Huntley Reunions—The 1960s

This reunion was dedicated to John Jackson Huntley, who served in the Civil War. He was born in 1838 and enlisted as a private August 15, 1862. A severe wound to his left hand caused him to be transferred to a Volunteer Reserve Corps August 24, 1863. He was discharged from service July 7, 1865. In poor health, he moved to, and died, in Hot Springs, Arkansas August 26, 1875. Virgil was still in the process of helping the host family placed in the line of descent from John the Immigrant. The Huntley National Association boasted 706 members that year. On August 14, 1960, during this reunion, James Dewey Pratt was born at 7:59am. in Durand, MI. Later that day, at 11:30am, he was enrolled as a Golden Member of the Huntley National Association. This means he is a lifetime member, and does not have to pay dues.

Many of the Huntleys in the Historian’s Report for this reunion are buried in the Lyme, CT, area, and many of their descendants still live on Connecticut’s shoreline in and around Old Lyme. Elihu Huntley enlisted May 10, 1775 to fight in the American Revolution in Colonel Samuel Holden Parson’s 6th Connecticut Regiment. He applied for a pension on July 8, 1833 at age 90, and received $52.10 a year until he died in 1836 at age 93. His son, Barnabas, is buried in back of the Lyme Congregational Church. Virgil Huntley, the historian of HNA, Robert Herel, Chaplain of HNA, and William P. Huntley, past President, are all descended from sons of Barnabas. At the 15th reunion, 14 states and the District of Columbia were represented.

“Fred and La Veta have the teakettle set up front!!!” announced the 1962 Spring Newsletter...that’s HNA-talk for “Please join us!” The last page of the newsletter gives “approximate travelling distances that will be taken by HNA members attending the 16th reunion: Old Lyme-1,159 miles; Kentville, Nova Scotia-1,669 miles; Sheridan, Oregon-2,172 miles; Auburn, California-298,462 miles (some people may think that this is a little high estimate from Auburn, but did you ever ride with Randall?” Randall Huntley had the reputation of taking long, roundabout, possibly scenic routes to get places! This reunion was hosted by, and dedicated to, the descendants of Andrew Huntley who was born in Norwich, CT in 1757 and fought in the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington, VT on August 16, 1777.

The Historian’s report of the Huntleys of Machias states that Jabez Huntley, Sr. of Lyme, CT served in the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian Wars in the campaign of 1757. He migrated to Nova Scotia about 1760 along with other families from eastern Connecticut. Unfortunately, this was due to the expulsion of the French from the area. Some of these folks fled to Lousiana, and became known as “Cajuns.” After 10 years, Jabez sold his 250 acres and moved to Machias, ME. One famous descendant of Machias Huntleys is Chet Huntley, of the famous Huntley/Brinkley New Hour. Chet’s great-grandfather, Reuben Huntley, was born in Machias in 1824.

This was the largest reunion ever, with 230 Huntleys attending from 15 different states. To get the official reunion photo, the photographer had to take half the crowd at a time. The Ashtabula County, Ohio Huntleys were descended from Selden Huntley and Lovisa Peck, who left Lyme, CT around 1811 for Ohio. Their son, Calvin Selden Huntley was born in 1839. He was a teacher and a farmer in Ohio and then in Butler County, Iowa, in 1863. These were tough times: his wife, Lemira’s, inheritance money was lost in a land venture, and the household goods were ruined by rain and dust in transit by train from Ohio to Iowa. Returning from schoolteaching one winter, Calvin’s legs were frozen because he could not afford to buy warm clothing. With hard work and dedication, these obstacles were overcome, and their seven children had the opportunity to go to college. Five became teachers, one a builder, and the youngest, a cataloguer in a college library.

This might be called a reunion of firsts: this was the first reunion held in Ohio, and the first reunion in which the meetings and meals were held in air-conditioned halls. The first Christmas tree in America was decorated in Wooster, Ohio in 1847 by a German immigrant named August Imgard, so Christmas carols were sung during Huntley Talent Nite (probably for the first—and last—time...but you never know!)

Virgil recounted many of the special moments of past reunions in his Historian’s report this year. A reprint of a Gila Bend, AZ Herald article announced that Mrs. Elizabeth Willson (HNA #494) was, at age 99, the oldest living member of the Association. Also reprinted is a collage of postcards sent to himself by Jim Huntley from cities and towns named “Huntley” or “Huntly.” They are postmarked from Nebraska, Wyoming, Virginia, Montana, Illinois, and Minnesota. A Huntley Song by Edith Ridley was introduced.

186 people registered at this reunion! Huntley, Illinois was named for Thomas Stillwell Huntley (1807-1894). He moved from New York to Illinois in 1846 and bought land in Grafton Township, McHenry County. The village of Huntley, where it still stands today, was established when the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad was built here in 1851. You can see the large water tower with “Huntley” painted on it in large letters near a shopping mall in the village.

The first Huntleys to live in Pennsylvania came directly from England, as best we can tell. It was William Huntley, who, in 1692, married Mary Stanfield, a daughter of Francis and Grace Stanfield of Groton, Cheshire, England. She had arrived (with 6 children!) on the “Endeavor” from London on July 29, 1663 and settled in Marble Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. New England/New York State Huntleys probably moved to Pennsylvania sometime after 1800. Reunion go-ers enjoyed a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

197 Huntleys registered! Since this reunion was held in the same state as the year before, Virgil reported on several famous Huntleys, including Joseph Smith(1805-1844), Great Grandson of Hannah Huntley and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints; Lydia Huntley Sigourney (1791-1865) of Norwich, CT, who wrote at least 56 volumes of published poetry and prose; Elias DeWitt Huntley (1840-1909), who established the first book store and bindery in Newtown (now Elmira), New York. He also served as President of Lawrence College in Appleton, WI from 1879-83, and served as pastor in many churches, including Trinity Church, Washington, DC from 1897-1900; Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes, historian, author of “The Political and Cultural History of Modern Europe,” and recipient of the 8th Annual Cardinal Newman Award for outstanding citizens interested in the work of the Newman Club, an organization for Catholics attending non-Catholic colleges and universities; Chester R. “Chet” Huntley, of the NBC News team of Huntley/Brinkley; Calista M. Huntley (1841-1929), who enjoyed a singing career as a prima donna in Europe; and Rosina Delight Richardson, who weighed 5 pounds at birth, 515 pounds at age 19, and traveled with P.T. Barnum’s circus as one of his “fat ladies!”