Union B. Hunt served as Indiana’s 29th secretary of state from 1899 to 1903.
He was born in Nettle Creek, Indiana, to parents Rachel and Joshua Hunt on September 2, 1864. His full name at birth was Union Banner Basil Morton Hunt.
For this name, Mr. Hunt says, he is not responsible. Neither is he ashamed of it. At the time of his birth his brother was confined in the Confederate Prison in Andersonville, Ga., having been captured at the Battle of Chickamauga. Hence, the name “Union Banner.” Basil (pronounced Bazil) is an old family name, and “Morton” is for the great war governor of Indiana.
The “great war governor,” Oliver P. Morton, served as Indiana’s 14th governor from 1861 to 1867. (Incidentally, his birth name, Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton, honored naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.)
Sources:
- McGrath, Hugh J. and William Stoddard. (Eds.) Men of Progress, Indiana. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Sentinel Company, 1899.
- “Union B. Hunt, Former State Official and Vice Pres. of the National Fraternal Congress of America, Dies.” N. F. C. of A. Bulletin, 1 Jun. 1915, p. 1.
- Oliver P. Morton – Wikipedia