Leonard Corder Huff (1811 - 1873)

Born 10 Jul 1811 in Cocke, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Martha Ann (Chambers) Huff — married 12 Apr 1835 in Villa Rica, Carrol County, GA, USA

Husband of Martha Louise (Meriwether) Ramsey — married 20 Dec 1859 in Guadalupe, Texas, United States

Descendants

Died 29 Jul 1873 at age 62 in Caldwell, Texas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Billy Huff [send private message]

Biography

LEONARD C. HUFF AND TWO WIVES OF TN, GA, AND TX

Leonard Corder HUFF (10 Jul 1811 Cocke Co, Tennessee - 29 Jul 1873 Caldwell Co, Texas, bur Lone Oak Cem, 2 miles east of Luling, Texas) was the son of John and Elinor (Corder) of Virginia and Cocke Co, Tennessee

He went to GA during the Georgia Gold Rush and apparently was successful in his effort. He is recalled as accumulating enough funds to purchase land in Texas and slaves to work it.

On 12 Apr 1835 in Carroll Co, GA, he married (1) Martha Ann CHAMBERS (13 Feb 1820 NC - 1858 TX, of typhoid fever epidemic, bur Lone Oak Cem).

Her children were:

1. Thomas Harrison HUFF (25 Apr 1836 GA - 21 Jan 1913 TX, bur Old Moulton Cem) on 24 Dec 1866 md Louranie Elizabeth SCOGGINS (20 Apr 1848 - ) and lived in Gonzales Co, TX, in 1880 with his in-laws. In 1900, his children were in Caldwell Co, TX. They incl: Thomas H. HUFF; George F. HUFF; Kate M. HUFF; Margaret J. HUFF; Marcus W. HUFF; and Leslie M. HUFF. One infant was bur in Lone Oak Cem. (It is noted in family history that Leonard C. and his brother, Thomas H., agreed to name their first sons for the other, and this is what they did.)
2. Sarah J. HUFF (12 Apr 1838 GA - d age 10 in GA).
3. Mary Catherine HUFF (10 feb 1840 GA - bur SD) on 21 Dec 1858 md Capt. William H. MCKELLAR. She md (2) on 3 Jan 1867, Baptist Minister James T. POWELL. She md (3) G. B. HARRIS. Her ch were:
4. Martha Ellen "Mattie" HUFF (16 Feb 1842 - 29 Apr 1913 Gonzales, TX) on 16 Feb 1858 md George Norwood DILWORTH, and DILWORTH ch were: (One DILWORTH infant was bur in Lone Oak Cem).
5. Margaret Adeline HUFF (26 Dec 1844 GA - 23 Sep 1903) on 13 Apr 1863 md William R. JOHNSTON, and JOHNSTON ch were:
6. John Clayton HUFF (26 Oct 1847 GA - 5 Apr 1928 TX). He had typhoid fever with his mother and siblings, and it affected his brain. He was retarded, and he lived with his brother Joseph F.
7. Sarah J. HUFF (30 Sep 1949 GA - 23 Jul 1858, fever epidemic, bur Lone Oak Cem).
8. Leonard C. HUFF (22 Aug 1851 - 21 Jul 1858, fever epidemic, bur Lone Oak Cem).
9. Joseph Franklin HUFF (10 May 1853 GA - 8 Dec 1926) in 1881 md (1) Betty SLONIKER, and their ch incl Mattie D. HUFF He md (2) on 21 Oct 1888 Idonia P. THOMASSON. Their ch incl: Martha A. HUFF; Mary C. HUFF; Hattie J. HUFF; Birdie M. HUFF; George L. HUFF; Hugh F. HUFF; Margaret J. HUFF; Byron HUFF; and Ione HUFF. This family later lived in Fayette Co, TX.
10. Florence Emory HUFF (6 Jul 1855 GA - 9 Apr 1920) in Feb 1876 md Charles R. CHAMBERS, and CHAMBERS ch were:
11. Eudora Georgiana HUFF (24 May 1857 TX - 4 Oct 1940) on 26 Apr 1876 md Dr. Walter Frazier BLUNT, and BLUNT ch were:

On 20 Dec 1859 in Guadalupe Co, TX, Leonard C. married (2) Martha L. MERIWETHER (6 Mar 1837 TN - 5 Aug 1917 TX), dau of George W. and Martha (WILLIAMS) MERIWETHER. About this time, Leonard C. made a trip to California to determine if he should move there. Before he could make any decisions, the Civil War broke out, and the family was caught up in it.

