William Jones Huff (1828 - 1899)

Born 20 Dec 1828 in Emporium, Cameron, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Son of Edmund F Huff Jr and Magdelina Mary (Spangler) Huff

Husband of Almira (Walker) Huff — married 8 Apr 1858 in Monroe Township, Linn Co., Iowa, United States

Descendants

Died 27 Mar 1899 at age 70 in Waco, Jasper, Missouri, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Billy Huff [send private message], Jennifer Huff [send private message], Judy Armanini [send private message], and Michael Huff [send private message]

Biography

William Jones Huff was born 0n 20 December 1828 in Emporium, Potter County (now Cameron County), Pennsylvania, third of seven children born to Edmund F Huff and his wife the former Mary Spangler.

In 1855, he moved to Linn County, Iowa to help build a sawmill with the Lucore brothers, sons of Rufus Lucore, also from Emporium.

On April 8, 1858 in Monroe Township, Linn Co., Iowa, he married Almira Walker^[1] daughter of John B. Walker and Anna Mariah Hunt. They were married by Daniel Albaugh at home of the bride's father.

Children:

1. Edmund Alonzo (19 Apr 1859 Marion, Linn, Iowa - 2 Jun 1930 Morland, Graham, Kansas) married Ella Crammer (1869-1938)
2. Charles Ernest (19 Jun 1860 Marion, Linn, Iowa - 27 Sep 1941 Ft. Worth, Texas) married Artie Laura Blair (1873-1963)
3. George Clarence (27 Oct 1861 Marion, Linn, Iowa - 20 Oct 1864 Marion, Linn, Iowa) Aged 2 ys, 11 ms, 20 ds. Died while lhis father was away serving in the army
4. John Henry (26 May 1866 Missouri - 13 Jan 1867 Linn County, Missouri) died while moving from Iowas to Missouri
5. Frederick Augustus (1868-1868) Very little known about him
6. Francis Marion (5 Jul 1870 Georgia City, Jasper, Missouri - 4 Apr 1943 while visiting his sister May Hunt in Webb City, Jasper, Missouri ) married Nettie Jane Hester (1871-1938)
7. Samuel Wyatt "Dick" (5 Jul 1872 Twin Groves Township, Jasper, (Waco) Missouri - 8 Jan 1960 Napa County, California) married Ida Cook (1869-1949)
8. Bertha Anna (19 Oct 1875 Waco, Missouri - 23 Nov 1892 Waco, Jasper, (Waco) Missouri) died of typhoid fever at age 18
9. May Leona (23 Mar 1877 Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri,(Waco), Missouri - 12 Apr 1963 Webb City, Missouri) married William Hollis Hunt (1865-1937)
10. Carrie Lenora (23 Sep 1881 Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri - 2 Jan 1971 Webb City, Missouri) married Frank Leslie Petefish (1874-1938)
11. William Henry (15 Apr 1883 Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri - 30 Aug 1952 Pampa, Gray, Texas) unmarried

William J. Huff moved to Jasper County, Missouri in November, 1869 and purchased a farm from J. C. Guinn, a landowner from Georgia. The farm was located northeast of Waco, Missouri. The 1870 census listed the farm in Georgia City ,Jasper County, Missouri and then in Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri in the 1880 and 1900 census.

He was joined by his father-in-law John B Walker and family who also moved from Linn County, Iowa to Jasper County.

William suffered many ailments as a result of severe hardships encountered during his military service. In 1893 he submitted a request for a disability pension which was approved.

William J. Huff died on 27 Mar 1899 at his farm near Georgia City. Five of his children were present at the bedside of the afflicted father, but two sons, one in Kansas and one one in Galveston, Texas, were unable to attend.

Burial^[2]: 28 Mar 1899 Waco Cemetery. Waco, Jasper County, Missouri. Services conducted by the G. A. R.

DNA Confirmation

• Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA testing. Five paternal descendants have done Y-DNA tests, two grandsons and three great grandsons. Four of the tests were Big Y. Billy Huff (Big Y Haplogroup I-BY107638) and Max Huff (Big Y Haplogroup I-FGC21968) match at a Genetic Distance of 1 on 559 markers thereby confirming their direct paternal lines. Great grandson Douglas William Huff has done a Big Y test and is an exact match to Billy Huff. Great grandson Michael Francis Huff has also done Big Y and is an exact match to Max Huff. Great grandson Greg Huff is an exact match to Billy Huff at 37 markers.

• Paternal and maternal relationships are also confirmed by FTDNA Family Finder DNA test matches between Billy Huff and cousins Elizabeth Taylor Knab (2d cousin 188 cM), Judith (Petefish) Johnson (2nd cousin 424 cM), plus Eileen Robbins (208 cM 2nd cousin 1R. Their MRCAs are William Jones Huff and his wife Almira (Walker) Huff.

Army Service

Enlisted in Co H 20th Iowa Inf Regiment on July 26, 1862 and served throughout the war^[3].

In Sept 1862, left Iowa for Benton Barracks (St. Louis) and then on to Rolla and Springfield. In Oct 1862, at Newtonia and Prairie Grove in December. Other campaigns included Vicksburg, Yazoo City, Brownsville, Fort Morgan. Mustered out 21 July 1865 in Mobile, Alabama.

