Alfred Hunt (steel magnate)

Alfred Hunt
Alfred Hunt
Born	April 5, 1817; Brownsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 27, 1888 (aged 70); Moorestown, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Mechanical engineer; Industrialist; Executive

Alfred Hunt (April 5, 1817 – March 27, 1888) was the first president of Bethlehem Iron Company, precursor of Bethlehem Steel.

Early life and education

Alfred Hunt was born to Quaker parentage in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, the eldest child of Caleb Hunt and his wife Rhoda Matthews, widow of Joseph Bartlett.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was the grandson of Joshua and Esther Hunt, who moved their young family from Moorestown, New Jersey to Brownsville, Pennsylvania in 1790.^[4]

Shortly after his father's death, Hunt and his six youngest siblings were brought by family members to Moorestown, New Jersey.^[5] Here they lived with Elisha Hunt, their father's brother, and his wife Mary (Hussey) Hunt on their 82-acre (330,000 m²) farm.^[6]

Career

Cheltenham Rolling Mil

Hunt's career in the iron and steel industry began in 1849 when the firm of Rowland and Hunt was formed for the purpose of operating The Cheltenham Rolling Mill in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.^[7]

In 1850, Hunt and John C. Frémont formed a business relationship to mine gold on Frémont's property in California.

Bethlehem Steel

On July 15, 1860, Hunt was elected president by the board of directors of the fledgling Bethlehem Iron Company. He remained president until his death.^[8] Bethlehem Iron Company eventually grew into Bethlehem Steel, which rose to become the second-largest steel manufacturer in the United States prior to its downsizing, which began in the early 1980s and culminated in the company's 2001 bankruptcy.

“Mr. Hunt was very much of a gentleman and knew how to meet any person from a king to a beggar.”^[9]

John Fritz

Death

Alfred Hunt died in Moorestown, New Jersey on March 27, 1888, at age 70. He is interred in the family plot at Colestown Cemetery in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.^[10]

References and notes

^ Woodward, E. M. (1883). History of Burlington County, New Jersey, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, pp. 270-271: "Caleb removed with his parents to Pennsylvania, married Rhoda, daughter of Mordecai and Ruth Matthews, of Baltimore County. They had seven children,- Alfred, president of the Bethlehem Iron-Works; Eliza, wife of James M. Walker, of Waterford, Va.; Ruth Ann, wife of Robert F. Roberts, of Alexandria, Va.; Mary H. resides with her brother Mordecai; Edmund, a miller, of Alexandria, Va.; Elisha H., deceased, was a merchant in Philadelphia; and Mordecai Hunt. Rhoda M. Hunt, born Nov. 23, 1789, died at Brownsville, Pa., Nov. 15, 1829."
^ Weeks, Christopher, et al. (1984). Where land and water intertwine, an architectural history of Talbot County, Maryland. Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-3165-2, p. 236: "WAKEFIELD Easton 1786; with additions; Private. Wakefield, an early Bartlett property, is composed of a late-eighteenth-century brick section..." "... a brick in the kitchen is dated 1786."
^ Leonard, R. Bernice (1984). Bartlett and allied families, 1693-1984. p. 116: "On Joseph's return to Wakefield the family learned that he intended to get married and in little less than a year, on 22nd day, 6th month, 1809, he was wed to Rhoda Matthews, daughter of Mordecai and Ruth Matthews, at Gunpowder Meeting House. After his marriage Joseph's health steadily declined and although he fought valiantly to stay with the wife and family whom he loved so dearly, he died 24th day, 2nd month, 1810 in the house at Wakefield where he was born. Joseph, son of Joseph and Rhoda Matthews Bartlett, was born 26th day, 5th month, 1810. Rhoda M. Bartlett married Caleb Hunt, 1st day, 5th month, 1816. They lived at Brownsville, Pennsylvania; Rhoda died there 15th day, 11th month, 1829."
^ Hynes, pp. 23, 24, 51
^ Leonard, pp. 116-117: Joseph Bartlett (1810-1868), Hunt's older brother, did not accompany his brothers and sisters to Moorestown. Prior to 1834, he had moved from Brownsville to Baltimore, Maryland.
^ Woodward, pp. 270-271: "Upon the death of his brother Caleb in 1834, Elisha Hunt disposed of all his business interests there, and in the spring of 1835, with his wife and the orphan children of his brother, returned to his native State, and settled on a farm near Moorestown, New Jersey, which he had purchased the year before."
^ Swank, James Moore (1892). History of the manufacture of iron in all ages: .... Philadelphia: The American Iron and Steel Association, p. 193: "The Cheltenham Rolling Mill, on Tacony Creek, in Montgomery County, one mile below Shoemakertown, was built in 1790, probably by James and Maxwell Rowland. In 1849 and subsequently it was operated by Rowland & Hunt, making boiler plates from blooms. It was abandoned in 1858. At first it was used to slit nail rods. The firm of Rowland & Hunt was composed of Mrs. Harriet Rowland, a widow, and Mr. Alfred Hunt, Mrs. Rowland owning the mill."
^ Bethlehem Globe-Times (March 28, 1888). "Alfred Hunt, the well known president of the Bethlehem Iron Company dead."
^ Autobiography of John Fritz
^ Bethlehem Globe-Times

