"H" is for Hunter, John (d. 1802)

"H" is for Hunter, John (d. 1802). Congressman, U.S. senator. Little is known about Hunter’s early life. He owned considerable real estate in Pendleton District. In 1785 he was elected to the General Assembly from Little River District (modern Laurens County). He represented the district at the 1788 convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution and at the 1790 South Carolina Constitutional Convention. In 1793 the voters of Ninety-Six District elected him to the U.S. Congress. Subsequently, the General Assembly elected him in 1797 to fill the unexpired term of U.S. senator Pierce Butler. He represented the state for nearly two years, resigning his seat in November 1798 and returning to his agricultural pursuits. John Hunter served as a presidential elector for the George Washington-John Adams ticket in 1792 and for the Thomas Jefferson-Aaron Burr ticket in 1800.