George was born on April 10, 1816 in Waterford CT. His parents were Philo Huntley (Sr.) (9/18/1761 – 7/27/1855) and Hannah (Reid) Huntley (1781 – 2/201855). Philo Sr. was born in Colchester CT. Both he and his wife are buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London. They had nine children, three of whom were engaged in the whaling business: William (AM2781, born in 1805), Philo (AM2780, born in 1814), and George. While not appearing in AOWV, New London Crew Lists shows Philo Sr. serving as a crew member on several ships, but none could be verified. He was issued Seaman’s Protection Certificate #3133 on October 11, 1806, the certificate showing him as age 25 and born in Colchester.
George married Josephine Shepard on July 21, 1856. She was born on October 23,1835, the daughter of George and Ann Shepard. They had three children: Kate (4/26/1857 – 7/24/1747), George (8/6/1861 – 12/24/1865), and Julian (9/23/1865 – 10/20/1911). Census reports do not reveal much about the family. The 1870 report for New London shows George (occupation “huckster”, Josephine, Kate and Julian, George Jr. having died. The 1880 report for Waterford shows only George and Josephine, his occupation recorded as “market store”.
A family history book (see Sources) provides information about George, his wife and his children and adds a summary of his life (using the New London Day (5/19/1884) as a source). Highlights: stone mason, sailed on two whaling voyages, went to California in Gold Rush times working in the mercantile business, returned to New London to run a store outfitting whalers, became agent for whaling voyages, and settled in Washington DC where he was part of a successful grocery store. William died in Washington on May 17,1884 and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery with Josephine, their three children and other members of his family.
AOWV records only one voyage on which George served as master of a whaling voyage and that was as replacement master of INDIAN CHIEF (AS1647, home port New London): (ship, 401 tons, built in Portsmouth VA in 1812). She sailed on September 29, 1856 with George’s brother Philo Huntley Jr as master. AOWV suggests (by “?”) that at some point during the voyage Philo left the ship, to be replaced by George as replacement master. However, George is not listed on the crew list for this voyage. Wood Abstract 3-554 records for this voyage “Reported lost in the ice in Aug. in the Arctic Ocean”, then “Lost in the Arctic in 1857”. AV07014.
George had experience serving as a crew member on the New London ships: FRIENDS (AS1418) for its 1831-1834 voyage, FLORA (AS1369) for its 1833-1834 voyage, and GENERAL WILLIAMS (AS1445) for its 1843-1845 voyage, on which Philo also was a crew member. George was issued Seaman’s Protection Certificate #309 on October 23, in 1849.
George served as agent for several whaling voyages, including: COLUMBUS (AS1125) for its 1854-1856 voyage, INDIAN CHIEF’s 1856 voyage for which he became replacement master, see above), PHILIP I (AS2182) for its 1858-1862 voyage, and PHOENIX (AS2188) for its 1857-1861 voyage.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text. Family history book John Huntley, of Lyme CT and His Descendants (p. 96), found online under George’s name.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
May 2026