Their children were:

1. James Meriwether HUFF (26 Feb 1861 - 20 Jul 1874, bur Lone Oak Cem).
2. Ann Corder HUFF (26 May 1862 TX - 26 Feb 1960) on 2 Dec 1880 md James Pierce BRIDGES, and they lived at Luling, TX. BRIDGES ch were:
3. Frances Arnold "Fannie" HUFF (8 Apr 1864 TX - 28 Oct 1928 TX, bur Luling Cem) on 28 Nov 1883 md John W. LIPSCOMB, and LIPSCOMB ch were:
4. Stephen David HUFF (4 Oct 1865 TX - 1 May 1928, bur Houston, TX) on 1 Mar 1887 md Eugenia B. CLARY, and their ch incl: Leonard Garrett HUFF; Mattie Emma HUFF; Maude HUFF; David Stephen HUFF; and Alta May HUFF.
5. Jane Lucy "Jennie" HUFF (27 Jul 1868 TX - 1965) in 1918 md Charles KEEFER, but they divorced. Ch not known. Jane Lucy was a schoolteacher.
6. Stephen William HUFF (24 Jan 1872 TX - 1 Apr 1927, bur Luling Cem) in 1899 md (1) Carrie WEST ( - 1903 TX), and in 1910 Effie MOORE. Ch were: Curtis Lipscomb HUFF; Stephen Landon HUFF; Effie Blaine HUFF; Stuart Moore HUFF; John Kenneth HUFF; and Mary Louise HUFF.
7. Lawrence Corder HUFF (31 Dec 1873 TX - 26 Nov 1945 TX, bur Luling Cem) in 1902 md Mamie S. MILLS and live at Harwood, TX. Ch were: Walter Dixon HUFF; James Meriwether HUFF; Frances HUFF; Horace Green HUFF; Bowden William HUFF; Lewis Corder HUFF, and David Oakley HUFF.

Burial: Lone Oak Cemetery , Luling, Caldwell County, Texas, USA^[1]

Huff lineage is Leonard C. and two wives of TN, GA, and TX; John and Elinor (Corder) of VA and Cocke Co, TN;

Notes:

• As a young man, L.C. went to Georgia where he made a small fortune mining gold. He married Martha Ann Chambers. In the summer of 1855 they moved their young family to Caldwell County in Texas where they joined other settlers in the community of (New) Atlanta near present day Luling. The Huff's brought a Chickering Grand piano with them in a large flat crate that son Thomas slept on each night during the long journey to Texas. They had their skilled slaves build a large double log house with a "dog trot" breezeway porch between. There were several outbuildings on the plantation including a large "store" with sleeping quarters above for the unmarried or visiting men. A very large Oak tree served as the hanging tree when it came time for the Fall butchering. Their land was prime, lying just west of the confluence of Plum Creek and the San Marcos River in far south Caldwell County.

• Martha Ann and two of the children died from Typhoid Fever in 1858. Within a few years L.C. took a new young bride, Martha Louise Meriwether, who had immigrated to Texas from western Tennessee. She cared for the little motherless children and directed the house slaves on the cotton plantation. Soon there were more children. L.C. was the father of 18 children.

• According to the 1860 census record, Col. Huff ("Col." was a courtesy title) was far and away one of the two most wealthy men in the county. It is believed that he had as many as 100 slaves (he called them his 'people' and took good care of them). Here is a partial list* of possible Huff Plantation slaves taken from the 1870 Census: Lean Huff (age 55, VA, female); Silla Huff (age 38, VA, female); Samson Huff (age 37, MS); Eveline Huff (age 45, KY); David Chambers (NC); Lea Chambers (SC); Mack Huff (GA); Jane Huff (GA); Benjamin Huff (TN); Elizabeth Huff (GA); Sharper Huff (age 60, GA); Eliza Huff (KY); Jesse Huff (age 52, TN); Eliza Huff (age 36, Mulatto born in TX in 1834); Valentine Huff (GA); Jane Huff (GA); Elizabeth Huff (age 40, GA); Willis Huff; Pheby Huff; Bramon Meriwether; Betsy Meriwether; Nathan Huff; George Adair (GA, also known as Huff); Gracie Huff (MS); Mahalia Shannon (Huff children); Nathan Huff; Viney Huff (female?); Arch Huff; Ad Huff; Melia Huff (GA); Henry Huff; Caroline Huff; Sam Dilworth (SC); Eedy Dilworth (GA); and Henry Huff (elder).

