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.
[4] In Cambridge, he served numerous posts in the local government, including selectman, constable, tythingman, and grand juror.
[6] The couple had fourteen children, all born in Cambridge:[7] Other notable descendants: