| Order with this Reference | MMS/Special Series/Biographical/South Seas/FBN 36-37 |
| Ref No | MMS/17/02/10/04 |
| Title | Rev John Hunt & family |
| Date(s) of Creation | 1833-1938 |
| Level of Description | Sub-Sub-Series |
| Extent | 2 boxes |
| Name of Creator | Calvert; James (1813-1892); printer, bookseller, ordained missionary |
| Hunt; Hannah (fl 1812-1891); née Summers, missionary wife |
| Lyth; Richard Bursdall (1810-1887); surgeon, ordained and medical missionary, educationalist, linguist |
| Administrative & Biographical History | Born, 1812; educated in a parish school; farm labourer from c1822; became a Methodist, c1828; studied in his spare time and became a preacher at Swinderby and Potter Hanworth, Lincolnshire; went to study at the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Hoxton, 1835; was ordained and married Hannah Summers (b 1812), 6th March 1838; Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society missionary to Fiji, 1838-1848; worked in Rewa, Somosomo, Lakemba, and Vewa [Viwa], travelling to visit various mission stations on the Fijian islands; worked on the translation of the Bible, completing the New Testament and beginning the Old Testament; knowledgeable about Fijian culture; his evangelistic work was successful and he was instrumental in the conversion of the warrior Varani, 1845; died of dysentery, 4th October 1848; buried at Viwa [Vewa]; survived by his wife and children, including their eldest daughter, Eliza-Ann, and their second daughter, Hannah, who married Lewis Richings.
Further Reading:
Birtwhistle, N A, In his armour. The life of John Hunt of Fiji (1954);
Calvert, J, letter to J Hannah with notes on John Hunt (1848);
Nettleton, J, John Hunt pioneer missionary and saint ([1906]);
Finney, R C, Among Fijian cannibals, John Hunt (1957);
Hunt, J, Private Journal of John Hunt;
Hunt, J, Memoir of the Rev W Cross ... missionary to the Friendly and Feejee Islands; with a short notice of the early history of the Missions (1846);
Hunt, J, An explanation of the Christian religion: comprising its evidences, doctrines, duties and institutions: in a course of lectures (1850);
Rowe, G S, The life of John Hunt, missionary to the cannibals (1859);
Telford, J, Makers of our missions. Pages from the lives of Methodist missionaries (1895);
Williams, T, Memoir of the late Rev. John Hunt, Feejee. |
| Held at: | SOAS University of London |
| Description | Papers, 1833-1938, of and relating to John Hunt and his family, comprising correspondence, 1833-1868, of John and Hannah Hunt, the correspondents being mainly family members but including some other missionaries; 'scrapbook' kept at the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Hoxton, commencing 1835, containing entries by Hunt on religious subjects; certificates, 1838, of ordination and oath of allegiance; Hunt's journals, 1838-1848, including the journey to Fiji and life and work there, one volume including an autobiographical account of his early life and religious experiences; Hunt's sermon notes and religious writings, largely undated [1830s-1840s], including a volume presented to R B Lyth, 1842; poems by Hunt, including some Fijian verses, undated; Hunt's manuscript memoir of the Rev William Cross [1843-1844]; pen believed to have belonged to John Hunt; photographic copies of a portrait of Hunt; the first Tongan Bible [published in 1839], with an inscription regarding its provenance, 1842; printed letter by James Calvert on Hunt's death, 1848; biographical account of Hunt [by R B Lyth] [after 1848]; notebook [of Hannah Hunt], some entries inscribed E A Hunt and dated 1860, including notes on Lincolnshire and other English localities, the Scriptures, poetry, Shakespeare, and history; notebook of poems from Elsie and Hannah Hunt to their mother [Hannah Hunt], 1875; photograph [of Hannah Hunt]; miscellaneous papers of Hannah Hunt Richings, 1864-1881, including photographs of her and her husband Lewis, undated; notebook of Eliza-Ann Hunt, containing diary entries, 1874-1888, and other entries including poetry and stories; papers, 1920-1938, including letters, press cuttings, and notes, relating to John Hunt, his work in Fiji, and his Lincolnshire connections. |
| Access Status | Temporarily Closed |
| Conditions Governing Access | Only to be viewed on microfiche. |
| Copyright | Copyright probably held by Methodist Missionary Society. |
| Conditions Governing Reproduction | For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance |
| Language(s) of Material | English |
| Fijian |
| Tonga (Tonga Islands) |
| Other Finding Aids | Handlist available |
| Related Material | Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence for John Hunt (MMS/Australasia/Correspondence/Fiji/FBN 5-6). Furthermore, the synod minutes will detail his work, and that of his colleagues, in the Fiji district (MMS/Australasia/Synod Minutes/Fiji & Tonga/FBN 2).
The Methodist Archives and Research Centre at John Rylands University Manchester, holds Hunt's memoranda book and diary, 1836-1837.
The Alexander Turnbull Library at the National Library of New Zealand holds seven volumes of Hunt's journal and sermons, 1841-1848.
The Mitchell Library at the New South Wales State Library in Australia holds correspondence by Hunt, 1835-1850. |