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The American Adventurers

Thomas Hunter (1831-1915)

Thomas Hunter

Founder of the Hunter Colleges Of America

Thomas Hunter was born and had his early education in Ardglass. He is most famous for founding the Female Normal and High School in New York City, now known as Hunter College. The school is today considered one of the most valuable assets of the City University of New York, one of the world's largest urban university systems in the world. Hunter was president of the school for 37 years. During his tenure as president of the school, the school became known for its impartiality regarding race, religion, ethnicity, financial or political favoritism; its pursuit of higher education for women; its high entry requirements; and its rigorous academics.

Hunter College has today 16,000 undergraduates and over 6,000 post graduate students. Hunter was related to the Hunter's Store owners in Ardglass and Killough and has still relatives in the area.

The Illustrated London News, May 3rd 1851

"At professor Tennant's last lecture upon mineralogy, at King's College, he exhibited, by permission of H .J Prescott esq., and W.Marshall, Esq., governors of the Bank of England, the largest lump of Californian gold yet brought to this country. It was dug out of an alluvial bank at Carson's Creek, on the Stanislaus River in August 1850, by an Irishman, named John Hughes, of Ardglass, near Downpatrick. It is a water-worn specimen, and weighs 18lb 3 oz. ; and its value as a specimen is about £1000. It is the property of the Bank of England."

John Hughes (1816-1906)

John Waring Maxwell Hughes lived on a local farm known as 'Stone Island'. He apprenticed initially in Greenock as a shipwright but soon went to sea jumping ship in San Francisco in 1845. He was involved in many hair raising adventures leading up to and after finding the nugget.

After coming home and selling the nugget for £875 John bought a ship and carried goods to various places including as far away as Russia.