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Richard Huntoon (1792-1819)
Richard Huntoon was born on May 23, 1792, in New Hampshire. He was the eldest of ten children born to Eli Huntoon and Mary Batchelder Huntoon. Why he came to South Dedham is unknown. We know nothing about where he lived or how he made his living. Only one of his siblings, a sister, came to Massachusetts after her marriage; the rest remained in New Hampshire.
He may have served in the War of 1812 but the record indicates a Richard Hunton, enlisting in New York. It’s not clear this is the same young man.
Richard Huntoon died at 27 in 1819. His handsome stone reads:
In memory of
Mr. Richard Huntoon
died Nov. 4, 1819,
in the 28th Year
of his age.
An apparent stranger to South Dedham at the time of his demise, Richard Huntoon was interred in Old Parish Cemetery, without family or friends, and has been here for more than two centuries.
