Bela Shaw Huntington (February 5, 1858 – October 10, 1934) was an attorney and politician from the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he was educated in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and later moved to Oregon where he was an attorney in The Dalles.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910
''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''.
Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 158. Huntington was a Republican and served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

Early life

Bela Huntington was born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, on February 5, 1858, the son of Charles A. and Lucretia Atwood (née Waterman) Huntington. He lived at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, from 1864 to 1867, and then

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, from 1867 to 1875. He received his early education at the St. Johnsbury Academy from 1875 until 1878. Huntington attended the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

from 1878 to 1882 and earned a bachelor's degree. From 1882 to 1883 he attended the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in 1883. He then moved to

that year and entered private legal practice. Huntington earned a master's degree from Vermont in 1885. On February 2, 1887, he married Helen May Wilson, and they had two children, Wilson Bela Huntington Irving Curtis Huntington.

Legal career

He entered into partnership with F. P. Mays under the firm name of ''Mays & Huntington'' between 1886 and 1890. Later, until 1909 he practiced with H. S. Wilson in The Dalles. In September 1909, he moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He was the president of the McKinley Club between 1892 and 1894, and he was chairman of the Republicans' county committee. He was the Republican nominee for the

for Wasco and Gilliam counties and was elected to a single two-year term in

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

. He represented District 47, but the House failed to organize that year, and Huntington did not return for the 1898 special session. He never served again in the Oregon Legislature.

Later life and death

Huntington's wife Helen died on September 30, 1923, and he remarried on October 23, 1928, to Maude S. Hendryx. Bela Shaw Huntington died on October 10, 1934, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntington, Bela Shaw Portland, Oregon, Republicans Politicians from Rockford, Illinois Politicians from The Dalles, Oregon Members of the Oregon House of Representatives 1858 births 1934 deaths University of Vermont alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Politicians from Burlington, Vermont 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly