William Franklin Hunt was born September 13, 1877 in the Sugar Loaf Valley of Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. He is the eleventh child of Amanda Jane Caudell and John Austin Hunt. He grew to maturity in what is now LeFlore County, Oklahoma, before moving with a large contingent of the Hunt family to Hartshorne, Pittsburg County, I.T., in 1895.
On November 10, 1899 William F. Hunt, age 22, of Hartshorne, I.T., married Rhoda Bell Sterling, age 18, of Waldron, Arkansas. The published marriage book has erroneously transcribed the names as "Wilburn" Hunt and "Rhonda" Sterling. The marriage was recorded in LeFlore County and apparently took place at Heavener, I.T. Rhoda, born in March 1882, was the daughter of James Monroe Sterling and Sarah Stewart.
The 1900 census shows William F. Hunt, age 22, and wife Rhoda, age 18, living in Hartshorne, I.T. William F. Hunt's occupation was given as coal miner.
Two children born in Hartshorne died in infancy in 1903 and 1904 respectively. In 1905, Rhoda's half-sister, Nancy Sterling Payne died, leaving a son and a daughter. Her daughter, Pluma Payne, born about 1903, was reared as the foster daughter of William F. and Rhoda Sterling Hunt.
(Pluma Payne Bramwell Bonicelli died at Muskogee, Oklahoma, July 5, 1985. Find-A-Grave #46336246.)
William F. Hunt was a civic leader and served in elected offices of the City of Hartshorne.
By 1909, William F. Hunt had moved back to LeFlore County, Oklahoma, and the 1910 census shows that he was a retail merchant with a general store in Monroe. In 1911 he purchased his residential property in Wister and by 1913 was operating a successful mercantile business in Wister and in Hughes.
Church records show that Rhoda Sterling Hunt joined the First Baptist Church of Wister, Oklahoma, by transfer of letter from Monroe, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1912.
William F. Hunt was very active in real estate, retail businesses, banking, politics, and church affairs during his residence in LeFlore County. He was also a Deputy U.S. Marshal under U.S. Marshal Grant Victor. He was a stable anchor for family members, serving as legal guardian for both children and adults.
Rhoda Sterling Hunt died in 1947. Her funeral was at Wister, Oklahoma, and she is interred at Elmwood Cemetery at Hartshorne, Oklahoma.
On June 20, 1949, Will Hunt married a second time to Blanche Walder (Patterson) of Hartshorne. They lived in Wister until he retired from business because of illness. At that time he and Blanche moved back to Hartshorne and lived there until his death January 14, 1958.