John Hurt (chaplain)
Reverend John Hurt (1752 – 1824) was an American Episcopal minister and army chaplain from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was the first official United States Army Chaplain. Personal and family life Little is known about Hurt's early life. Many of the records of his birth, early education and marriages were destroyed by Union soldiers near the conclusion of the American Civil War. Some genealogical records place bid birth as early as 1738 (six years after George Washington's). However, most historical accounts and genealogical records put it in 1752 (three years before Alexander Hamilton's). This confusion is mostly from the Hurt family's reuse of given names over several generations. Some sources list James Hurt and Jane Bickley as parents, while others claim that Jane Bickley died prior to Hurt's birth and instead list Benjamin Hurt and Anne Newman as parents. What is known about Hurt's early life is that he came from a long line of devout anglicans. Two of his relatives (probably his uncles), Philemon and William Hurt, were also Anglican ministers before the American War of Independence. After the Continental Army's victory, Anglicans in the United States restructured the church. It was renamed the Episcopal church, due to