Thomas Hunter was initially a resident of Chowan County, North Carolina. In 1734 Hunter became a resident of Pasquotank County, North Carolina, where he quickly established himself in local politics. A local justice of the peace and sheriff, he also represented Pasquotank in the North Carolina Colonial Assembly in 1740. In 1741 he sat on the local freeholders court, which heard cases involving enslaved people. He died in Pasquotank on March 1, 1746.