The Dana family is a Boston Brahmin family that arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts from England during the later end of the Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640).
The patriarch, Richard Dana (c.1620—1690) was said to have been born in France. A Huguenot, he would have fled to England as a result of the Edict of Restitution of 1629, and subsequently emigrated to New England, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts by 1640. However there is no evidence that any Dana was among the Huguenots that fled to England, and there was a Richard Dana born in Manchester, England in 1617 who is the right age and disappears from English records before Richard Dana arrives in Cambridge.
In Cambridge, he served numerous posts in the local government, including selectman, constable, tythingman, and grand juror. He married Ann Bullard about 1648. The couple had eleven children, all born in Cambridge:
John (1649–1650)Hannah (1651–1728), baptized as Anne, married Samuel OldhamSamuel (1653–1653)Jacob (1654–1698), married Patience SabinJoseph (1656–1700), married Mary Gobell. Abiah's twin brother.Abiah (1656–1668), Joseph's twin brother.Benjamin (1660–1738), married Mary Buckminster.Elizabeth (1662–1702), married Daniel Woodward. Unlike her siblings, she moved to Connecticut.Daniel (1663–1749), married Naomi Croswell. Most of the famous Danas of Massachusetts come from Daniel Dana.Deliverance (1667–1741), married Samuel Hyde.Sarah (1669–1669)Charles A. Dana (philanthropist) (1881–1975): businessman, politician, philanthropist, founder of the Dana Foundation and Dana Holding CorporationCharles Anderson Dana (1819–1897): journalist, author, assistant Secretary of War (1864-1866)Charles R. Dana (1802–1868): Mormon leader and politicianCharles S. Dana (1862–1939): Speaker of the Vermont House of RepresentativesDaniel Dana (1771–1859): president of Dartmouth CollegeEdmund Trowbridge Dana (1818–1869): juristEdward Salisbury Dana (1849–1935): mineralogist, physicistFrancis Dana (1743–1811): member of the Continental Congress, signer of the Articles of ConfederationJames Dana (clergyman) (1735–1812): pastor of the First Church in New HavenJames Dana (mayor) (1811–1890): mayor of Charlestown, MassachusettsJames Dwight Dana (1813–1895): geologist, mineralogist, zoologist, volcanologistJohn Cotton Dana (1856–1929): librarian and museum directorJohn W. Dana (1808–1867): Governor of MaineJoseph Dana (1742–1827): clergymanJudah Dana (1772–1845): US SenatorLowell Dana (1891–1937): college football coachNapoleon J.T. Dana (1822–1905): American general during the Civil War and the Spanish–American WarPaul Dana (journalist) (1852–1930): journalistRichard Dana (lawyer) (1699–1772): colonial Boston politician, a founder of the Sons of LibertyRichard Henry Dana, Sr. (1787–1879): lawyer, poet, criticRichard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815–1882): lawyer, politician, author (Two Years Before the Mast)Richard Henry Dana III (1851–1931): lawyer, civil service reformer, husband of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's daughterSamuel Dana (1767–1835): US RepresentativeSamuel Dana (clergyman) (1739–1798): clergyman, judge, politicianSamuel Luther Dana (1795–1868): chemistSamuel W. Dana (1760–1830): US Senator and US RepresentativeOther notable descendants:
Charles Dana Gibson (1867–1944): graphic artist, created the "Gibson Girl"Samuel Dana Bell (1798–1868): politician and judgeSamuel Newell Bell (1829–1889): US RepresentativeWilliam Dana Ewart (1851-1908): Inventor of the Link Belt and founder of the Link-Belt Construction Equipment Company