Bibliography

Davis (1877). "Bethlehem Iron Company". History of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia and Reading: Peter Fritts, Chapter XLV, pp. 212–213.
Fremont, John C. (1850). Correspondence to Alfred Hunt. (Six letters which are in a private collection.)
Hall, P. J. (1915). "History of South Bethlehem, Pa.". Semi-centennial, the borough of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1865-1915. Quinlan Printing Co.
Hynes, Judy (1997). The descendants of John and Elizabeth (Woolman) Borton. Mount Holly, New Jersey: John Woolman Memorial Association.

External links

[1] Woodward, E. M. (1883). History of Burlington County, New Jersey, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, pp. 270-271: "Caleb removed with his parents to Pennsylvania, married Rhoda, daughter of Mordecai and Ruth Matthews, of Baltimore County. They had seven children,- Alfred, president of the Bethlehem Iron-Works; Eliza, wife of James M. Walker, of Waterford, Va.; Ruth Ann, wife of Robert F. Roberts, of Alexandria, Va.; Mary H. resides with her brother Mordecai; Edmund, a miller, of Alexandria, Va.; Elisha H., deceased, was a merchant in Philadelphia; and Mordecai Hunt. Rhoda M. Hunt, born Nov. 23, 1789, died at Brownsville, Pa., Nov. 15, 1829."

[2] Weeks, Christopher, et al. (1984). Where land and water intertwine, an architectural history of Talbot County, Maryland. Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-3165-2, p. 236: "WAKEFIELD Easton 1786; with additions; Private. Wakefield, an early Bartlett property, is composed of a late-eighteenth-century brick section..." "... a brick in the kitchen is dated 1786."

[3] Leonard, R. Bernice (1984). Bartlett and allied families, 1693-1984. p. 116: "On Joseph's return to Wakefield the family learned that he intended to get married and in little less than a year, on 22nd day, 6th month, 1809, he was wed to Rhoda Matthews, daughter of Mordecai and Ruth Matthews, at Gunpowder Meeting House. After his marriage Joseph's health steadily declined and although he fought valiantly to stay with the wife and family whom he loved so dearly, he died 24th day, 2nd month, 1810 in the house at Wakefield where he was born. Joseph, son of Joseph and Rhoda Matthews Bartlett, was born 26th day, 5th month, 1810. Rhoda M. Bartlett married Caleb Hunt, 1st day, 5th month, 1816. They lived at Brownsville, Pennsylvania; Rhoda died there 15th day, 11th month, 1829."

[4] Hynes, pp. 23, 24, 51

[5] Leonard, pp. 116-117: Joseph Bartlett (1810-1868), Hunt's older brother, did not accompany his brothers and sisters to Moorestown. Prior to 1834, he had moved from Brownsville to Baltimore, Maryland.

[6] Woodward, pp. 270-271: "Upon the death of his brother Caleb in 1834, Elisha Hunt disposed of all his business interests there, and in the spring of 1835, with his wife and the orphan children of his brother, returned to his native State, and settled on a farm near Moorestown, New Jersey, which he had purchased the year before."

[7] Swank, James Moore (1892). History of the manufacture of iron in all ages: .... Philadelphia: The American Iron and Steel Association, p. 193: "The Cheltenham Rolling Mill, on Tacony Creek, in Montgomery County, one mile below Shoemakertown, was built in 1790, probably by James and Maxwell Rowland. In 1849 and subsequently it was operated by Rowland & Hunt, making boiler plates from blooms. It was abandoned in 1858. At first it was used to slit nail rods. The firm of Rowland & Hunt was composed of Mrs. Harriet Rowland, a widow, and Mr. Alfred Hunt, Mrs. Rowland owning the mill."

[8] Bethlehem Globe-Times (March 28, 1888). "Alfred Hunt, the well known president of the Bethlehem Iron Company dead."

[9] Autobiography of John Fritz

[10] Bethlehem Globe-Times

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