Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/472

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HUNTINGTON

1849-51; of the First church, Chelsea, Mass., 1S51-50; reoccupied his chair at the Cohimbian universit}', 185'3-59; was pastor at Farmville, Va., 1859-60; of the First Baptist church, Augusta. Ga., 1860-65; professor of the Greek language and literature at the Columbian university, 1865- 1900; also acting professor of the Latin language there, 1865-66, and 1871-82. He was elected pro- fessor of mental and moral philosophy. Corcoran Scientific scliool, Wasliington, D.C., 1884; and in June, 1900, having previously resigned from Corcoran, he gave up Ins cliair of Greek at the Columbian university and was made professor emeritus. He was elected a trustee of the Colum- bian university in 1865, and received the honorary degree of D.D. from Brown in 1868. He was mar- ried. June 6, 1844. to Bettie G., daughter of Dr. Richard A. Christian of Urbaua, Va., and their only child, Nannie, became the wife of William L. "Wilson, afterward representative in congress, postmaster-general of the United States and presi- dent of Wasliington and Lee university. Dr. Huntington is the author of: The Moral and Religious Education of the You7ig, a tract, and of various reviews and newspaper articles. He died in Charleston. W. Va.. July 14. 19(i:j.

HUNTINGTON, Benjamin, delegate, was born in Norwich, Conn., April 19, 1736; son of Daniel and Rachel (Wolcott) Huntington; grandson of Deacon Simon and Sarah (Clark) Huntington, and great grandson of Simon and Margaret (Baret) ,'Ky.ri.v-^. Hunting- '^'5s^ton,theim

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!^g. m 1 g r a n ts " and first of the fami- ly in Amer- _ ica. Simon """^ started for .-;j^^ J-— ^5._.^^. g, America

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1785-1788..

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land, and died at sea, 1683, and his widow with her chiMren reached Dorchester, Mass., where she marrieil Th(jra;is Stonghton. Benjamin was graduated at Yale in 1761, was admitted to the bar and practised law in Norwich, Conn. He was appointed a member of the convention held at New Haven for the regulation of the armv, by the recommendation of Washington in 1778. He was a delegate from Connecticut to the Con- tinental congress, 1780-84 and 1787-88; mayor of Norwich, 1784-96; a representative in the 1st U.S. congress, 1789-91; state senator, 1781-90 and 1791-93, and judge of the superior court of the state, 1793-98. He w.xs married. May 5, 1765, to Anna, daughter of Col. Jabez and Sarah (Wetmore) Huntington, and their .son Benjamin (1777-18.50), married Faith Trumbull, daughter

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of Gen. Jedidiah Huntington, (q.v.) He re- ceived the honorary degree of LL.D. from Dart- moutli in 1783 and that of A.M. from Yale in 1787. He died in Norwich, Conn.. Oct. 16. 1800. HUNTINGTON, Collis Potter, railroad builder and mar.ager, was born in Harwinton. Conn., April 16, 1821; son of William and Elizabeth (Vincent) Huntington; grandson of Joseph and Rachel (Preston) Huntington; great-grandson of John and Mehitabel (Metcalf) Hunting- ton; greats-grandson of Lieut. Samuel and Mary (Clark) Hunt- ington; great''-grand- sonofDea. Simon and Sarah (Clark) Hunt- ington; and great*- grandson of Simon and Margaret (Baret) Huntington the im- migrants. His father Avas poor and Collis, who was one of nine

children, was brought .^^^J^,^.c:i^:;X7^ up to work hard. ^

As he himself tells it, "when he was too young to carry wood he picked up chips." He attended district school until he was four- teen, and then went to work for a neiglibor- ing farmer at seven dollars a month and his board and clothes. He saved all of this, and on the strength of his good name, and armed with letters of commendation from the merchants of his section, he went to New York, and purchased a bill of goods on credit. He travelled in the southern states extensively during liis early years of business until in 1843 lie establislied. in con- junction with his brother Solon, a merchandise store in Oneonta, N.Y. In March, 1848. young Huntington started with a number of other young men for California, via the isthmus of Panama. During a delay of three months on the istlimus. he increased his capital stock from $1200 to $5000, by means of trading. He had previously sent a consignment of goods around Cape Horn in 1848, and on his arrival in San Francisco he immediately went to Sacramento on a schooner, paying for his passage and the freight on his stock of hardware by assisting in loading and unloading freight at one dollar per hour. In Sacramento he erected a tent and placing in it his stock of hardware, such as was u.sed in the mines, he began business on his own account. He soon after mot and formed a partnership with Mark Hopkins and by 1856 the firm of Huntington & Hopkins was was one of the wealthiest on the Pacific slope. He confined his business to trade, and did