Tapping the Scales of Justice - A Dose of Connecticut Legal History
Samuel Huntington (July 16, 1731 - January 5, 1796)
The First President of the United States?
Who was the man that some consider to be the first president of the United States?
Samuel Huntington was born into a family of ten children.
Three of his brothers were sent to study theology at Yale, but Samuel's
parents decided that his education would be of a different kind. They
apprenticed Samuel to become a cooper and enlisted his help in running the
family farm. However, a farmer was not what Samuel wanted to be. At age
twenty-two, he left the family farm in pursuit of bigger dreams.
Intent on becoming a lawyer, Samuel decided to teach himself all that he would need
to know. Samuel read the books contained in the personal library of
Scotland's local minister, Ebenezer Devotion. After studying law books from
the collections of other friends in Windham, Samuel passed the bar. He was
admitted to practice in March of 1754.
By 1761 Samuel had fallen in love and married Martha Devotion, daughter of Ebenezer Devotion. Then, in 1765
Samuel made a great leap in his legal career. He was appointed to the
position of King's attorney for the colony of Connecticut. Nine years later,
Samuel's conscience made him resign from this post and turn his back on what
might have been a bright and comfortable future in the employment of the
King.
Instead, Samuel Huntington became a patriot and dedicated the rest
of his life to serving the public. In 1775 he was chosen to serve as a
delegate to the Continental Congress where he represented Connecticut when
Congress convened in January of 1776. On July 4, 1776, Samuel Huntington
signed the
Declaration of Independence
casting his lot with the other fifty-five signers.
On September 28, 1779, Samuel Huntington was elected 6th
president of Congress and began serving his term. During that term, on March
1, 1781, the
Articles of Confederation
became operative as the first Constitution of
the United States. The first section of the Articles of Confederation
designates our nation as the United States for the first time. Some argue
that this makes Samuel Huntington the first president of the United States.
Samuel Huntington continued his public service by becoming chief justice of
the Supreme Court in 1784. In 1786 he became the 18th governor of
Connecticut and would hold that office until his death almost ten years
later. Samuel Huntington died in his 64th year and was laid to rest in
Norwichtown. The man who started life as a farm boy kept some traits
throughout his life that served him well; he was reputed to be a practical
man of few words who wrote in a simple style. His quiet leadership and full
commitment to the American Revolution won him the respect of all.
Sources of information:
- George Kelsey Dreher, Samuel Huntington, President of Congress Longer Than Expected: A Narrative Essay on the Letters of Samuel Huntington, 1779-1781 (1995)
- John and Katherine Bakeless, Signers of the Declaration (1969)
For more information:
- Huntington Homestead
- Pamphlet "Samuel Huntington" published by Governor Samuel Huntington Trust
- Noreen Gillespie, Washington vs. Huntington, Waterbury Republican, January 27, 2004 p. 3A
- Bill Stanley, The First President of the U.S. Lived in Norwich, And It's Not Who You Think, The Day, January 5, 2003 p. D4