Signers of the Declaration of Independence: Connecticut, Part 1

Delegates to the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The 56 delegates who signed the formal break from Britain are all considered Founding Fathers. 

Four delegates represented Connecticut. This week's profile features Samuel Huntington and Roger Sherman.

Samuel Huntington

Huntington was born July 16, 1731, in the Windham, Connecticut Colony, in today's Scotland, Connecticut. He was the second son of 10 children of Nathaniel Huntington, a cooper and farmer, and Mehetabel Thurston.

Despite a limited formal education, Huntington advanced his learning through extensive reading at local libraries and mentorships. At 16, he apprenticed as a cooper and worked on his father's farm. He studied law independently, was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1754, and moved to Norwich, Connecticut, to establish a law practice.

Huntington married Martha Devotion, April 17, 1761. Although they did not have biological children, when his brother, the Rev. Joseph Huntington, lost his wife, Hannah, who was also Martha's sister, Huntington adopted their two children, Samuel and Frances. In 1810, his adopted son became governor of Ohio and fought in the War of 1812 as a colonel.

He entered into politics and was elected to represent Norwich in the Connecticut General Assembly in 1764. As Huntington's reputation as a lawyer grew, he was appointed as the king's attorney for Connecticut by the colony's royal governor in 1765, a position he held until he resigned because of his opposition to the Stamp Act.

The Stamp Act, enacted by British Parliament, required that printed materials, including legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards and almanacs, be produced on stamped paper purchased from London. This act, opposed by many colonists, gave rise to the phrase "no taxation without representation," and led to protests, petitions and boycotts of British goods.

Huntington served in the Connecticut General Assembly's lower house until 1774. He was elected to the upper house in 1775, where he remained until 1784. During that time, he was also appointed as a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court in 1773 and later became chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1784.

During his time in the Second Continental Congress, Huntington signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He also served as president of the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1781 and helped coordinate support for the Revolutionary War. Huntington was elected the 18th governor of Connecticut May 11, 1786, and was reelected annually until his death Jan. 5, 1796. During the colonial period, a gubernatorial election occurred every April in Connecticut. As governor he presided over the state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788, making Connecticut the fifth state to do so.

Huntington was buried alongside his wife, who died in 1794, at the Old Norwichtown Cemetery in Norwich.

Huntington County and the city of Huntington, both in Indiana; and Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania, are named for Huntington. Huntington, Connecticut, was incorporated into Shelton, Connecticut, in 1919, along with other nearby communities to form a single municipal government. Today, Huntington is considered a historic neighborhood in Shelton.

The home Huntington built in Norwich in 1783 became known as the Gov. Samuel Huntington House. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and is located in the Norwichtown Historic District. The home is used for offices and not open to the public.

The Huntington Homestead, his birthplace in Scotland, Connecticut, is designated as a National Historic Landmark, and operates as a museum highlighting Huntington's life and legacy.

Roger Sherman

Sherman was born April 19, 1721, in Newton, Massachusetts. He was one of seven children of William Sherman, a farmer and shoemaker, and Mehetabel Wellington.

Although Sherman's formal education was limited to grammar school, he continued his studies in his father's extensive library. He was mentored by the Rev. Samuel Dunbar, a Harvard-educated minister, who guided him in disciplines that included mathematics, philosophy and theology. Sherman would often carry reading materials with him while working on his father's farm and later as a shoemaker, to further his studies throughout the day. After his father died in 1741, Sherman was responsible for caring for his family and running the small family farm, which they eventually sold. He and his family moved to New Milford, Connecticut in 1744, where his older brother, William, lived with his family.

Once in New Milford, Sherman furthered his education by working as a county surveyor and entered the mercantile business with his brother. He also studied law independently and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1754. He received an honorary master's degree from Yale University in 1765.

Sherman married Elizabeth Hartwell Nov. 17, 1749, and they had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. Elizabeth died Oct. 19, 1760, and was buried in Center Cemetery in New Milford. His sons from this marriage served as officers in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. On May 12, 1763, Sherman married Rebecca Minot Prescott, and they had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.

Sherman served in numerous local, state and national offices. He was elected to represent New Milford in the Connecticut General Assembly and appointed justice of the peace for Litchfield County in 1755. He became a judge of the county court in 1759, was appointed a justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut in 1766 and served until 1789.

In 1774, Sherman was elected to represent Connecticut in the First Continental Congress, during which he signed the Articles of Association, an agreement for a trade boycott of British goods. He continued his service in the Second Continental Congress in 1775, where he was a member of the Committee of Five that was responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He also participated in preparing the Articles of Confederation, which laid the foundation for the establishment of the United States government.

Sherman was unique among the Founding Fathers as he signed all four founding documents: the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution.

He was elected the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1784 and served until 1793, a period that coincided with his service in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1791, and in the U.S. Senate from 1791 until his death July 23, 1793.

Sherman was initially interred at the burial grounds of Center Church on New Haven Green. His remains were later moved when the Grove Street Cemetery was established as New Haven's new city burial ground. His second wife, who died April 19, 1813, is also buried there. Sherman, Connecticut, is named for him, as is Sherman Village, New York.

There are marble statues of him in the U.S. Capitol and the Connecticut state capitol, and a bronze statue is on display at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Sherman is also portrayed on the pediment of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington alongside other key figures of early American government.

Built in 1740, the Roger Sherman Inn in New Canaan, Connecticut, was once home to the Rev. Justus Mitchell and Sherman's niece, Martha. After going through several owners, the home was converted into a private school and an inn in the 1920s. Roger Sherman Ross, a descendant of Sherman, purchased the property in 1960 and named it after the Founding Father. It was renovated in 2019, and currently operates as an inn, event space and restaurant.

The Sons of the American Revolution present the Roger Sherman Medal for outstanding service and contributions to a chapter, district, state society or national society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

This is the 17th installment in a series of articles about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 colonies, are all considered Founding Fathers.