• After the slaves were freed they could take any name they chose. These are the names that line up with the Huff family names and are of an age to have been alive in 1865, just five years previous. I know of at least one other former Huff slave, Tennessee Huff (lived near Flatonia, TX and was a skilled fiddle player...said that his fiddle originally belonged to the Master who put it down the day his young son died of Typhoid Fever and swore he would never play it again.)

• Col. Huff's ex-slaves were known for many years for having skills that others in the community lacked.

• The family has preserved many dramatic stories about the Huff Plantation. Among others, we owe a big debt of gratitude to Annie Corder (Huff) Bridges, Louise (Bridges) Witt, Auralee Huff, and Dorcus (Huff) Baumgartener.

• L.C. Huff was a Unionist. Along with Gen. Sam Houston, he felt strongly that the Southern states should not secede. However, after the Civil War broke out, he believed the South would win.

• After the Civil War, L.C., now past middle age and with a young wife and children, struggled with debt. In 1868 he struck out for California leaving his affairs in the hands of his brother-in-law. He returned two years later with a small amount of money but not enough to save the plantation. He died in 1873. He is buried at Lone Oak Cemetery, one mile east of Luling in Caldwell County, TX. The huge Oak tree for which the cemetery is named is still standing proud today (2014) escaping even the summer of 2011 when many old trees succumbed to drought.

• In 2006, Auralee Huff, a great granddaughter of L.C. Huff, deposited a large family file at the Gonzales County Archives in Gonzales, TX.

• 1820

• 1830 Cocke Co, TN, p 273, poss. with Johnathan Huff 1101000001-410001

• 1840 Carroll Co, GA, p 61, Leonard Huff 1000101 - 20001

• 1850^[2] Division 12, Cass, Georgia. Leonard C Huff 38, Martha Huff 30, Thomas Huff 14, Mary C Huff 10, Martha Huff 8, Margaret Huff 5, John C Huff 2, Sarah J Huff0, Jane Huff16, Wyly Hales 29

• 1860^[3] Prairie Lea and Vicinity, Caldwell, Texas. L C Huff 47, Martha Huff 23, Margaret Huff 15, John Huff 12, Franklin Huff 7, Florence Huff 5, Dora Huff 3, Jule Holmes 30

• 1870 Caldwell Co, TX, p 310, Lockhart, Martha Huff was with Martha Meriwether. Leonard was not with the family. He was in California.

• 1870 Judicial Township 1, Santa Barbara, California^[4]

• 1880 Caldwell Co, TX, Luling, 5-28-70-12, Martha L. Huff fam.

• 1900 Caldwell Co, TX, Some ch remained in this county.

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34594342/leonard-corder-huff: accessed 12 September 2022), memorial page for Leonard Corder Huff (10 Jul 1811–29 Jul 1873), Find A Grave: Memorial #34594342, citing Lone Oak Cemetery, Luling, Caldwell County, Texas, USA; Maintained by The Angel Hunter (contributor 46942255) .
2. ↑ Year: 1850; Census Place: Division 12, Cass, Georgia; Roll: M432_63; Page: 119A; Image: 243
3. ↑ Year: 1860; Census Place: Prairie Lea and Vicinity, Caldwell, Texas; Roll: M653_1289; Page: 191; Family History Library Film: 805289
4. ↑ United States Census, 1870. Judicial Township 1, Santa Barbara, California. Leonard C. Huff. Occupation: Farmer. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN61-GG3

• "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKTT-6HPZ : 16 October 2019), L C Huff, 1860. [over 70 slaves listed]

• Max Huff, LEONARD C. HUFF AND TWO WIVES OF TN, GA, AND TX, file dated 6 May 1994

• Nelson H. Meriwether, The Meriwethers and Their Connections, 1904.

• p 3, "The Lone Oak Cemetery," San Antonio Express, 1953.