Catharine Sargent Huntington

Catharine Sargent Huntington (1887-1987) was an American actress, producer, director, activist, and founder and manager of theater companies in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Her theatrical career spanned six decades, lasting until she was 86. In 1965, she was recognized with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Award. Additionally, Huntington was part of the "Death Watch," protesting the trials and death sentence of Sacco and Vanzetti. Early life and education Huntington was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts on December 29, 1887, as the sole daughter of Lilly St. Agnam Barrett Huntington and clergyman George Putnam Huntington to survive infancy. The family later moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, where Huntington grew up. Between 1904 and 1906, she lived in Cedar Square, Roxbury, Boston with her aunt Kate Summer. While in Boston, Huntington attended Miss Haskell's School, graduating in 1906. She proceeded to Radcliffe College, where she graduated in 1911 cum laude with an A.B. After graduation, Huntington spent her summer in Europe and began teaching at the Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut, where she worked until 1917. Activism and war involvement At the beginning of World War I, Huntington left her job at Westover School to serve as the Radcliffe College representative to the troops in France with the Wellesley unit of the YMCA. She served as an aide, working on war reconstruction with the Réconstruction Aisne Devastée and the Union des Femmes de France until her return to the United States in 1920. After her return, Huntington continued local war reconstruction efforts. In August 1927, she was arrested for protesting the murder conviction and death penalty of Sacco and Vanzetti through loitering and sauntering with the "Death Watch." She was one of 156 people arrested for the protests, although her fine of $10 was double the amount of the fine for the majority of the other members of the watch. She appealed the fine and went to trial in December of the same year with seven others, including Edna St. Vincent Millay, Powers Hapgood, and John Dos Passos.