Andrew Hunter was a noted Methodist preacher, sometimes referred to as "The Father of Methodism in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

."

Biography

Hunter was born in Antrim, Ireland

Antrim, County Antrim

Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...

 and came to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with his parents when he was two years old. The family settled in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 where Hunter received a common-school education. In 1833 he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

, and in 1835 he moved to Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, near St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, and began teaching school. In 1836 he received a license to preach and spent one year preaching to the Choctaw nation

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

. He was ordained a deacon in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...

 in 1839 he became an elder in Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

. In the fall of 1842 he was made presiding elder of the Washington District, which comprised a large portion of Southern Arkansas. He became one of the most popular preachers in Arkansas as well being well respected throughout the country. In 1866-67 he was elected to represent Dallas and Bradley Counties in the Arkansas State senate

Arkansas Senate

The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 76,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have full-time jobs during the rest of the year. The...

 and was president of that body. In 1866 Hunter was elected US Senator from Arkansas by the State Legislature along with Elisha Baxter

Elisha Baxter

Elisha Baxter was the tenth Governor of the State of Arkansas.-Biography:Elisha Baxter was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Baxter received an appointment to the United States Military Academy but his father would not allow him to attend.In 1852 Baxter moved to Arkansas and opened a...

, however he was not allowed to take his seat in Congress due to disenfranchisement of Southern States at the beginning of Reconstruction. A. H. Garland took his place instead. He was married in York, Pennsylvania

York, Pennsylvania

York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...

, in 1844, to Anna M. Jones, and had four children.