Jabez Huntington (colonist)

Jabez Huntington
Portrait by John Trumbull
Born	7 August 1719
Died	5 October 1786  (aged 67)
Alma mater	Yale University
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Backus
Children	Jedediah Huntington, Andrew Huntington, Joshua Huntington, Ebenezer Huntington
Parent(s)	Joshua Huntington  Hannah Perkins

Jabez Huntington (August 7, 1719 – October 5, 1786) was a merchant and politician from Connecticut Colony.

Jabez Huntington graduated from Yale in 1741, engaged in the West India trade, and amassed a fortune. After 1759, he was frequently a member of the legislature, speaker for several years, and also a member of the council. At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, he owned a large amount of shipping, and lost heavily by the capture of his vessels. He was among the most active on the committee of safety during the war; and in the September 1776 session of the Connecticut assembly, he and David Wooster were appointed Major Generals. On the death of Wooster in 1777, Jabez was placed in charge of the entire Connecticut militia. His great exertions in the patriot cause and his heavy losses impaired his physical and mental powers, and he was thus compelled to resign his employments in 1779.^[1]