Samuel Huntington | |
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| 18th Governor of Connecticut | |
| In office May 11, 1786 – January 5, 1796 | |
| Lieutenant | Oliver Wolcott |
| Preceded by | Matthew Griswold |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Wolcott |
| 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut | |
| In office 1784–1786 | |
| Governor | Matthew Griswold |
| Preceded by | Matthew Griswold |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Wolcott |
| 1stPresident of the Confederation Congress | |
| In office September 28, 1779 – July 10, 1781 | |
| Preceded by | John Jay (as 6thPresident of the Continental Congress) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas McKean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 16, 1731 Windham, Connecticut, British America (nowScotland, Connecticut) |
| Died | January 5, 1796(1796-01-05) (aged 64) Norwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Resting place | Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Martha Devotion |
| Signature |  |
Samuel Huntington (July 16, 1731 – January 5, 1796) was aFounding Father of the United States and a lawyer, jurist, statesman, andPatriot in theAmerican Revolution fromConnecticut.[1] As a delegate to theContinental Congress, he signed theDeclaration of Independence and theArticles of Confederation. He also served asPresident of the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1781, President of the United States in Congress Assembled in 1781, chief justice of theConnecticut Supreme Court from 1784 to 1785, and the18th Governor of Connecticut from 1786 until his death. He was the first United States governor to havedied while in office.
Huntington was born to Nathaniel and Mehetabel Huntington on July 16,[2][3] 1731, inWindham,Connecticut Colony in present-dayScotland, Connecticut, which broke off from Windham in 1857. His house is currently accessible offRoute 14. He was the fourth of ten children and the oldest son. He had a limited education in thecommon schools, then was self-educated. When he was 16, he was apprenticed to acooper but also continued to help his father on the family farm. His education largely was a product of books he read from the library of Rev. Ebenezer Devotion and books borrowed from local lawyers.
In 1754, Huntington was admitted to the bar, and moved toNorwich, Connecticut, to begin practicing law.
After brief service as aselectman, Huntington began his political career in earnest in 1764 when Norwich sent him as one of their representatives to the lower house of the Connecticut Assembly, where he served until 1774. In 1775, he was elected to the upper house, the Governor's Council, where he served until 1784.[4] In addition to serving in the legislature, he was appointed king's attorney for Connecticut in 1768 and in 1773 was appointed to the colony's supreme court, then known as the Supreme Court of Errors. He was chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1784 until 1787.[4][5]
Huntington was an outspoken critic of theCoercive Acts of theBritish Parliament. In October 1775, the assembly elected him to be one of their delegates to theSecond Continental Congress inPhiladelphia.
In January 1776, he joinedRoger Sherman andOliver Wolcott, which collectively represented theConnecticut Colony's delegation in the Second Continental Congress. He voted for and signed theDeclaration of Independence and theArticles of Confederation. He served in the Congress in the years 1776, 1778–1781, and 1783. He suffered from an attack ofsmallpox while in Congress.[4]
While not known for extensive learning or brilliant speech, Huntington's steady hard work and unfailing calm manner earned him the respect of his fellow delegates. As a result, whenJohn Jay left to become minister to theKingdom of Spain, Huntington was elected to succeed him asPresident of the Continental Congress on September 28, 1779, which is one reason why he is sometimes considered the first president. The President of Congress was a mostly ceremonial position with no real authority, but the office did require Huntington to handle a good deal of correspondence and sign official documents.[6] He spent his time as president urging the states and their legislatures to support the levies for men, supplies, and money needed to fight theRevolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation were ratified during his term.
Huntington remained as President of Congress until July 9, 1781, when ill health forced him to resign and return to Connecticut. In 1782, Connecticut again named him as a delegate, but his health and judicial duties kept him from accepting. He returned to the Congress as a delegate for the 1783 session to see the success of the revolution embodied in theTreaty of Paris. In that same year, he was elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society.[7]
In 1785, Huntington built his mansion house just off the green inNorwichtown, Connecticut at what is now 34 East Town Street and the current headquarters of United and Community Family Services, Inc. In 1785, he was elected as lieutenant governor of Connecticut, serving with GovernorMatthew Griswold.[5] In 1786, he became governor.[5] He remained in charge of the Supreme Court during his tenure as lieutenant governor but vacated that position upon election to governor.[5]
In his first year as governor, in a reprise of his efforts in Congress, he brokered theTreaty of Hartford that resolved western land claims between New York andMassachusetts. In 1787, he lent his support to theNorthwest Ordinance that completed the national resolution of these issues. In 1788, he presided over the Connecticut Convention that was called to ratify theUnited States Constitution. In later years he saw the transition of Connecticut into aU.S. state. He resolved the issue of a permanent state capital atHartford and oversaw the construction of thestate house.
He received two electoral votes in thefirst U.S. presidential election.
He was again a member of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors from 1794 until his death.[8]
Huntington married Martha Devotion (Rev. Devotion's daughter) in 1761. They remained together until her death in 1794. The couple did not birth any children, but when his brother (Rev. Joseph Huntington) died they adopted their nephew and niece. They raisedSamuel Huntington "Jr." and Frances as their own. Samuel Huntington never owned slaves.[9]
Huntington died while in office at his home in Norwich on January 5, 1796.[10] His tomb, which was extensively restored in 2003, is located in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery behind his mansion house. Both Samuel and his wife Martha's remains were disinterred during the course of the project and then reinterred in a formal ceremony on November 23, 2003.
Huntington, Connecticut, was named in his honor in 1789 but was later renamed toShelton when the town incorporated with Shelton to form a city in 1919.[11] He is the namesake ofHuntington County, Indiana.[12]Huntington Mills is a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania which also derives its name in honor of Samuel Huntington.
The home that Samuel was born in was built by his father, Nathaniel, around 1732 and still stands. The area is now within the borders of the town of Scotland, Connecticut. In 1994, the home and some grounds were purchased by a local historic trust. TheSamuel Huntington Birthplace is aNational Historic Landmark.
His nephew and adopted sonSamuel H. Huntington moved to theOhio Country region that he had been instrumental in opening up, and later became the third governor ofOhio.
Because Huntington was the president of theSecond Continental Congress when theArticles of Confederation were ratified, some unconventional biographers and civic groups consider Huntington the firstPresident of the United States.[13][14]
| Party political offices | ||
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| First | Federalist nominee forGovernor of Connecticut 1786, 1787, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | President of Congress September 28, 1779 – July 9, 1781 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 1784–1786 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Connecticut 1786–1796 | Succeeded by |
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