Johnson-Atchison County KS Archives Biographies.....Huff, John 1845 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 March 23, 2009, 4:23 pm Author: Ed Blair (1915) John Huff, of Olathe, has been a resident of Johnson county for forty-five years and is one of the successful men of affairs of the county. Mr. Huff was born in Adams county, Illinois, in 1845, and is a son of John and Mary (Bruner) Huff, the former a native of Westphalia, Prussia, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were married in Ohio about 1840 and were the parents of the following children: William, Becky and Lucy died in infancy; Aaron spent his life in Illinois, died in 1910; George, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; Lydia, died in Illinois in 1913; Mary died in Illinois at the age of seventeen; Frank resides at Sugar City, Colo.; Jacob, Barry. Ill.; James, Barry, Ill.; Alice married James Richardson, Barry, Ill.; W. E., Kingman, Kan.; Martha, married Clarence Hern, Waketa, Okla.; Emma, married Joe Cummings, Waketa, Okla.; Rachel married John Purcell, Winfield, Kan., and John the subject of this sketch. John Huff received his education in the common schools of Illinois and later took a commercial course in the Commercial College at Quincy, Ill., and also attended school in Cleveland, Ohio. When he was seventeen years old he went to Quincy, Ill., shortly after the Civil war broke out, and endeavored to enlist in the service, but was rejected because of the fact that he had lost two fingers in early life. At the age of twenty-two he engaged in teaching school in Illinois and followed that vocation there until 1871 when he came to Kansas and located in Johnson county, ten miles east of Olathe. In the spring of 1873, he bought forty acres of land in Oxford township and later sold that property back to his brother from whom he had purchased it and about a year later, bought eighty acres, three and one-half miles north of Olathe. He moved on the place in 1877 and in 1881 bought eighty acres more adjoining that place and in 1901 purchased an additional 160 acres, and now owns 320 acres of some of the best land in Johnson county. In September, 1908, he bought four and three-fourths acres on North Walker Street, Olathe, where he now resides and is practically retired from active farming operations. Mr. Huff was united in marriage in 1873 at Westport, Mo., to Miss Viroqua Chaplain, a native of Illinois, her parents being pioneers of that State. Mrs. Huff departed this life May 12, 1915, and her remains are buried in the Olathe cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Huff were born ten children, all born in Johnson county except Leta, who was born in Illinois, and eight of whom are living. They are as follows: Leta married Fay Gotham, Kansas City, Mo.; George died at the age of thirteen; Ida died at the age of six; William married Stella Watts and resides on the home place, north of Olathe; Albert married Bertha Haskins and resides at Nezperce, Idaho; Delia married Roy Walters and resides at Nezperce, Idaho; Minnie married Carl Hopkins and resides ten miles east of Olathe; Harley is unmarried and resides in Kansas City, Mo.; Lorena and Naomi reside with their father in Olathe. When Mr. Huff located on his place north of Olathe, it was practically raw prairie land and without any improvements, but by close application to business he has made of it one of the fine farms of Johnson county. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Huff has had more than his share of misfortune, in the way of accidents which have resulted in crippling him in a way that would have incapacitated the average man from business. Mr. Huff has gone on and in the face of various handicaps of this kind has succeeded to a marked degree. In early life he met with an accident which resulted in the loss of two fingers, as referred to above. In 1865, while engaged in operating a threshing machine in Illinois, his left arm became entangled in the gearing of the cylinder which resulted in such serious injury that amputation was necessary. In the fall of 1908 he was thrown from a mowing machine and in that accident lost the sight of his right eye. Notwithstanding these various injuries he has gone on and succeeded far beyond the average Johnson county man and is one of the substantial citizens of the county. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas BY ED BLAIR AUTHOR OF Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY LAWRENCE, KANSAS 1915 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/johnson/bios/huff161bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb