John Hunt was born in about 1644 and arrived in North Carolina by 1664, settling in Pasquotank Precinct. A Quaker, Hunt served as a member of the North Carolina Council from 1684 to 1689 and as a justice of the North Carolina General Court from 1697 to 1698. Aside from his political career, he also worked as a mariner and lawyer. He died in Pasquotank in 1710.