Elisha Mills Huntington (March 29, 1806 – October 26, 1862) was

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Indiana The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

Early life

Huntington was born on March 27, 1806, in Butternuts,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was a son of Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Corning) Huntington (1763–1852) and Nathaniel Huntington (1763–1815). Among his siblings was Nathaniel Huntington, a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...

from 1827 to 1828, and James Huntington, a member of

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 1856 to 1857. His paternal grandparents were Dinah (née Rudd) Huntington and Eliphalet Huntington, a brother of Samuel Huntington, the 7th

President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as the president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the ...

and 18th

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...

Career

After receiving an education at

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

with his uncle Elisha Mills, at the age of fourteen he entered the law office of Mark H. Sibley (later a

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

) and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

. In 1822, he went to Indiana with his elder brother Nathaniel where he studied for four years before being admitted to the state bar. He entered private practice in Cannelton,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 1827 to 1830. In 1830, he was appointed the first prosecutor for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Indiana, serving until 1832. For the next four years, he was a member of the

, serving from 1832 to 1836. He resumed private practice in Vigo County, Indiana from 1834 to 1837. He was Presiding Judge of the Indiana Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit from 1837 to 1841. President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

appointed him

of the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1841 to 1842.

Federal judicial service

On April 26, 1842, Huntington was nominated by President Tyler to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Jesse Lynch Holman Jesse Lynch Holman (October 24, 1784 – March 28, 1842) was an Indiana attorney, politician and jurist, as well as a novelist, poet, city planner and preacher. He helped to found Indiana University, Franklin College and the Indiana Historical ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on May 2, 1842, and received his commission the same day. He served until his death in October 1862.

Personal life

On November 3, 1841, Huntington was married to Susan Mary (née Rudd) FitzHugh (1820–1853). Susan, a widow of Clark FitzHugh, was a daughter of Ann Benoist (née Palmer) Rudd (a relative of former Vice President John C. Calhoun) and Dr. Christopher Rudd (a relative of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic sign ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Robert Palmer Huntington (1842–1893), who married Alice Ford (1844–1919), a daughter of James Coleman Ford and Mary Jane (née Trimble) Ford, in 1867. * Mary St. Clair Huntington (1844–1845), who died young. * Mary Louise Huntington (1846–1872), who married William Pritchard Coleman (1844–1924) in 1870. * Gertrude Huntington (b. 1848) * Christopher Rudd Huntington (1850–1875), who died unmarried. * Hetty Key Huntington (1852–1852), who died in infancy. His wife died on December 3, 1853. After a pulmonary disease forced him to seek warmer climates to seek relief, Huntington traveled to

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and then

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

before returning to St. Paul where he died on October 26, 1862. Per his wishes, his nephew John H. Rea of Indianapolis took his remains and he was buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery (he converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, his wife's religion, late in his life) in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Descendants

Through his eldest son Robert, he was a grandfather of tennis player and architect Robert Palmer Huntington, who married Helen Gray Dinsmore and was the father of socialite, arts patron, and political hostess

Helen Huntington Hull Helen Dinsmore Huntington Astor Hull (April 9, 1893 – December 11, 1976) was an American socialite, arts patron, and political hostess. Early life Helen Dinsmore Huntington was born on April 9, 1893, to Helen Gray Dinsmore (1868–1942) and ...

, the first wife of

Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the eld ...

of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settle ...

References

External links

* *
Huntington, Elisha Mills (1806–1862)
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntington, Elisha Mills 1806 births 1862 deaths People from Cannelton, Indiana People from Butternuts, New York Indiana state court judges Members of the Indiana House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana United States federal judges appointed by John Tyler 19th-century American judges General Land Office Commissioners United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American politicians

Early life

Career

Federal judicial service

Personal life

Descendants

See also

References

External links