James Harvey Hunt was born in Stoddard, NH, on November 25, 1841, the son of Timothy and Tryphena (Fisher) Hunt. His ancestors can be traced to England in 1635. The Hunts and their predecessors were prominent in Stoddard.

Hunt received his rudimentary education in the district schools of Stoddard. He lived with his parents on their farm until he was 21, at which time, on August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Fourth Regiment, NH Volunteers.

(Author’s Note: The Fourth Regiment, the New Hampshire Volunteers, also known as The Fourth New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, was a significant unit during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in Manchester, NH, and mustered for the three-year enlistment on September 18, 1861. The regiment served in various locations, including Port Royal, South Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida. The regiment lost three officers and 82 enlisted men, killed or mortally wounded; and five officers and 194 enlisted men to disease.)

Hunt entered service as a corporal, then promoted to sergeant, then to orderly-sergeant, and finally, in recognition of meritorious service, was commissioned second lieutenant in the same company, which rank he held until the close of the war.

His regiment performed provost duty in Washington, D.C. in 1863, and was in the Army of the Gulf in 1864. The regiment was transferred to Virginia in July 1864 and participated in General Sheridan’s memorable campaign in the Shenandoah Valley against the Confederate Army under General Early. He was with his regiment in all the campaigns, skirmishes, and battles in which it was engaged, the most important engagements of which were at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek.

(Author’s Note: The Battle of Cedar Creek, also known as the Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia. This was a key battle because supplies for the Confederate Army were being channeled through this valley. If supplies could be cut off, it would ruin the Confederate Army. The battle started in the early morning under heavy fog when the Confederate Army under General Early attacked federal troops, catching many of them sleeping. He attacked from multiple sides at once. By late morning, the Union forces had become overwhelmed and were in retreat. About 10:30 AM, General Sheridan arrived, having just left a meeting in Washington, DC. Sheridan regrouped the federal troops, and by 4:00 P.M.,M led a counterattack. The Confederates were routed and beat a hasty retreat. The battle ruined the Confederate stakes in the Shenandoah Valley, completely mitigating their ability to attack Washington, DC.)

After the war h,e spent one year in the dairy business in California. He returned to New Hampshire, locating in his native, Stoddard, where he entered the tin and stove trade. He became Stoddard’s postmaster in 1868 and served until 1871.

In January 1872, he came to Nashua and for several years was engaged in the tin and stove business on Factory Street with A. S. Powers, under the firm name of Powers & Hunt.

On Sept. 1, 1879, he was appointed by Mayor Holman as the Assistant Marshal of the Nashua police force. The following year, Hunt became the new City Marshal, serving a total of five years.

(Author’s Note: Five years was a long time for a City Marshal to serve because during that period, the police department was managed by the mayor and aldermen. Being politicians, they each wanted to show their constituents what “their” police department could do. Consequently, at one point the police officers walking a beat on Main Street were responsible for lighting and extinguishing gas-light street lamps. One of the most ridiculous things the police were tasked with by the alderman was to build and place throughout the city, birdhouses suitable for the many English Sparrows inhabiting the city. Subsequently, some police chiefs became frustrated and just left. From 1853 to 1891, the Nashua Police Dept. didn’t even have its own budget, instead being almost entirely financed by the fines paid by those arrested and convicted of various crimes. This changed in 1891 with the advent of the Police Commission.)

With a new City Marshal comes new rules. Under Hunt’s administration, the nomenclature for police officers changed from “Policemen” to “Special Policemen.” There were also Night Watchmen and a new category, Truant Officers. There was also another upper-command officer, Day Watchman. The constant parade of City Marshals, changing terms for police officers, and the stress of working in a growing city must have been unnerving to the rank and file of that day.

Hunt was also more assertive than his predecessors in other matters. In the Annual Report for 1881 published in 1882, then-City Marshal James Hunt called the Mayor and Aldermen’s attention to the condition of the Police Department at the city hall. (Author’s Note: From 1843 to 1939, Nashua’s City Hall was on the east side of Main St. just north of the Odd Fellows Building. The Nashua Police Dept. was located in the basement.) Hunt stated, “The cells for the prisoners are poorly ventilated and are damp and unhealthy, particularly in Spring and Fall when there is no fire in the furnace and the floors, made of cement, have become rough and in bad condition. The watch room you will find not a very inviting place for the night watchmen, who are frequently compelled to remain after they are off-duty until nine o’clock as witnesses in Police Court.”

In the Annual Report for 1882 published in 1883, then-City Marshal James Hunt again noted that since the addition of two Watchmen the year before and two more Watchmen in the fiscal year just completed, what was once a small room for them has grown totally untenable.

The Annual Report for 1883, published in 1884 notes a number of improvements made in the Police area of the city hall including “the room formerly used as the City Marshals’ office and police court room have been enlarged and reconstructed giving a private office to the police justice, another to the City Marshal, and also affording a larger and more convenient court room…” Another room was outfitted with “clothes closets for each of the officers.” Another room has been arranged to accommodate up to a “dozen lodgers at a time.” (These would be transients with no place else to spend the night.) Another small room was outfitted to provide first aid. (Author’s Note: This situation would not be completely rectified until the new Nashua Police Station was built as a separate building on the back side of the City Hall, but facing Court St. This is now the James E. Coffey Post #3 of the American Legion.)

During 1885, Police Department City Watchmen W.W. Wheeler and Joseph W. Wallace each made $760.50 for the year, although it is not known how many hours they had to work to make that much money. By comparison, Nashua’s mayor made $600 for the year and City Marshal James Hunt made $650.00 for the year.

Willard Tolles replaced a retiring James Hunt as City Marshal. In his parting address to the mayor and the police department, outgoing City Marshal James Hunt thanked his officers and mentioned specifically their efforts in 1886 to capture four horse thieves, recover six stolen teams, and sent seven men to state prison for various offenses.

Upon his retirement from the police department, James Hunt went into the livery business. In 1887, he was appointed by Governor Currier, coroner for Hillsborough County. At the time of the writing of this source material in 1897, Hunt remained the county coroner.

In April 1893, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Hillsborough County, and at the time of the writing of this source material in 1897, Hunt remained Deputy Sheriff.

Hunt was a member of several fraternal organizations, including a York Rite Mason and Scottish Rite Mason of the 32d degree. He was also a member of the John G. Foster post, G.A.R.

He was united in marriageon Nov. 21, 1867, with Rosalthe Upton, daughter of Alson and Sarah (Scott) Upton of Stoddard. Their adopted son, Fred E., born Jan. 1, 1877, a bright, intelligent and promising boy, was drowned in the Nashua River June 3, 1892.

Lieutenant James Harvey Hunt died January 31, 1923, and was buried in the Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua, NH.
Source: History of the City of Nashua NH, from the Earliest Settlement of Old Dunstable to the Year 1895 by Judge Edward E. Parker / Published by Telegraph Publishing Company 1897

Edited for brevity and clarity and submitted by Gary Ledoux

US Service Personnel Profiles
By Gary Ledoux February 15, 2026