Celebrating the USA’s 250th Birthday by
honoring those ancestors who built it!
“The Jacob and Mary Tree”
Richard H. Hunter, president of the Jacob Hunter Trust, has written to us with the latest news and
developments on the upkeep of and research on Hunter family cemeteries and graves. As the
United States of America celebrate 250 years of independence, the Jacob Hunter Trust honors the
memory of our Hunters in a special way.
Clan Hunter is pleased to pass on Rich Hunter’s recent message:
‘As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, we have the opportunity to honor our ancestors whose sacrifices and hard work built this nation. Our Hunters, and the related families that the Jacob Hunter Trust memorializes, arrived in America in the mid to late 1600s, long before our nation was formed, and have been a part of its development from the start.
The Jacob Hunter Trust honors the sacrifices of our early immigrants by recording their achievements, sharing the story of their lives, and memorializing their burial grounds.
However, our Trust, like so many others is facing financial challenges due to a reduction in the number of individuals who make annual donations. Over the years, many of our most ardent supporters have passed on, and now we are left with a dwindling number of people who provide the funds that support our mission.
As a result, the Trust is developing an Endowment Fund, with donations that hopefully will grow and provide interest that will cover our annual expenses, reducing our dependence on individual contributors.
Please consider making a donation to our Endowment Fund. This can be done by sending checks made out to the Jacob Hunter Trust, to Rich Hunter, 10202 Briggs Rd., Marion IL 62959; via a credit card using PayPal on our website homepage; by designating the Jacob Hunter Trust as beneficiary (Payable on Death) on some of your bank or investment accounts; and by naming the Jacob Hunter Trust as a beneficiary in your Will. Beginning in 2026, gifts to the Jacob Hunter Trust can be deducted from your Federal Taxable income while also taking advantage of the expanded Standard Deduction. See the Jacob Hunter Trust website homepage for more information.
The Trust has preserved parts of two trees that were near the graves of Jacob and Mary Hunter and Emanuel and Judith Lee Hunter. These cedar trees were removed in 2025 due to many years of storm and ice damage. These trees were nourished by the DNA of our ancestors for over 150 years. See the attached PDF file, “The Jacob and Mary Tree” for more information on how you can receive a piece of these trees.
Please also visit our website: www.jacobhuntertrust.org to see newly discovered information about our immigrant, William Hunter, and his family. Our renowned researcher, Hunter McKelva Cole, has discovered new information he has shared by articles published in our Newsletters, and in Research Reports and Records and the Family Stories tabs on our website. The January 2027 Newsletter will have new research findings as well.
Thank you for your interest and support of the Jacob Hunter Trust over the years.
I hope that you all are well, and finding value in the work of our family Trust.
All the best,
Rich
Richard H. Hunter, Trustee Emeritus
The Jacob Hunter Trust
We, as children of these great mothers and fathers upon whose shoulders we stand, wish to celebrate their lives and sacrifices by unfolding their legacies and honoring the grounds where they forever lie.
