Esther Hunt - Life at Brownsville

Life At Brownsville

In early October, the tiny caravan reached the new home where the Hunt family would live in a log cabin during the winter season. On July 27, 1791 Joshua purchased a property, consisting of a dwelling and 195 acres (0.79 km2) of land, from John and Sarah Cadwallader. Located on the south bank of Redstone Creek, Hunt's farm was about two miles (3 km) east of the creek's confluence with the Monongahela River and slightly to the west of Colvin Run. Their homestead, which they named "Hunt Pleasant", consisted of a log dwelling nestled amidst walnut trees and steep hills.

Rachel Hunt, Esther and Joshua's seventh child and only daughter, was born October 24, 1791.

After returning from a trip back home to Moorestown, Joshua Hunt died February 26, 1792. He was 39 years old. Esther Hunt wrote about her husband and her concerns:

He was one endowed with the savor of Truth, a good neighbor, a tender father, able to instruct his children, temporally and spiritually; except the Lord help we shall perish. My loss is inexpressible, having my dear companion taken from me by death, and I left in this strange land with six children, the youngest about four months old. I can but mourn under a sense thereof, though not as one without hope.

Esther decided to remain at Hunt Pleasant. The ages of her children ranged from Elisha, who was a little over 12 years, to Rachel, who was just four months. Now a widow, Esther continued to run the farm and raise her children alone, without her "dearest companion and bosom friend". Nevertheless, in June 1794 she was appointed an elder in the Redstone Monthly Meeting, a reflection of the high esteem that she was held by the men and women of her faith.

She traveled extensively, always on horseback. In October and November 1796 she visited Moorestown and Evesham.