Historical Note
The history of the Huntington family goes back to Simon Huntington of Norwich, Norfolk, England who arrived to Boston in 1633. In 1660, his descendants were among members of a party that settled Norwich, Conn. During the Revolutionary War, the Norwich Huntingtons played prominent role in the state and national affairs. Among the most distinguished members of the extended family were Jabez Huntington and his sons Jedediah, Andrew, and Ebenezer, Samuel Huntington, and Benjamin Huntington.
Jabez Huntington (1719-1786) was a wealthy West India trader and a member of the state legislature. During the war, he was active on the committee of safety and from September 1776 was Major General of militia. His son Jedediah (1743-1818) raised a regiment in 1775 and joined the army at Cambridge on Apr. 26, 1776. At the close of the war he was brevetted major general. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was then appointed by Washington to the post of collector of New London. Andrew Huntington (1745-1824), manufacturer of paper at the Falls of Norwich, was a commissary of the brigade during the Revolution. Ebenezer Huntington (1754-1834) left his studies at Yale to join the army at the outbreak of the war. He served first in the Lexington alarm in April 1775 and later with the Third and First Connecticut Regiments. He was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress (1810- 1811) and elected to the Fifteenth Congress (1817-1819).
Samuel Huntington, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a member of the Continental Congress from 1776 till 1783 and served as president of this body in 1779-1781. He was also judge of the supreme court of Connecticut (1774-1784), Lieutenant Governor (1785) and Governor of Connecticut (1786-1796). His nephew Samuel, adopted and educated by his uncle, was Governor of Ohio (1808-1810). Benjamin Huntington (1736-1800) was member of Connecticut state house of representatives (1771-80), state delegate to Continental Congress (1780-84 and 1787-88), member of Connecticut state senate, 1781-90, 1791-93 and mayor of Norwich 1784-96. His grandson Daniel Huntington was a prominent artist and President of the National Academy.
From the guide to the Huntington Family File, 1737-1898, (The Huntington Library)
