John Newton Hungerford (SH262) was a successful Banker, philanthropist, and a U.S. Representative from New York. Although he had no children, one of his focuses in life was the education of youth. The settlement of the estate of John Newton Hungerford was a messy affair which caused one of his executors—Absalom Hadden, Esq.—to eventually commit suicide on October 7, 1889. For over six years Hadden tried to collect money owed to Hungerford's estate, an immensely stressful task. The estate was depleted in part because it paid a $25,000 bequest to Hamilton College as well as $5,000 to Elmira College. One business debtor in Elmira owed Hungerford's bank $100,000 with security of only $7,500; Hadden was able to levee enough N.Y. and Pennsylvania timberland owned by the bankrupt debtor to reduce its outstanding to $60,000. Creditors kept clamoring for repayment though. At his summer camp on Lake Keuka, Hadden hung himself, thereby ending his role as Hungerford's executor.