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shoemaker, but he now took charge of the small farm his father left. In 1744, they sold the farm, and moved to New Milford, in Connecticut, where an elder brother, who was married, resided. Roger performed the journey on foot, carrying his shoemaker's tools with him, and for some time he worked industriously at his trade there.

Mr. Sherman's early education was exceedingly limited, but with a naturally strong and active mind, he acquired a large stock of knowledge from books, during his apprenticeship.* Not long after he settled in New Milford, he formed a partnership with his brother in a mercantile business, but all the while was very studious. He turned his attention to the study of law, during his leisure hours; and so proficient did he become in legal knowledge, that he was admitted to the bar, in December, 1754.†

a May, 1759.

In 1755, Mr. Sherman was elected a representative of New Milford, in the General Assembly of Connecticut, and the same year he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. After practising law about five years, he was appointed Judge of the County Court for Litchfield county.a a He moved to New Haven in 1761, when the same appointments were conferred upon him, and in addition, he was chosen treasurer of Yale College, from which institution, in 1765, he received the honorary degree of A. M. In 1766, he was elected to the senate, or upper house of the legislature of Connecticut; and it was at this time that the passage of the Stamp Act was bringing the politicians of America to a decided stand in relation to the repeated aggressions of

* It is said that while at work on his bench, he had a book so placed that he could read when it was not necessary for his eyes to be upon his work. He thus acquired a good knowledge of mathematics, and he made astronomical calculations for an almanac that was published in New York, when he was only twentyseven years old.

† Mr. Sherman had no instructor or guide in the study of the law, neither had he any books but such as he borrowed, yet he became one of the most profound jurists of his day.

Great Britain. Roger Sherman fearlessly took part with the patriots, and was a leader among them in Connecticut, until the war broke out. He was elected a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress, in 1774, and was present at the opening on the fifth of September. He was one of the most active members of that body, and was appointed one of the Committee to prepare a draft of a Declaration of Independence; a document to which he affixed his signature with hearty good will, after it was adopted by Congress.

Although his duties in Congress, during the war, were almost incessant, yet he was at the same time a member of the Committee of Safety of Connecticut. In 1783, he was appointed, with Judge Law, of New London, to revise the statutes of the State, in which service he showed great ability. He was a delegate from Connecticut in the Convention in 1787 that framed the present Constitution of the United States; and he was a member of the State Convention of Connecticut which assembled to act upon the ratification of that instrument. For two years after the organization of the government under the Constitution, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was then promoted to the Senate, which office he filled at the time of his death, which took place on the twenty-third of July, 1793, in the seventy-third year of his age. He had previously been elected mayor of New Haven, when it was invested with city powers and privileges, and that office he held until the time of his death.*

* He was twice married, the first time to Elizabeth Hartwell, of Stoughton, and the second time to Rebecca Prescott, of Danvers. By his first wife he had seven children, and eight by his last.

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Sam" Huntington

HE family of SAMUEL HUNTINGTON was among the earlier settlers of Connecticut, who located at Saybrook. He was born at Windham, Connecticut, on the second of July, 1732. His father was an industrious farmer, and the only education he was able to allow his son, was that to be derived from the common schools in his neighborhood. Samuel was very studious, and the active energies of his mind surmounted many obstacles that stood in the way of intellectual advancement.

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and at the

He acquired a tolerable knowledge of the Latin language, age of twenty-two years he commenced the study of law. Like Sherman he was obliged to pursue it with borrowed books and without an instructor. He succeeded, however, in mastering its difficulties, and in obtaining a good practice in his native town, before he was thirty years of age. At the age of twentyeight he removed to Norwich, where he had greater scope for his talents.

a 1760.

Mr. Huntington was elected to the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1764, and the next year he was chosen a member of the Council. In the various duties of official station he always maintained the entire confidence and esteem of his constituents.

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He was appointed Associate Judge of the Superior Court in 1774; and in 1775 he was appointed one of the delegates from Connecticut, in the General Congress. The following year he had the glorious privilege of voting for, and signing, the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the Congress nearly five consecutive years, and was esteemed as one of the most active men there. His integrity and patriotism were stern and unbending; and so conspicuous became his sound judgment and untiring industry, that in 1779 he was appointed President of Congress, then the highest office in the nation.* At length his impaired health demanded his resignation of the office, yet it was with great reb 1781. luctance that Congress consented to dispense

with his services.

On his return to Connecticut he resumed the duties of the offices he held in the Council and on the Bench, both of which had been continued while he was in Congress. He again took his seat in Congress in 1783, but left it

* He was appointed to succeed John Jay, who was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with that nation.

again in November of that year, and retired to his family. Soon after his return, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court of his State. In 1785 he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and was promoted

a 1784.

to the Chief Magistracy in 1786, which office he held until his death, which occurred at Norwich, on the fifth day of January, 1796, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

Governor Huntington lived the life of the irreproachable and sincere Christian, and those who knew him most intimately, loved him the most affectionately. He was a thoughtful man, and talked but little—the expression of his mind and heart was put forth in his actions. He seemed to have a natural timidity, or modesty, which some mistook for the reserve of haughtiness, yet with those with whom he was familiar, he was free and winning in his manners. Investigation was a prominent characteristic of his mind, and when this faculty led him to a conclusion, it was difficult to turn him from the path of his determination. Hence as a devoted Christian and a true patriot, he never swerved from duty, or looked back after he had placed his hand to the work. The cultivation of this faculty of decision we would earnestly recommend to youth, for it is the strong arm that will lead them safely through many difficulties, and win for them that sentiment of reliance in the minds of others, which is so essential in securing their esteem and confidence. It was this most important faculty which constituted the chief aid to Samuel Huntington in his progress from the humble calling of a ploughboy, to the acme of official station, where true greatness was essential, and to which none but the truly good could aspire.

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