thumb|180px|Andrew Hunter
Andrew Hunter (1813–1902) was a noted Methodist preacher, sometimes referred to as "The Grand Old Man of Arkansas", "The Patriarch of Methodism", "The Nestor of Methodism in Arkansas", and "The Foremost Churchman in Arkansas".
Biography
Hunter was born in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of John Hunter, a linen textiles manufacturer. His family immigrated to the United States in 1815, when he was 2 years old, settling in Little York, Pennsylvania. While his mother had been a member of the Presbyterian Church while in Ireland, her husband was not affiliated with any sect. His father died when Andrew was 8 years old after a long illness. During this time the family was frequently visited by a Methodist minister, which resulted in the family becoming Members of the Methodist Church.
Hunter attended college in Missouri for a short time before moving in 1835 he moved to Manchester, Missouri, near St. Louis, and began teaching school. While there he saw in a church paper a letter from Peter McGowan, the Superintendent of South Indian Missionary District urgently calling for teachers in Indian Schools. Hunter decided to travel the three hundred miles to the Indian Mission in Fort Gibson. At the time this was over very rough terrain through routes that typically followed streams, often having to sleep out in the open. The school consisted of around 20 students, and was located near where Kansas, Missouri and Texas Railroad crossed the Arkansas River North to Muskogee, in a yard donated by a Mr. Lott. Although Hunter was living in relative poverty, sleeping in a makeshift bed in the school house and eating with whoever would have him, Hunter considered this the happiest time of his life.
In 1836, due to his service in the school, he was give a license to preach and a recommendation from the quarterly conference, which consisted mostly of Indians. The Arkansas Conference had been set up the same year, and Hunter was received "on trial." The conference was divided into four districts, over which the presiding elders traveled quarterly. Hunter was first appointed to a missionary school at Bayou Baynard, and this began his long career as a Methodist minister. He was ordained a deacon in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1839 he became an elder in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the fall of 1842 he was made presiding elder of the Washington District, which comprised a large portion of Southern Arkansas. He served as pastor of what is now First United Methodist Church in Little Rock twice, first appointed in 1842. He became one of the most popular preachers in Arkansas as well being well respected throughout the country. In 1866-67 he was elected to represent Dallas and Bradley Counties in the Arkansas State senate and was president of that body. In 1866 Hunter was elected US Senator from Arkansas by the State Legislature along with Elisha Baxter, however he was not allowed to take his seat in Congress due to disenfranchisement of Southern States at the beginning of Reconstruction.