Archives of New and Interesting

Dan Huntley researches Canadian Huntleys and shares his information at his website!

"I first became interested in the Huntley family history as a result of a request by one of my cousins. Back in 1992, after my father's death,the women of the family decided that we should have a family reunion since my Dad's immediate family was thinning out due to terminal aging. My cousin asked me if I could design a family tree with information she had obtained from various members of the Huntley clan. After getting the info via the mail, I discovered that there was no information beyond that of our common grandparents. Since the reunion wasn't until August of 1993, I decided to find out as much as I could about our ancestors we didn't know about.

I did a little reading about researching the family history and this led me to the Canadian census pages. After going down some blind alley and wrong paths I came across a number of Huntleys, and managed to locate our g/grandfather and his family. I had heard stories about my father's family from various sources and for the most part after doing research to verify each bit of info, I was able to at last put together a more accurate depiction of the Huntley family from the time they emigrated to Canada up to the present day."

Dan's website site is www.huntleygenealogy.ca

You must set up an account to use it, but there is no charge. Dan explains:

"The only reason I ask people to register is to maintain some semblance of privacy for the living

individuals in the database. By having everyone register can give each registrant individual rights as

opposed to having group rights. A little less exposure to leaking of personal information.

Hope this explanation helps. By all means register. When I get notification of a registration request, I can set the

person up in minutes and they can peruse to their heart's contentment.

I've included scans of birth, marriage and death certificates of the Huntleys that I have managed to gather over the years.

I am working on uploading news articles that are of importance to the Huntley's or their extended families."

For 40 years, Evelyn worked tirelessly for HNA as Corresponding and Recording Secretary, spending countless hours maintaining a membership list, recording and sharing minutes of meetings, sending bulletins and booklets, and performing many other tasks important to keeping HNA working.

My Kids

Marcia was a miracle baby. She required a 100% blood transfusion at birth. By the Grace of God and a good physician she pulled through. When Marcia started school, she was very small and we received a call from the school because she was too young for admittance. When Marcia heard this, she told the teacher that unless she could stay at school, she would cut her into little pieces and stuff her into her overshoes.

Marcia was not very graceful so we sent her to dancing school. We went to her recital and watched the graceful young girls go through their dancing routines. In the middle of her dance, Marcia’s laces on her vest became untied. She stepped to the front of the stage and asked her mother to come on stage and tie her laces.

We had a summer home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Our cottage was on a hill overlooking the lake. There was a slant from the cottage to the pier. I yelled that I had caught a fish and Marcia heard me and started down the hill towards the pier but she couldn’t stop and ran off the pier into the water!

We usually took the same route north each summer to our cottage. The trip was long and boring so we asked the kids if they wanted to try a different route. They did and we took a route around Lake Michigan toward the Upper Peninsula. In the early afternoon, we stopped at a motel that had a swimming pool. The kids quickly put on their swimsuits and headed for the pool. We were just getting comfortable when we heard people shouting, “Look at that little kid on the high diving board.” Sure enough, it was Marcia on the highest board getting ready to dive. Before we could yell, Marcia dove off into the pool. She came to the surface and with a big smile said, “That was fun.”

When Marcia graduated from high school, she decided to go to Israel and work on a Kibbutz. She went and served in a Kibbutz in Northern Israel near Lebanon for six months. When she returned, she went back to school and graduated with a B.S. from Shimer College. I know because as a trustee of Shimer, I signed her degree. For the past 25 years plus, she has worked at Abbott Labs.

Calvin was the first born. He was an adult from the day that he was born. He walked and talked at an early age. He used the childhood potty but insisted that he wanted to use the adult one. One morning we heard a scream coming out of the bathroom. There was Calvin with two hands in the air, two feet sticking straight up and a head! He didn’t put the toilet seat down before getting on.

We took the kids to a fair at their school where students put on display different things for sale. Calvin saw a metal bank he wanted and asked if he could buy it. The bank cost $3.00. Calvin looked at the three dollars in his hand, then looked at the bank and said, “If I buy the bank I won’t have any money to put into it.” We explained to him that he could earn money to put in the bank if he did chores. He bought the bank.

Calvin was a good musician and our home was filled with students who played in his band. We had no peace while the band thundered on. He graduated from NIU (Northern Illinois University) with a MS in Engineering, and is doing well at his job.

