Huntingtonis the surname of three prominent families from theUnited States of America.The first was active in the eastern region; the second played an important role in the earlyLatter Day Saint movement,and pioneered and founded theState of UtahwithBrigham Young;the third was active on both coasts and the regions linking them. All three lines descend from Simon Huntington and his wife, Margaret Baret Huntington,[1]who immigrated to America fromNorwich,England,in 1633.[2]
John Trumbull's painting,Declaration of Independence,depicting the five-man drafting committee of theDeclaration of Independencepresenting their work to the Congress. The painting can be found on the back of the U.S.$2 bill.The original hangs in theUS Capitolrotunda.Samuel Huntington, as one of the signers is featured.The Declaration of Independence. Signed July 4, 1776.
Jabez Huntington(7 August 1719 – 5 October 1786) was a merchant and politician fromConnecticut Colony.Jabez Huntington graduated fromYalein 1741, engaged in theWest Indiatrade, and amassed a fortune. After 1759 he was frequently a member of the legislature, speaker for several years, and also a member of the council.
Samuel Huntington(1765–1817), delegate to theOhioConstitutional Convention 1802, Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court 1803–1808, Governor of Ohio 1808–1810. Nephew of and adoptive son of Samuel Huntington.[4]
Elisha Mills Huntington(1806–1862),IndianaUnited States Representative1832–1836, Indiana Circuit Court Judge 1837–1841, Judge of the U.S. District Court of Indiana 1842–1862, delegate to the Democratic National Convention 1860. Descendant of Samuel Huntington.[5]
Nathaniel Huntington, Indiana United States Representative 1827–1828. Brother ofElisha Mills Huntington.[6]
Arria Sargent Huntington(1848–1921) the first woman elected to public office in Syracuse, New York.
Pelatiah Webster Huntington, was a well-known political economist, author, and teacher during the late 1700s.
Pelatiah Webster Huntington, named after the well known economist, was the founder ofHuntington Bancshares,largest bank by market share in Columbus, Ohio.
East Meets West. The ceremony for the driving of theGolden Spikeat Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869; completion of theFirst transcontinental railroad.Oliver Boardman Huntington and Zina Diantha Huntington pioneered and founded Utah State which created the infrastructure and conditions for their cousins Collis Potter Huntington and Henry Edward Huntington's success.
Huntingtons involved in American railroads, shipping, real estate, politics, mining, oil and extraction, arts patronage, and philanthropy since the 19th century include:
Collis Potter Huntington(Harwinton, Connecticut 1821–1900) andArabella Duval Huntington(Union Springs, Alabama or Richmond, Virginia c. 1850–1924) Real estate investor, philanthropist and art and jewelry collector, abolitionist and suffragette known as "America's Wealthiest Woman" during theGilded Age;Collis Huntington was one of theBig Four,also known as "The Associates", of theFirst transcontinental railroad,theCentral Pacific,and include theSouthern Pacific,Chesapeake and Ohio U.S. railroadsandNewport Newsshipping industries.[9][10]Through railroads, shipping, real estate, mining, oil, extraction, and art, rare book and jewelry collections, it is estimated that Collis and his cousin Henry amassed a fortune of between 30 and 50 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation and valuation, 2018). Collis and Arabella were abolitionists married byHenry Ward Beecherand supportedBooker T. Washingtonthrough fundingHampton Normal Agricultural Institute(now Hampton University) andTuskegee Institute(now Tuskegee University). Upon his death, Arabella financed the Collis P. Huntington Memorial Building[11]at Tuskegee University which was dedicated to supporting one of the first programs educating black women and is still in use today.
Archer Milton Huntington(1870–1955; SeeThe Hispanic Society of America,Audubon Terrace,Mariners' Museum) Philanthropist, poet, Hispanic scholar, art collector and patron, museum and botanical gardens developer andAnna Hyatt Huntington(1876–1973) American sculptor (SeeBrookgreen Gardens&Atalaya Castle).[15]Archer founded and developed The Hispanic Society of America, Audubon Terrace and the Newport News Mariners' Museum projects as well as acting as a major benefactor for theAmerican Academy of Arts and Lettersand theAmerican Numismatic Society.His early education was almost wholly independent, not unlike his father Collis and cousin Henry (Ed) and in early childhood he was educated through private tutors and extensive travel in Europe; he later would earn honorary degrees including a doctorate from Yale University as a Hispanic scholar and poet. Archer, with his wife Anna, built Atalaya Castle and Brookgreen Gardens, both of which were donated upon his death to the State of South Carolina. The nearly 10,000-acre parcel and two estates now compriseHuntington Beach State Parkwhich focuses on wetland and habitat conservation.
Helen Dinsmore Huntington(1893–1976); American socialite, arts patron and political hostess. Descendant of the Huntington and Dinsmore families, who had adjoining Hudson River estates, Helen Huntington marriedVincent Astorin 1914, and became a leader of New Yorksociety.In 2004Andre Balazsacquired her family estate,The Locusts,once the setting for many of hersoirees.
"The Huntington" Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California was built by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Duval Huntington. (Exterior Main Building)
Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young(Watertown, NY, 1821–1901) American Social Activist and suffragette, wife ofJoseph Smith(founder of theLatter Day Saint movement) andBrigham Young(second president ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church)), she served as second (co-president) and third president of theLDS Relief Society.Zina Diantha Huntington's father,William Huntington,was an early leader of the LDS Church, and she accompanied the Brigham Young Company expedition in pioneering and founding the State of Utah, along with her brothers, including Oliver Boardman Huntington,[22]who acted as a scout for the Brigham Young Company. She was polyandrous and was married to her husbands Jacobs and Smith at the same time; upon Smith's death, she married Brigham Young.
