Augusta Merrill Hunt

Augusta Merrill Hunt (1842–1932) was an American philanthropist, suffragist, and temperance leader. She was identified with many of the prominent charitable organizations of Portland, Maine, notably that of the Portland Fraternity, the Associated Charities, the Home for Aged Women, the Maine Woman's Suffrage Association (M.W.S.A.), and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She was the first president of the Portland branch of the WCTU.

Early life and education Augusta Merrill Barstow was born in Portland, Maine, June 6, 1842. She was the youngest daughter of George Simonton and Ellen (Merrill) Barstow, of Portland. She served as Maine superintendent of franchise of the WCTU. For 10 years, she was the president of the Portland Woman's Council, auxiliary to the National Council of Women of the United States, which consisted of 18 affiliated societies having a membership of several thousand. Under her leadership, the council was instrumental in having a law passed which gave to a mother an equal right with the father in the care and guardianship of minor children, and also a law which permitted the election of women to the school board.

For seven years, Hunt served as the president of the Ladies' History Club, the first literary society organized by the women of Portland, which was originated in 1874.

Personal life On September 22, 1863, she married George Smith Hunt (d. 1896), a merchant of Portland in the sugar refining business. They had two sons, Arthur and Philip.

For many years, Hunt and two of her sisters, Mrs. Susan E. Bragdon and Mrs. Mary E. MacGregor, followed in the footsteps of their mother, being prominently identified with educational and philanthropic work. Mrs. Bragdon was the first president of the Woman's Literary Union and a worker in the Portland Fraternity. Mrs. McGregor was the founder and promoter of the Maine Home for Friendless Boys.

In failing health for several months before her death, Augusta Merrill Hunt died in Portland, Maine, June 15, 1932 and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in her hometown of Portland.