Marcia Maloney shared these pages of autographs from the Marlow, New Hampshire Reunion in 1948

She writes: "My cousin, Al Huntley, was going through some old papers of his Dad's and found a copy of the 1948 Huntley reunion in Marlow. I was four and I remember it well (at least the picnic part). But best of all, there is proof that I was there. The last two scanned
pages show my name written in by my grandmother. Virgil's name is there as well.
Thanks to Uncle Alton for saving that program."

Hi, Lois, Nearly everyone at the Marlow reunion have gone to the Happy Huntleying grounds. Still here me, Guy Huntley, Bob Herel, Marcia. Perhaps some one else will identify others who might be living. Virgil

Grace Huntley Sanders, the daughter of Ivan Huntley of Marlow is still alive. Grace and my Dad, Ira “Ike” Huntley are residents at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland , NH . Grace and Dad are first cousins once removed, I think.

Ruth E. (Godfrey) Huntley is still alive. She is the wife of my Uncle Alton. She lives in senior housing in Connecticut .

Happily, not everyone decided to "chuck it!" We have a wonderful history of HNA's reunions in our bulletins and booklets. And if you have any tales of Huntleys or HNA Reunions not lost through the years please send them to me so I can share them with everyone!

"Royce would be 110 if living. Jeraleen always made him a strawberry shortcake for his birthday and I celebrated a few with him."

Virgil and other World War II Veterans Honored with Connecticut Public Service Awards from Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz

The Lyme Public Hall recently hosted a program on Lyme cemeteries, including the cemetery behind the Lyme Congregational Church where Barnabas Huntley and daughter Laura Huntley Peck are buried. During the 2006 reunion in Old Lyme, some of us visited the Lyme Public Hall and the Barnabas homestead just down the street. Bill brought Virgil over from Mystic for the program. Bill's sister, Paula, and her husband, Ron, joined us. It was a perfect New England late-summer day.

Barnabas served in the War of 1812, and was a fisherman and longshoreman. Bill and Paula are descended from Horace L. Huntley, and Virgil from Frederick Fowler Huntley, sons of Barnabas. Charter member #15 Lucile Gear is descended from Henry, a third son of Barnabas.

As you can see, Virgil is looking and feeling well. We are all hoping to see you in Maine in 2009!

Our Past President, Gordon K. Huntley, recently visited with Beatrice Huntley, who is 102 years young! He writes:

Son of Robert Royce Huntley and grandson of our HNA founder, Royce Huntley

So close to memorial day it is
great to hear and see just how many Huntley's will
serve and continue to serve our nations call. I have
been in the Army for about 16 years now, currently
stationed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st
Airborne Division (Screeming Eagles). This is my
second tour. I will return December time frame and
scheduled to leave in February of the following year
for a third tour. I probably will not be able to
make this family reunion but I will try my hardest
to get to the next. I grew up knowing you were
heavily involved with the genealogy, but never
understood how extensive it was. I appreciate all
that has been done to retain the heritage of the
Huntley name. Sometimes we need to look back to see
where we are going.

Raymond, we are praying for your safe return home and thank you for your service to our country.

Loisanne Foster, of the Marlow, New Hampshire Historical Society, launches a new website! She writes:

"I'm working on a new web concept called a lens...The
idea of a lens is to assemble web pages on a topic and present the
links with a short introduction to each link. It's a way, for instance,
to point to a website such as the MHS Forum and add access to pages
which are copyrighted or just impractical to share on line...

...This lens focuses on the Lyme, Connecticut/Marlow, New Hampshire connection and its long-term results."

"Please check out my efforts on behalf of Marlow Historical Society. "

"Marlow, N.H., chartered in 1761, is not unique because its early settlers came from Connecticut. That is true of many New Hampshire towns. Marlow is unique because its first seventeen families came from one Connecticut town, Lyme, a town unique in itself. Among colonial towns, Lyme, located at the mouth of the Connecticut River, had the highest per capita income."

Harriet Matilda (Huntley) Cox celebrated her birthday on Jan. 1st: 105 yrs. old !!!!

Although not specifically about Huntley history, Virgil's passion for careful research is clearly illustrated here. How much all of us in HNA have benefited from his years of research!

Winter, 2006: Malcolm Jardine shares this tin-type and information about his Huntley ancestor!

