in a prison. He sought to equip each man to take his place in society after release.
       Mr. Hunt was a capable administrator and one who kept the interests of the taxpayer in mind. He saved large sums of money for th state by initiating improvements of prison property and using the inmates as workers on construction jobs. In 1931, when he was appointed warden of the Attica Prison, then only partly completed, he visited the institution and offered numerous suggestions. As a result, Attica became a model for prisons erected later. It is significant that during his 35 years of prison administration there has never been a serious disturbance caused by inmates under his charge.
       That his services as a humane administrator were appreciated by the state is attested by the fact that, at the insistence of his superiors, he remained on duty as warden of Attica six years after the legal retirement age.
• The following appeared on 12 July 1944 in the Buffalo Courier-Express: [Died] William Hunt, July 9, 1944, beloved husband of Loretta Dundas; brother of Harry J., Walter, and Robert Hunt, Mrs. Frank Gilchrist and the late Charles and John Hunt, and Mrs. Elizabeth Sheppard. The funeral will take place from the family residence, 298 Woodward Ave., Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Friends are invited to attend. Deceased was a member of Erie Lodge, 161 F. & A. M., Buffalo Consistory, Ismailia Temple and B. P. O. E. No. 23.
• The following appeared on 24 October 1944 in the Buffalo Courier-Express: A tax appraisal filed yesterday in Surrogate's Court disclosed that William Hunt, retired warden of Attica Prison who died July 9th, left a gross estate of $37,947 and a net of $34,999. The widow, Mrs. Loretta M. Hunt, 298 Woodward Ave., is chief beneficiary.

• Last Edited: 10 Mar 2014