From Revolutionary Soldier to Illinois Pioneers: The Hunt Family Odyssey

As our nation marks its 250th anniversary this 4th of July, it is the perfect moment to look back at the individual lives woven into the fabric of American history. I am searching for those ancestor’s now. Among those who answered the call for independence was Thomas Hunt, Maude (Taylor) Clinton’s 2nd great-grandfather, who was a veteran of the famous Maryland Line of the Continental Army. Born in Maryland in 1747, he moved to Halifax County, Virginia after the war, where his children were born. He eventually settled in Wilson County, Tennessee.

Tall Tale or Not?

When Thomas applied for his Revolutionary War pension at the age of 86, his statement included a few "tall tales” that are likely an attempt to stretch his service timeline for a higher payout. He claimed to have crossed the Delaware and fought at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, but those events took place from Christmas 1776 to January 1777, whereas official records show his Maryland regiment wasn't even formed until mid-1777 and include the date he was mustered in. I'll let you decide the truth.

The historical reality is still incredibly dramatic. In the fall of 1777, Thomas was struck in the thigh by a musket ball at the Battle of Brandywine. While Thomas omitted this part of the aftermath in his own pension statement, a modern review of the official history and rosters of the Maryland Line fills in the blanks. Because of his combat injuries, he was transferred to an Invalid Regiment. In 1780, this regiment was assigned to General Washington’s troops guarding Philadelphia, where Thomas remained for the rest of the war.

Jefferson County, Illinois Pioneers

Years later, three of Thomas' children left Wilson County, Tennessee, to become some of the very first pioneers of Jefferson County, Illinois:

• Elizabeth (Hunt) and her husband, Overton Harlow, arrived with the area's earliest settlers in 1818, establishing themselves in Moore’s Prairie. In 1820 they established the first Baptist church along with other early pioneers.

• James Hunt also made the trek northward as an early pioneer. Still trying to reconcile his details and family.

• Allen Hunt and his wife, Rebecca Delilah (Sanders), Maude’s direct ancestors, arrived sometime between 1828 and 1832. Allen and Rebecca are buried in the old section of the East Salem Cemetery, where they share a single headstone. They were founding members of the Mount Vernon Temperance Society established in 1832 as covered in one of my earlier stories.

  
  

Roots to Branches

Learn More

"Case Files of Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications, ca. 1800 - ca. 1912," digital images, National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144029890 : accessed 20 June 2026), pension file for Thomas Hunt, S. 3072, Maryland; citing Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773 - 2007, National Archives Identifier 144029890; National Archives at Washington, D.C.

Steiner, Bernard Christian, ed. Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution. Archives of Maryland, vol. 18. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1899. Archives of Maryland Online. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000018/html/index.html.

Perrin, W. Henry. History of Jefferson County, Illinois. Chicago: Globe Pub. Co., 1883. Digital images. HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t6rx9bb6h : 2024. A digital copy of this book is available at this link at the HathiTrust Digital Library.