Thought you might like to see this scan of a very small tin-type photo (2 inches square) of Mary Morton Huntley -- Mom's great grandmother who was married to Lucius Arthur Cary McConnell. She is the Huntley connection that we have. Interestingly, Mary's grandmother was Elizabeth Morris, sister of Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, who was leader of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress, financier of Washington's army up to the battle of Yorktown, and co-signer of the Declaration of Independence.

It is certainly a stern face that has seen its share of trial, but also a very intelligent face. Note the dress -- so much for our current debate about headscarfs! My cousin Bob Hutton of Sussex, New Brunswick has a self-portrait done by Mary which likeness and dress style helps establish the provenance of the photograph in my mind. I have a rather awkward photo of the painting with natural light, but the main features do shine through.

Virgil and Bev Huntley, of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, share this correspondence and new website to explore:

Hi Virgil:

Just received our program from the 60th anniversary reunion. It is a very interesting booklet this time and so neat to have the Aaron Huntley mansion on the front.

Belated Congratulations on your 90th birthday how wonderful for you. I went on the website and checked out the pictures and you look amazing. Hope your health is good and you have many more.

I am still working on my genealogy up here in Canada. Thanks to people like you a lot of the leg work has been done for the Huntley side of the family so I have been concentrating on Preston's maternal side and my side as well.

I am a director of the Kings County Burial Grounds Care Society and we find neglected and abandoned cemeteries in the area and give them the care and recognition they deserve. We have many projects on the go but the 3 that are located in Scott's Bay where many Huntley's settled are the Jess Memorial, Ells Cemetery and Pingree Cemetery. There were Huntley's buried at the Ells Cemetery that we know of for sure. If you would like to check out our new and in progress website I will include the link. Feel free to pass it on to anyone you think would be interested.

http://www.freewebs.com/burialcare/

Take care and many happy returns. Bev Huntley

Are you planning to do some research during your visit to Old Lyme this summer? We suggest you prepare! Here are a few ideas:

The Old Lyme Library has many resources including indexes of important last names, cemeteries and gravestones, and other library and historical organizations that can help you. Spend some time at their site before you come so you have a plan for using their archives.

Are you more interested in old epitaphs and gravestones, or are you seeking burial sites of certain types of historical figures, such as early settlers or Revolutionary War heroes?

Shad fishing was an important industry in Connecticut from the 1800s into the early twentieth century. Special gill nets were made to catch the fish. The season was short, lasting only from April 1 to June 15, when the water temperature was 55-64 degrees. Fishing was done at night when the shad could not see the nets. The fisherman spent winters cutting ice to prepare for the shad fishing season the following spring, because the fish were packed in boxes with layers of the harvested ice to be shipped to New York City and other places. In the early 1900s, the catch could be as many as 400 shad in one night, but by the 1930s, the numbers had dropped off to about 60 a night. Our host's grandfather, Erastus Brockway Huntley, did this type of work.

This group has been active in collecting Lyme historical documents, photographs, and memorabilia of all kinds for twenty years. If you live in the area, or are coming to the reunion this year, you may want to visit their climate-controlled archives. If you are interested, contact your hosts and we will set up an appointment for you.

One recent acquisition includes a 19th century photo of Henry Huntley. Virgil believes it may be the original of this photo found on page 163 of his Book 3:

The Old Lyme Tea Party! Did you know that Boston wasn't the only hotbed of rebellion in the 1770s? On March 16, 1774, a peddlar came to Old Lyme from Martha's Vineyard carrying 100 pounds of tea. He was detained, searched, and his entire stock burned near the Congregational Church by the Sons of Liberty!

Source: Landmarks of Old Lyme: Historic Buildings and Monuments with a Short Record of the Town since 1635 AD, published by Ladies Library Association of Old Lyme, 1968

She writes, "Please check out our web FORUM under "Literary Marlow"Solomon Mack
Narrative and then the "Marlow History," - the same. Solomon's mother
was Hannah Huntley Mack, married to Ebenezer Mack who left Lyme
apparently in the 1760's. Solomon was in Marlow as early as 1761 and
was still here in 1772 which we know because he signed a petition. Then
he moved to the next town south, Gilsum. His youngest daughter Lucy
married Joseph Smith and became mother of THE Joseph Smith (Check the
Mormon websites.)"

Virgil adds, "the John Cordy Solomon Mack mentions is John McCurdy, one of the wealthiest men in Lyme at the time. Also his Hawton at the head of the Minas Basin is the Township of Horton, Kings Co., NS where the Huntleys, Beckwiths, DeWolfes settled in 1760."