George
W. Hunt, superintendent of schools of Putnam county, has, although a young
man, attained considerable prominence as a representative of the system of
public instruction in Illinois, and his abilities, natural and acquired. are
an indication that still further advancement awaits him. Born in Fulton
county, Illinois, May 8, 1875, he is a son of Hiram and Catherine Hunt, both
now deceased. The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in New York and
came to this state in the '30s. His wife was a native of Ireland, and with a
sister and two brothers came to America. Mrs. Hunt took up one hundred and
sixty acres of land near Havana, Illinois, and the deed, signed by President
Buchanan, has never been transferred only to the heirs.
George W. Hunt was reared under the parental roof to the age of seventeen
years, and during that period acquired a district-school education.
Ambitious for further intellectual progress, he then attended the State
Normal School at Normal, Illinois, and alternately devoted his time and
energies to teaching and study until he entered the State University in
1901. In 1898 he came to Putnam county as teacher of the Center district
school, near Magnolia. For three years he was principal of the Granville
high school, and in the fall of 1903, while yet a student in the State
University, was elected superintendent of schools for Putnam county. In
February, 1904, he came to Granville and entered upon the duties of this
office, in which capacity he is now serving. Although he was thus forced to
relinquish his class work he continued his studies, returning to the
university to take all of the examinations, and was graduated therefrom in
1904 with the degree of L. L. B. In 1905 he was admitted to the bar, and has
since successfully engaged in the practice of law. His work in behalf of the
schools has been notable and has won him more than local distinction. In
April, 1906, he rendered a decision in favor of the consolidation of three
school districts into one. This was a new departure in the school work of
Illinois, but had been tried successfully in other states. The arguments Mr.
Hunt presented in a neat eight page pamphlet, which shows his ability as a
writer and as a logical thinker and indicates that much time and study was
spent in its preparation. Having himself been a student in the district
schools and in the State Normal and a teacher in the district schools, he
was well qualified to know the conditions of the country schools and the
limited opportunity its pupils had in a chance for entering a high school or
college. Mr. Hunt's opinions are largely considered authority on
public-school questions in this part of Illinois, and he justly merits the
position of prominence that he has won in educational circles. His own broad
intellectual culture and natural ability, combined with his unfaltering
diligence, have made him recognized as one of the able educators of the
state. He is a most entertaining conversationalist and a fluent writer, and
is continually broadening his knowledge through reading and investigation.
At the last election he was re-elected to the office of county
superintendent without opposition.
Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen and with the Odd Fellows, and
his religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Congregational
church.
Source: Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois authored by John Spencer Burt and W. E. Hawthorne in 1907, page 154.
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