c1900 Photograph of Florence Hunt, later to become Mrs. J. M. Acuff

c1900 photograph of a woman identified on reverse as Florence Hunt, who later became Mrs. J. M. Acuff.

The photograph was recently purchased in Maine, but that may not be a clue as to where Florence lived.  Many photographs end up in Maine with relatives or with newcomer retirees who have a collection to disperse.

Researching online, I found an intriguing prospect: a Florence A. Hunt, born in Ohio in 1880, who married Joseph Minter Acuff at Springfield, Missouri on 25 December 1901.

I can't quite make out the photographer's name.  It's possibly Morgan; perhaps a reader will know if there was a studio in Ohio or Missouri by that or a similar name during the likely time frame.

This Florence A. Hunt was the daughter of Lester Trowbridge Hunt, a Connecticut native who had moved to Ohio and became the editor of a newspaper there, and his second wife Maggie.  

Lester's parents were Elisha and Almira (Bill) Hunt of Chaplin, Connecticut.  Elisha died in 1833.  By the time of the 1850 Census of Chaplin, Connecticut, Almira had not remarried; Lester and his older brother Henry were living with her.

By the time of the 1860 Census, Lester had married his first wife, Ellen Fannie Burnham, and they had made their way to Kenton, Ohio.

Ellen Fannie Burnham was the daughter of Luther and Martha (Lincoln) Burnham of the noted Burnham family of the Windham, Connecticut area.  Her brother, Stowell Lincoln Burnham, was killed at Gettysburg, after suffering several gunshot wounds throughout the day.

I don't yet have information on the maiden name or parents of Lester's second wife Maggie, mother of Florence.

If I have the right Florence (Hunt) Acuff, perhaps the photograph originally made its way to Hunt relatives in Connecticut and from there eventually to Maine.

Florence's husband, Joseph Minter Acuff, was also in the newspaper business, which is perhaps how they met.  

According to the 1900 Census, Joseph was born in Missouri in August 1875, give or take a year.  His parents were Joseph Christopher Acuff and wife Levica (Green) Acuff.

His paternal grandparents were Christopher Columbus Acuff, Jr., and wife Mildred L. (Rogers) Acuff.  His maternal grandparents were William and Marcena (Smith) Green.

If you have corrections or additions to the above information or if you have another possibility for the identity of the Florence (Hunt) Acuff in the photograph, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  

Thanks for stopping by!