Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Huntington, Samuel

HUNTINGTON, Samuel, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. in Windham, Conn., 3 July, 1731; d. in Norwich, Conn., 5 Jan., 1796. His education was limited, and he learned the trade of a cooper, also working on his father's farm, and devoting his liesure to study till he was twenty-two, when he turned his attention to law. He settled in Norwich about 1758, which town he represented in the general assembly in 1764. He received the office of king's attorney in 1765, and in 1775 sat in the upper house of the Connecticut assembly. He was a member of the Continental congress from 1776 till 1783, and served as president of this body from 28 Sept., 1779 till 6 July, 1781, when he retired, receiving the thanks of congress “in testimony of appreciation of his conduct in the chair and in the execution of public business.” From 1774 till 1784 he was a judge of the supreme court of Connecticut, and was chief justice in 1784. In 1785 he was lieutenant-governor, and he was governor of Connecticut from 1786 till 1796. The degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Dartmouth in 1785, and by Yale in 1787. - His brother, Joseph, clergyman, b. in Windham county, Conn., 5 May, 1735; d. in Coventry, Conn., 25 Dec., 1794, was compelled by his father to be a clothier, but when he was of age he went to Yale, where he was graduated in 1762. On 29 June, 1763, he became pastor of a Congregational church in Coventry, where he remained till his death. He received the degree of D.D. from Dartmouth in 1780, when he was made a trustee, serving till 1788. He inculcated the doctrine of universal salvation, and wrote many sermons and addresses, among which were an “Address to his Anabaptist Brethren” (1783); and “Thoughts on the Atonement of Christ” (1791). He left a work in manuscript entitled “Calvinism Improved,” which was published in 1796. - Joseph's son, Samuel, governor of Ohio, b. in Coventry, Conn., 4 Oct., 1765; d. in Painesville, Ohio, 8 June, 1817, was adopted and educated by his uncle Samuel, and was graduated at Yale in 1785. He was admitted to the bar in Norwich in 1793, and removed to Cleveland in 1801, after which he removed to Painesville in 1805. He was a judge of the court of common pleas in 1802-'03, of the superior court in 1803, and afterward chief justice. He was a member of the first constitutional convention of Ohio in 1802, a senator in its first legislature, and served as speaker. He was governor of Ohio from 1808 till 1810. Gov. Huntington was one of the original proprietors of Fairport, founded in 1812. He held the office of district paymaster with the rank of colonel from 1812 till 1814.