Samuel Huntington papers, 1768-1828
0.25 linear feet
The Samuel Huntington papers (60 items) contain letters and documents of a prominent Ohio settler and political leader. The Correspondence and Documents series contains 23 letters and 27 documents and financial records. Many of the early items are records and receipts for sales of land and legal services. Other documents include an agreement for Elija Gunn to build a fence around Huntington's home (November 10, 1804), a transfer of land in Cleveland Township from Huntington to Augustus Gilbert (May 4, 1808), Huntington's payment receipt for his services to the Ohio Militia (May 24, 1813), and numerous other land transactions.
- A letter from fellow Ohio settler David Bryant asking for investments to buy a still for whiskey making (August 28, 1801)
- A letter from Turhand Kirtland, Connecticut Land Company agent, inquiring about the companies' interests in settling new towns (March 27, 1802)
- A second letter from Kirtland discussing politics and congratulating Huntington on his election as Trumbull County delegate to the constitutional convention (March 3, 1803)
- A congratulatory letter from William Law on Huntington's election as state governor accompanied by a number of state policy requests (December 18, 1808)
- A personal letter from Samuel Huntington to his eldest son, Francis, that describes his travels through Cincinnati, including an Indian attack, and provides instructions to his son for handling the tax collector (July 3, 1813)
Items related to the military include four Quartermaster documents from Detroit and Washington (August 11, 1813-July 16, 1814), and Samuel Huntington's letter to Simon Huntington of Grand River, Ohio, in which he discussed his opinions on the War of 1812 (December 14, 1814). The collection concludes with a farewell letter and religious diatribe from the dying 86-year-old Moses Lyman, a prominent citizen of Goshen, Connecticut.
The Account Book series consists of a 23-page booklet of "Copies of Notes and other Obligations due to me with their Indorsments" (1795-1814). These notes record large transactions (most between $70 and $1,000 with one as high as $4,716.96), and provide details on reasons for the deals and the parties involved.
The Photographs and Newspaper Clippings series holds one of each item. The clipping is undated and likely from a local Cleveland newspaper. The clipped article is "Colonel Samuel Huntington Surveys his Property" by S.J. Kelly, about Huntington's early property holding in Cleveland. The photograph is unlabeled but is possibly a painted portrait of Huntington.