LAZARUS HUNT PLANTATION

Little is known about Lazarus Hunt. It is known that he was born about 1817 and was the son of John Hunt and Mary "Polly" ?. It is also known the Lazarus Hunt married Elizabeth Ramey on 9 Nov 1837 in Pike County, KY. We do know that they had at least eight children. Perhaps the most interesting tibit we have learned is that Lazarus Hunt owned a plantation in the Breaks Interstate Park at the area of what is now the Grassy Airport. The plantation is mentioned in the will of William Ramey. The exact reference to the plantation is as follows, "Having another tract 1490 acres of land in the State of Virginia and in Buchanan County on the waters of Grassy Creek in four surveys ajoining one another on the right hand fork and left hand fork of said creek just above Lazarus Hunts plantation on the right hand side of the creek". The 1850 Russell Co., Va. census lists Lazarus and his family as:

Hunt,   Lazarus age     33
        Elizabeth       40
        Nancy           17
        Polly           12
        Susan           10
        Henry            9
        Rosanna          6
        Hezekiah         3
        Sarah            4/12

According to Sadie (Ramey) Bove ,who is Lazarus Hunt's great great great great grandaughter, he was a gaint of a man. He stood seven feet tall and weighed 300 pounds. Another family member confirmed that Lazarus was a mountain of a man with "fist the size of two ordinary ones put together".

Tales of the past by Edna Potter Ramey She is the great great grandaughter of Lazarus Hunt. These tales were told to her by her grandmother Mary Jane Hunt the grandaughter of Lazarus. Edna has always heard and believed these stories to be true.

Lazarus and the Bear Lazarus was a hunter, who hunted wild game with his dogs. One day while out in the hills hunting his dogs started chasing a bear, Lazarus got tired of running after the dog and bear and sat down by a big tree to rest. When he sat down he leaned his muzzle loading rifle against the tree. He had just sat for a minute when he heard the dog and bear fighting. Lazarus got excited, jumped up and rushed off to help his dog, forgetting his rifle. He heard them fighting in a cave . He ran in the cave and grabbed the bear by its jaws and beat its head on the cave floor until he was sure the bear was dead. Grandma Mary Jane said it was great talk by the mountain people how Lazarus Hunt had killed a bear with his bare hands.

Lazarus and the Thief The time period of this story is during the Civil War, when folks took the law in their own hands. Lazarus was a wealthy plantation owner, who had a lot of livestock, garden vegetables,and ect. This one man had robbed Lazarus of about everything he could get away with. The mans name was Jake and had decided to rob the bee hives that Lazarus kept of the honey in them. Lazarus caught him getting the honey and that was the straw that broke the camels back. Lazarus way-layed Jake and shot him dead. He then buried him in a sandbar in a shallow grave. Jakes wife had been looking for Jake for days when Lazarus sent word to her that he had killed Jake. She came with an old mule and sled to take the body home. Lazarus took her to the place he had buried Jake. Lazarus stooped down and raked some of the sand from the body and said "come out of there you old Jake , you've been dead in HELL 8 days. His wife loaded his body on the sled to take him home for a proper burial. Granny Hunt wanted to give her a blanket to wrap the body in but Lazarus would not at first agree to it but finally gave a blanket. Its thought that Lazarus buried Jake at the mouth of Hunts Branch on the Levisa River.

It is with deep appreciation that we dedicate this page to Sadie (Ramey) Bove and her mother Edna (Potter) Ramey, who have added much to this site. Thier love of family and willingness to share information has made this site possible. It is our belief that family information belongs to all family. The more information is shared the less chance our hertiage will be lost. If you have contributions to this page or any family listed in this site please share this so all family members who visit here can benefit from the knowledge you hold. We maybe reached at the address provided at the end of the page.

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