General Notes

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Email 4/19/2004 Calvin Lanny Jones Menefee <Calvinodessa@@wmconnect.com>
Julius Malcolmb Huffman  born: 13 December 1869 died: 31 January 19
56 at E liasville, Young County, Texas at the age of 87 years, 1 mont
h, 18 days Fa ther: L.E. Huffman Mother: Sarah Gary  Came to Eliasvil
le in 1925 from Cry stal Falls, Texas. He was a member of the Eliasville C
hurch of Christ. Fun eral: Eliasville Church of Christ officiated by Br
o. Roberts. Interment: C rystal Falls, Stephens County, Texas. Funeral: El
iasville Church of Chri st officiated by Bro. Roberts. Interment: Cryst
al Falls, Stephens Count y, Texas
After my mother died, I ran across a letter that she had in her paper
s, fr om Murrell and Fae Oliver in 1988.  In this letter she told of so
me the th ings that she remembered about the Huffman family. There m
ay be some clu es here that may help you with your searching for info on J
M.  I don't kn ow who her parents were but has to be a cousin to my mothe
r.  My grandfath er Calvin was a Uncle and his sister Ruth was a Aunt. ---
---
When Grandmother and Grandfather Huffman came to Texas in a covered w
ag on from South Carolina, Grandmother promised her best friend she wou
ld se nt the fur, feathers or ect. of the first thing they on the tra
il ba ck to her.  She sent back a blue birds feathers. On the trip Grandfa
ther w ould dig a hole in the dirt under his head every night and bury h
is mon ey then put his quilt and pillow over it and he kept his gun und
er his pil low with his hand on it all night long.  That is all I rememb
er about th at story.
I do not know if this event happened in Texas or South Carolina or h
ow o ld Grandfather J.M. Huffman was at the time it happen. Grandfath
er to ld a story about a bear and the woods, he was coming home and to
ok a sho rt cut through the woods because it was getting dark and he want
ed to g et home from work before it got dark.  He heard noise behind him a
nd ke pt watching until he determined it was a bear.  He walked on and ke
pt watc hing over his shoulder as the bear kept following him, the bear be
came agg ressive so Grandfather climbed a big tree, the bear clawed at t
he ba se of the tree and Grandfather went higher in the tree untill he w
as sa fe in the smaller branches.  It got real dark and the bear left a
nd Grandf ather went home being very careful not to make much noise.
When Iola was a little girl Grandfather Huffman took his entire fa
mi ly to Sarah Oklahome to work the cotton harvest one summer, Grandfath
er wo uld drive the lead wagon and shoot game on the way, rabbits, dove
s, squirr el or whatever was available to eat.  The second wagon had t
he bo ys in it and they would stop and pick up the game and clean it for t
he eve ning meal.  The second wagon had a wood stove on it and Grandmoth
er wou ld put beans on to cook in the morning and the boys kept the fire g
oi ng so they could cook during the trip. Grandmother and the gir
ls ro de in a buggy at the end of the line and when they got to the ca
mp si te it was time to start  cooking on the fire that Grandfarther Huffm
an w as getting ready. He woud   get large flat stones for the bottom a
nd Grand mother would make bread and cook it on the stones to go with what
ever ga me she had in the big iron pot.  As near as we can guess this happ
end in 1 911 or 1912.
One time on a trip back home, Iola doesn't know it this was a cotton pic
ki ng trip or one of there house building trips. They had to ford a riv
er th at was high and running swift. Grandfather and the boys led the hors
es ba ck and forth across the river to make a pad for the wagons to come a
cro ss on. They put the girls and Grandmother in a wagon and started acros
s, b ut the current caught the wagon and carried it down stream. They g
ot Grand mother and the girls out of the wagon and safely to the other riv
er ban k, but the wagon and all its contents were lost to the river. Inclu
ding