A while back, I published a post about a rather large family named Hunt. It was titled, The Hunts and Their Herd. In that post was this family photograph that almost certainly contains today’s main character.

Johann Joseph Hunt was born on February 21, 1899, so today would be his 123rd birthday. He was the 5th of 11 children of George and Magdalena (Ruehling) Hunt. Joseph was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of his baptism record is displayed below.

Joseph was still a youngster when the 1900 census was taken. His father was a farmer.

Early in his life, a photograph was taken of some of the sons in the Hunt family. Joseph is the one wearing the white shirt.

The Hunt family can next be seen in the 1910 census. This household had grown considerably.

The Hunt farm was located south of Altenburg. We see it in the 1915 plat maps for Perry County.

We find an interesting situation when World War I draft registrations were completed in 1918. Two of the Hunt brothers, Edward and Joseph, had their forms filled out in Calhoun County in Iowa. Edward is found in Lake City and Joseph in Lohrville. They were each working on Clark farms, one John Clark and the other James Clark. These images may be clicked to enlarge.

When the 1920 census was taken, we find Joseph had returned to Perry County and was living in the Brazeau Township with his parents. He was 20 years old at the time.

We will now turn our attention to the woman who would become Joseph’s wife. He must have found his bride while living in Iowa. Her name was Margaret Wilamine Carstens, who was born on September 6, 1897. Margaret was the daughter of Detlef and Dorothea (Gudenrath) Carstens. She was born in Germany, and her family came to America in 1902. We find the Carstens family in the 1910 census living in the Richland Township of Carroll County, Iowa. That is where the town of Glidden is located.

The proximity of Glidden and Lohrville is demonstrated in the map pictured here. Lake City can also be seen on this image. These two towns are less than 20 miles apart.

Both of Margaret’s parents died before the 1920 census was taken. In that census, we find Margaret living with one of her brothers. Margaret was 22 years old at the time.

That leads us up to a wedding that took place in Iowa. Actually, there was more than one Hunt marriage in Iowa. A previous one had taken place in 1920 when Edward Hunt was married in Glidden, Iowa. Joseph Hunt married Margaret Carstens on the 1st day of 1924, January 1. The marriage took place at a Lutheran church in Glidden, Iowa. We can take a look at an Iowa marriage document.

Another portion of this document mentions that the marriage took place at a Lutheran church.

I am able to display a few photos of this wedding. First, here is one showing just Joseph and Margaret.

Also, here is one that contains some of their witnesses. I have to think that the man behind Joseph was one of his brothers.

I think Joseph and Margaret had 6 children. Three of them were born before the 1930 census. Also included in this household was Rudolph Meinz. Joseph’s sister had married Alfred Meinz, and Rudolph was their son. That means Rudolph was also Joseph’s 17 year-old nephew from Perry County.

Some photos of the Hunt children were taken when they were quite young. First, on the left, 2 daughters, then in the middle 3 daughters, and on the right, 3 daughters and a son.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1940. This time, this family was living in the Richland Township of Carroll County. That is where Glidden is located. This entry includes 5 children, but one of the daughters listed in 1930 was no longer included. I suspect she died. Joseph was a farmer.

A photograph was later taken of the Joseph and Margaret Hunt family. Five children are included, three older daughters and two younger sons.

An aerial photograph was taken of the Joseph Hunt farm in Glidden, Iowa.

In 1974, Joseph and Margaret celebrated their 50th anniversary, and another photo was taken.

Margaret Hunt died in 1979 at the age of 82; Joseph Hunt died in 1992 at the age of 93. These two are buried together in the West Lawn Cemetery in Glidden, Iowa.

Now that you have read the story of a Hunt son moving to Iowa and finding his bride, let me tell you that I have discovered that 3 Hunt brothers ended up in Iowa, all in the area around Glidden. Perhaps I will have to write a few more posts about the Hunts in Iowa. I know there are lots of photos of this Hunt family that are found on Ancestry.com, making it more fun to tell their stories.