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THE HUNTON FAMILY, PAGE 8
NAME
The word "Hunton" is of Saxon origin and of great antiquity. Hunt or hont
signifies a hunter, and is connected with the word Hund, a hound or
dog. Ton or tun means an enclosure. From the first colonization by
the Saxons, innumerable places received the generic name of ton. If a place had a
clay soil, it was called Clayton; if it occupied an eminence, Hillton; if it
was good ground for game, Hunton. The Saxon words ley and ton are
synonymous, and are the most common of family names derived from names of towns, according
to an old saw, --
"In ford, in ham, in ley, in ton,
The most of English surnames run."
The priory of Hunton was situated upon land which had formerly been devoted to
hunting, perhaps on the very site of a hunter's lodge. English heraldry delights in
punning devices, and tun constantly occurs to represent ton in a rebus upon
some name ending in that syllable; as a tun, pierced by a bolt, Bolton; a lute on
a tun, Luton; a shell on a tun, Shelton and a " hen sitting on a
tun for his priory, Hunton". John Huntington, Rector of
Ashton-under-Lyne, bore for his arms "An huntsman with dogges, whereby he thought to
expresse the two former syllables of his name Hunting, and on the other side a
vessell called a tonne.’’ When the Hunton coat of arms was granted, it is
evident, from the talbots or hunting dogs and the stags’ heads with which it is
adorned, that the designer attempted to pun on the name of Hunton. A pun much more
to the credit of our family, however, is said to have been perpetrated in later days. In
1830 when a gubernatorial convention in Maine was seeking a candidate, and was unable to
decide between two candidates, some one in the audience shouted, "Men enough, Hunt
on , Hunt on! " and Governor Hunton was nominated.
THE HUNTON FAMILY, PAGE 9
It is a common error to suppose that in ancient days persons gave names to places; the
reverse is true. Thousands of our English sur names are derived from names of towns,
villages, and obscure hamlets. At the time of the Conquest there were few, if any,
surnames, and young men assumed the name of the lands allotted to them, with the prefix de
or d' ; this also was dropped about the time of Henry VI. There are several parishes
in England called Hunton that existed long before the time of William the Conqueror.
The
priory is called by some authors "Hunton" bears on its seal the word
"Hinton," and judging by its arms it should have been pronounced Henton.
It is beyond doubt that the names Hanton, Henton, Hinton, Honton, Hunton, and Hynton,
if not synonymous, have at least been used indis- criminately by persons bearing either the
one or the other surname, and I am corroborated in this opinion by the learned antiquary
Charles Bridger, Esq., of London, author of " Index to English Pedigrees," who
says " that these names, all found in Wiltshire, are probably allied."
For
instance, in 1558, Griffith Hinton wills to his son Thomas Hynton." In 1559,
"Jane Hynton gave to the children of Richard Hynton," &c; but this Richard,
his father, and his grandfather are called, in the visitations in Wiltshire,
Hunton. "In 1629, Robert Henton wills to Robert Hinton and William Hinton, sons of my brother
John Hinton deceased," &c. In 1632, William Henton of Weeke, County Wiltshire,
wills "to my brother John Hinton,’’ &c., and appoints him sole
executor, and when he proves the will he signs his name ‘‘John
Henton.’’
Christopher Hinton, dying in 1647, wills to John Hynton "all my lands in
Hynton," and Mr. Bridger informs me that Philip Hunton of Westbury, the celebrated
nonconformist divine, sometimes wrote his name Hinton; this was about 1680. The
biographers of Sir Henry Unton describe him as Unton or Hunton: so much for Old England. "
Coelum non animum , mutant, qui trans mare currunt ?"
On the 28th of May, 1635, William Hynton left London in the Speed well for New
England. This is probably the same Will Hunton who was granted land in the town of
Hampton. N. H., in 1643. In 1676, a Captain Hunton figures in the Sudbury fight, and in
1701, a Captain Huntoon is seen at Salisbury, Mass., but these were not of our race.
In 1697, the town of Exeter granted to Phillip Huntune, in 1702, Huntoon of Exeter.
In 1719, John Fifield deeds to Philop Hunton, &c. In 1729, it is Huntoon. In 1734,
Jacob Gilman deeds to Philip Hounton. In 1760, Josiah Judkins sells one-half of the house
situated in Kingston, which
THE HUNTON FAMILY, PAGE 10
Philip Hunton built and now owns, and this deed is signed by Samuel Hunton as a
witness. In 1771, Nathaniel Hunton signs a deed of land in Unity, with his own autograph,
and Charles Huntoon signs with his autograph as a witness. When Nathaniel Huntoon was
married the first time he wrote "o," when he was married the second time he
wrote "oo ;" the circle of his happiness was doubled. (?)
I have a commission from Jonathan G. Hunton, Governor of Maine, authorizing Rev.
Benjamin Huntoon, then of Bangor (1831), "to solemnize marriages in each and every of
our counties within the State." The records of the town of Kingston spell the name
Hunton, Hontune, Huntton, Hunttoon, Huntune. In one case Thomas Sleeper deeds to John
Hantoon. Daniel Webster, writing to his old schoolmaster, James Tappan, says: "On the
north road is Mr. Benjamin Hunton, and on the south road Mr. Benjamin Pettingill. I think
of none else among the living whom you would probably remember." And so down to the
moment of writing we have varied.
The gravestones of the children of Philip the immigrant, erected before his death, read
" Hunton," and this is the correct spelling.
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