Enlistment and service described in letters to his wife, Almira (Mira). Letters transcribed in book^[4]

Enlistment Description: Height: 6 foot, 3 inches, complextion: fair, hair: auburn, eyes: hazel

Movements and battles^[5][6][7]

5 Sept 1862, left Iowa for Benton Barracks (St. Louis)

14 Sept - arrived Rolla by train

24 Sept - arrived Springfield having covered a distance of 124 miles

4 Oct 1862 - Newtonia, Newton, Missouri. Occupation of Newtonia - pursued enemy after battle and proceeded to Cassville; .

Oct - Nov 1862 - Movements to Findley Fork, Little Ozark and Springfield, Mo.

7 Dec 1862 - Battle of Prairie Grove

11 Jun 1863 - Siege of Vicksburg

14 Jul 1863 - Yazoo City, Mississippi - capture of Yazoo City

2 Nov 1863 - Battle of Brownsville, Brownsville, Cameron, Texas,

9 Aug 1864 - Fort Morgan, Baldwin, Alabama, Siege of Fort Morgan

2 Apr 1865 - Battle of Fort Blakely, Baldwin County, Alabama,

Mustered out July 26, 1865.

Reference Notes:

• 1850^[8] Lumber Township, Clinton, Pennsylvania - age 21, living with his aunt Sally Spangler. Relatives in same township: grandfather John Spangler, uncle John Strawbridge Jr

• 1860^[9] Monroe Township, Linn County, Iowa. William Huff 26, Almira Huff 21, Edward A Huff 1, Infant Huff 2/12

• 22 Aug 1862. Marion County, Iowa - mustered into Federal Service for three years

• After returning to Iowa after the War, initially moved to Linn County, MO and later moved to Jasper County, Missouri in November 1869 along with his father-in-law John B Walker and his sons.

• Nov 1869: Purchased farm from J. C. Guinn, a landowner from Georgia.

• 1870^[10] Georgia City, Jasper, Missouri. William J Huff 41, Almira Huff 31, Edmond Huff 11, Charles Huff 9

• 1880^[11] : Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri; William J Huff 51, Almira Huff 41, Edmund Huff 21, Charles Huff 19, Francis M Huff 10, Samuel Huff 7, Bertha Huff 5, May Huff 3, Frank Davis 19 (boarder). Living adjacent to Almira's parents John and Anna Walker and their family.

• 1890^[12] Twin Groves Township, Jasper, Missouri

Sources

• Research by Max and Billy Huff plus family history provided by William Huff daughters May Hunt and Carrie Petefish.

1. ↑ "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJ6B-6XV : 10 February 2018), William J. Huff and Almira Walker, 08 Apr 1858, Monroe Township, Linn Co., Iowa, United States; citing reference , county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,704,670.
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #12749432
3. ↑ U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865
4. ↑ "Compilation of Letters to Mira, Documenting the Army Life of an Ordinary Soldier While Serving in the 20th Iowa Infantry Regiment 1862-1865"
5. ↑ Guy E. Logan, Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 1, 2,and3
6. ↑ Report of Adjutant General of, Iowa, Vol. 1 and 2
7. ↑ Lurton Dunham Ingersoll, "Iowa and the Rebellion", J.B. Lippincott & Co, 1866
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4H3-GL5 : 12 April 2016), William Haff in household of Sally Spangler, Lumber, Clinton, Pennsylvania, United States; citing family 10, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M82P-TZB : 13 December 2017), William Huff, 1860.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M46Z-SGW : 12 April 2016), William J Huff, Missouri, United States; citing p. 10, family 77, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,282.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6X8-145 : 7 September 2017), William J Huff, Twin Groves, Jasper, Missouri, United States; citing enumeration district ED 58, sheet 342D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0694; FHL microfilm 1,254,694.
12. ↑ 1890 Veterans Schedules

See Also:

• HISTORY of the BLANCHARD FAMILY: From 1636 to the present time, Jonathan Hunt, Reedtown, Ohio, Price 25 cents. Published about 1898.

• Billy M. Huff, Compilation of Letters to Mira, Documenting the Army Life of an Ordinary Soldier While Serving in the 20th Iowa Infantry Regiment 1862-1865, 2016 ISBN-13: 978-1522732358. Web: https://www.amazon.com/Compilation-Letters-Mira-William-Huff/dp/1522732357/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495584749&sr=1-1&keywords=Compilation+of+Letters+to+Mira%2C+Documenting+the+Army+Life+of+an+Ordinary+Soldier+While+Serving+in+the+20th+Iowa+Infantry+Regiment+1862-1865

• Lurton Dunham Ingersoll, "Iowa and the Rebellion", J.B. Lippincott & Co, 1866

• "Roster and Record of Iowa Troops in the Rebellion", Vol. 3, Iowa Adjutant General’s Office, 1910

• William J. Huff Service Record and Regimental History

• American Civil War Regiments

• American Civil War Soldiers

• Civil War and Later Veterans Pension Index at Fold3

• Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903

• Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925

• Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000

• U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989

• U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

• U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

• U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865

• U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918