Biography - George H. Huffman
GEORGE H. HUFFMAN. Rapidly the ranks of those who took active part in
the Civil war are thinning. One after another the gray-haired veterans are
going to join their comrades in a land where bloodshed and suffering are
unknown. Comparatively few of the defenders of the flag in the 'sixties are
now left who are able to hold their own in the keen struggle of present-day
commercial life. Physical infirmities have long since compelled the great
majority of the survivors to drop out of the race. Yet here and there are to
be found exceptions. Now and then a sturdy old warrior is found whose eye is
as bright and whose step is as firm as those of the younger generation, and
who yet finds keen enjoyment in a struggle in which he is pitted against the
sons and grandsons of his comrades of other days. Such a man is George H.
Huffman, the well-known stock buyer and dealer of Vienna, who, although more
than sixty-six years of age, has declined to fall behind in the rapid march
of American progress, and stands today a sturdy type of American enterprise.
Mr. Huffman was born December 30, 1845, on a farm in Guilford county, North
Carolina, and is a son of Hillary and Salome (Clapp) Huffman, and a grandson
of Joshua Huffman, whose father was a native of Germany.
Hillary Huffman took his family from North Carolina to western Tennessee,
and from the latter locality, in 1860, to Johnson county, on account of his
Union sympathies. Settling on a farm near Vienna, Mr. Huffman engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and there his death occurred at about the time of the
close of the Civil war. He and his wife had children as follows: John J.,
Catherine Elizabeth and Sarah Ellen, all of whom are deceased; George H.;
Mary Ann, who died in infancy; J. C., who lives in Grand Tower, Jackson
county; and Mrs. Alice Meredith, who resides in Lincoln. Nebraska.
George H. Huffman received a common school education, and when still a lad
learned to operate machinery, his first employment being in his father's
mill in North Carolina. In the spring of 1863 he enlisted in Company G,
Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, under Captain William Prickens and Colonel
Capron, in General Sherman's army. His first service was around Knoxville,
Tennessee, from whence he went to Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, served
around Atlanta and Macon, and participated in the famous "March to the Sea."
At Mulberry Creek, Georgia, he was taken prisoner by the enemy, and was
confined for eight months and seven days in various Confederate prisons. He
was at the terrible place of confinement at Andersonville, and when removed
to Charleston he and his fellow-prisoners suffered the dangers and agony of
mind of being under the bombardment of their own troops. He was then taken
to Florence, South Carolina, and eventually to Goldsboro, North Carolina,
and from the latter place succeeded in making a daring escape. From eight
hundred to one thousand men were under the supervision of three lines of
guards, the prisoners' camp being located near a pine woods. Mr. Huffman
discovered that a large pine tree had fallen over the line of the wall, and
during the night climbed into the branches, and under the cover of darkness
worked his way out. At nine o'clock he found himself in a ravine, and during
that day managed to place three miles between himself and his pursuers. He
was then hidden by Lazarus Pearson, a Quaker farmer, at whose home he
remained for seven days, when he was given the Friend 's exception papers,
for which the good man had paid the Confederacy the sum of five hundred
dollars. With Henry Preston, a fellow-refugee, to whom had been given the
Quaker's son-in-law's papers, and accompanied by Pearson's two daughters,
Mr. Huffman then went through the Confederate cavalry lines. Later, at
Wilmington, North Carolina, with William Pickens and a Mr. Cox, Mr. Huffman
was again captured with a gang of recruits, but during the next day managed
to get away at Newbern, which was held by the Union forces. From thence he
went to Annapolis and safety, and was sent from that point to the barracks
at Camp Butler, where he was mustered out of the service in the spring of
1865. At the beginning of his career Mr. Huffman served as a scout for the
Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, the Seventh Tennessee Cavalry, the Fifth Iowa
Cavalry and the Fourth Illinois. Cavalry, and while engaged in this service
in Carroll county, Tennessee, received a wound in his right thigh which many
years later developed into a large tumor, which it was necessary to remove.
After his gallant and faithful service Mr. Huffman returned to the
occupations of peace and developed into an excellent citizen. His first
employment was at the blacksmith trade, which he followed until 1869, being
engaged by contractors on the Big Four Railroad at Tunnell Hill when that
railroad was under construction, and there his knowledge of machinery stood
him in good stead. After this he engaged in farming and the implement and
farm machinery business, subsequently opening a mine at New Burnside, which
he operated for three years, but sold it on the completion of the railroad,
and in 1873 moved to a farm of two hundred acres located in Simpson
township. In 1879 Mr. Huffman took his family to Metropolis, in order that
his children might be educated under Professor Bowlby, and continued to live
there until 1884, Mr. Huffman in the meantime managing his farm as well as a
sawmill in Johnson county. He returned to the farm in 1884, and for a few
years conducted an implement business as well as a meat and produce
enterprise in Vienna, but gradually gave up his other interests as his
livestock business grew, and to this he now gives the greater part of his
time and attention, the farm having been sold in 1905. His livestock
business now totals sixty carloads or sixty thousand dollars annually, while
he does an annual business in horses and mules that amounts to fifteen
thousand dollars. He owns one of the finest residence properties in Vienna,
valued at three thousand five hundred dollars. On February 7, 1894, Mr.
Huffman met with a serious accident, in which he lost his left arm, but he
has not allowed this handicap to interfere with his business activities. A
public-spirited citizen who is always ready to do his share in looking after
the interests of his community, Mr. Huffman served as treasurer of Johnson
county for four years, beginning in 1899. However, he has not been a seeker
after the spectacular, but has kept the even tenor of his way. He has been
content with the ordinary rewards of life, and thus it is that we find him
today one of the few of his generation who are still able to continue the
daily routine of business. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and
is very popular with the comrades of Vienna post, while his religious
connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church.
In 1870 Mr. Huffman was married to Miss Marian Jones, daughter of the Hon.
Thomas Jones, former representative and a leading man of his day in Johnson
county. Twelve children have been born to this union, of whom nine survive,
as follows: Mrs. Marion McConnell; Mrs. Gertrude Allard; Mrs. Clara
Gillespie; Mrs. Dollie Palmer; Mrs. Daisy Carter; Mrs. Mamie Eagan, of
Chicago; Mrs. Pearl Whielen, of Steger, Illinois; Charles G., an attorney of
Vienna, Illinois; and Frances Marion.
Extracted 14 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 2, pages 734-736.
