Hunter McKeand Meriwether, lawyer, was born July 21, 1861, at "Pecan Grove" plantation, Crittenden Co., Arkansas. His parents were Dr. James Hunter and Lucy Eglentine (McClure) Meriwether. Dr. Meriwether was a graduate of a noted medical college a t Philadelphia. He was born in southern Kentucky and, being a sympathizer with the Southern cause, removed, with his family, his slaves and all his possessions, to Arkansas before the outbreak of the Civil War, and in that State, therefore, several of his children were born. After the war the family returned to the old homestead in Kentucky. Lucy E. McClure, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was a niece of Gustavus Henry, the "Eagle Orator of Tennessee." The Meriwether family is an old one and closely connected with the history of America and the State of Missouri. Nicholas Meriwether, its progenitor in this country, was born in Wales in 1631 and came to America in about 1650, locating in Virginia. He was clerk of Surrey Co., Virginia, and was afterward justice of the court for many years. His son, also named Nicholas, was born in Virginia in 1667 and is buried on the east bank of the Rivanna, near Charlottesville. In 1730 he received from King George II, a grant of 17,952 acres in Hanover Co. (now Albemarle), stretching along the eastern base of the mountains from Charlottesville to Gordonsville. Nearly all of the "Historic Homes of the Southwest Mountains Virginia" charmingly described in a book bearing that title, written by Edward C. Mead, were carved out of this grand estate and once belonged to Nicholas Meriwether and his descendants. The original parchment grant is now in possession of a descendant, Mrs. Mildred Meriwether Macon, of Albemarle . It is over 170 years old and conveys the land to "Nicholas Meriwether, of Hanover, gentleman," the later word signifying that he is in possession of a coat of arms, although without a title, and that his ancestors were freemen above the rank of yeomen, and individuals of education and gentle birth. Thomas Meriwether, the grandson of Nicholas, was the intimate friend and associate of Peter Jefferson, the father of President Thomas Jefferson. Peter Jefferson was one of the executors of T homas Meriwether's will, and Thomas Jefferson was named in honor of his life-long friend. Parson William Douglas, who came over to Virginia as a teacher in the family of Colonel Monroe, father of President Monroe, was also the tutor of Nicholas Me riwether, the son of Thomas, and of Thomas Jefferson, who became President. In his autobiography the latter pays a high tribute to Parson Douglas, and attributes to his learning and skill as a teacher the great proficiency in Greek, Latin and lite rature for which Jefferson was noted. This same Parson Douglas was the tutor of Presidents Monroe and Madison. His daughter, Margaret Douglas, married Nicholas Meriwether, the friend of Thomas Jefferson. She is the great-grandmother of Hunter M. M eriwether, whose name appears in the introductory lines of this article. Another descendant of Thomas Meriwether was Meriwether Lewis, the eminent explorer, whom Thomas Jefferson appointed to conduct the important expedition for locating and explo ring the unknown wastes of the great west, and whose deeds and experiences, as they relate to the history of Missouri, appear elsewhere in this work. President Jefferson afterward appointed Meriwether Lewis Governor of Louisiana Territory. It is i nteresting to recall in this connection that when Meriwether Lewis camped at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers he wrote in his official record the prediction that some day the site would be occupied by a great city, the metropolis o f the growing West. The prophecy is fulfilled in the magnitude and importance of Kansas City, together with the neighboring towns which are practically a part of her.

Hunter M. Meriwether was educated at the Green Springs Academy, Alabama, and Vanderbuilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He spent seven years at Vanderbuilt, graduating in the literary department, spending two years as fellow and assistant professor of mathematics and finally graduating in the law department in 1885. In both literary and law departments he received the highest honors of his class. Soon after finishing his university course Mr. Meriwether removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and there opened an office for the proctice of law. His practice has been confined mostly to real estate litigation and the laws covering corporations and taxation. For ten years he has represented the State and county in all tax suits brought i n Jackson County and has managed a great many large and important suits against railroads and other corporations. In having taxes declared a first charge against the assets of defunct corporations he recovered many thousands of dollars for the State. Suits now on hand against the Metropolitan Street Railway Company and other railroads which refuse to pay their taxes involve fully $50,000. Mr. Meriwether's most important work is probably in litigation involving riparian rights and accretions on the river front at Kansas City, and the carrying out of a great engineering feat of reclaiming from the river a large tract of land which formed a part of the main channel of the river. After gaining the law suits for his clients he went to work to reclaim the land, and succeeded in having a harbor line established by the government in 1893, allowing him to push the river over for half a mile. This work has progressed vigorously, and there are now great railroad yards where steamboats plied a few years ago. The yards of the Maple Leaf route and of the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway in the West Bottoms of Kansas City were all built on land reclaimed in this way by Mr. Meriwether. The work is still progressing, and a vast tract will still be reclaimed if it is carried out as contemplated. Politically Mr. Meriwether is a Democrat, but is not active except as a voter. He is a member of the Sixth and Prospect Christian Church, Kansas City, and has been one of the deacons of this church for two years. He is a Master Mason, a member of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity and of the Society of Colonial Wars. He was married Spetember 28, 1887, to Lucy Underwood Western, daughter of Captain William Wallace Western and Juliette (Underwood) Western, of Kentucky. Captain Western was a prominent soldier in the Confederate service. His wife was the daughter of the well-known Warner L. Underwood, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, who was a member of Congress and President Lincoln's consul to Scotland during the War of the Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Meriwether have two children, William Western and Juliet Block. Mr Meriwether, as an aggressive, vigorous lawyer, has gained a reputation which he well deserves, and stands high among his associates of the bar and as a citizen of Missouri and Kansas City.

---

Howard L. Conard, ed., Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, V-VI, (New York, Louisville, St. Louis: Southern History Company, 1901) pp. 333-334
Hunter MacKeand Meriwether, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, graduated at Vanderbilt University, B. S., 1883; B. L., 1885; Assistant Professor of Mathematics, 1883-1884, at Vanderbilt University; graduated Founder Medallist in Law, 1885; Deacon an d Trustee of Independence Boulevard Christian Church.