Bio of Thomas Huddleston, Sr. (b.1839), Wabasha Co., MN

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HUDDLESTON--

Thomas Huddleston, Sr., an elderly resident of the little hamlet of 
Dumfries, is one of the oldest living pioneers of Wabasha County, and is a 
man with a notable experience as an early lumberman, Civil War veteran, 
and farmer. He was born at Westfield, Chautauqua County, N.Y., August 
15, 1839, the eldest of the twelve children of David and Jane (Cochrane) 
Huddleston. His parents were natives of Ireland who emigrated to the 
United States in the early thirties, resided awhile in New York City, and 
subsequently on a farm in Erie County, New York. Then coming west to 
Wisconsin, they remained there a year, and then located near St. Charles, 
in Winona County, Minn. After farming for many years, they retired, and 
both died in Glasgow Township, Wabasha County, the father in 1892 and 
the mother in 1894. Of their 12 children, seven are now living, namely; 
Thomas, David, James, John, William, Jane and Margaret. Thomas 
Huddleston was a boy of 15 years when he came west with his parents in 
1854. The journey was made via the Great Lakes to Milwaukee, and for 
about a year the family resided at a point half way between Beaver Dam 
and Fox Lake, Wis. In the fall of 1855 they came with an emigrant train 
to Minnesota, being obliged to stop for a week at La Crosse on account of 
the limited ferry accommodations and the size of the party. Other 
immigrants were also arriving, and the ferry proprietors issued numbered 
tickets, or designated each family by a number, and the family was 
transported across the river when its number was called. On a hill close to 
La Crescent young Thomas shot his first deer, and at once conceived 
himself to be a mighty hunter, which opinion was apparently shared by 
the other members of the party, for they delegated him as a committee of 
one to procure meat, but unfortunately for his too easily won reputation, 
he failed to secure another deer during the remainder of the journey. In 
the fall of 1856 his parents settled on land one and a half miles south of 
the thriving village of Utica in Winona County. Thomas, himself, soon 
grew big and strong and went to work for the Knapp-Stout Lumber 
Company, of Menomonie, Wis., being engaged in rafting on the 
Chippewa and Mississippi rivers. Those were the days of romance and 
adventure, and he enjoyed them all with all the capacity of a bold and 
adventurous youth. He remained with the lumber company two seasons, 
receiving $13 a month and his board. In the year after he came of age the 
Civil War broke and opened up a new and exciting sphere of action for 
the patriotic youth of the land. Thomas Huddleston was among those who 
went to the front. Enlisting in the First Minnesota Battery, he was 
mustered into the service October 5, 1861, and spent a part of the 
following winter at Benton Barracks and the arsenal at St. Louis, Mo. In 
January, 1862, his company was moved to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., 
aboard the Ohio River steamer “Himalaya”, and assigned to Sherman’s 
command, and not long after he took part in the bloody battle of Shiloh, 
known to the Confederates as “Pittsburg Landing”. As readers of 
American history know, the first day’s battle was practically a defeat for 
the Union forces, which were taken by surprise, and by night the situation 
had been saved from total rout chiefly by the desperate resistance of 
Sherman’s command. Re-enforcement early the following morning turned 
the defeat into a victory and the enemy was driven back. Afterwards 
Private Huddleston was in action at Hornet’s Nest, the siege of Corinth, 
the siege of Vicksburg, under General Grant, and still later fought under 
Sherman at Atlanta, and was on the March to the Sea, accompanying that 
great commander all through his victorious campaign. At the close of the 
war he took part in the grand review  at Washington, one of the most 
notable occasions and grandest scenes in the history of our country, and 
was mustered out there not much the worse for the thrilling experiences 
through which he had passed. On his return to Minnesota Mr. Huddleston 
again entered the employ of Knapp-Stout Company on a salary of $75 a 
month, holding the same position that he had previously got $13 a month 
for, and so continued for three years, in the performance of his duties 
following dim and half obliterated trails through the dense forest. At the 
end of that period he returned to Glasgow Township, Wabasha County, 
where on February 23, 1868, he was united in marriage with Sarah 
McIllreavie, of Reach, Province of Ontario, Canada, the pastor who 
united them being the well know pioneer preacher of Lake City, the Rev. 
Silas Hazlett, who founded the Presbyterian church there. Mr. Huddleston 
and his wife began housekeeping in Chester Township, where they 
resided for nine years. They then moved to Mazeppa, which place was 
there home until 1882. In that year Mr. Huddleston bought a farm in 
Trout Brook Valley, section 16, Glasgow Township, on the site of the 
present hamlet of Dumfries. He also branched out extensively in the 
purchase of land, acquiring over 700 acres in one body. In 1896 he moved 
from section 16 to section 10, where he and his family made their home 
until 1906, when he took up his residence in Dumfries village, where he 
now lives, owning a good residence property. He also still owns some 
three or four hundred acres of his farm land. He may be called the father 
of the village, as it was through his influence and efforts that it was 
founded and a post office established, the post office, however, being 
discontinued on the coming of the railroad. The village now posses a 
store, town hall, blacksmith’s shop, and other buildings. It was here that 
Mr. Huddleston’s wife died on December 5, 1917. Besides doing all he 
could to advance the interests of the little settlement, Mr. Huddleston 
served for a number of years on the Glasgow town board. He belongs to 
the Masonic lodge at Mazeppa, and in religion is a Presbyterian. HE and 
his wife were the parents of 12 children, namely: John, Catherine, 
Alexander (first), Samuel, William, Sarah, Julia, Alexander (second), 
Grace, Mary, Edna, and Thomas Neil, Jr. Of these children, John, 
Alexander (first), Samuel and William are deceased. Catherine, who is 
unmarried, resides at home with her father. Sarah is now Mrs. A. J. 
Henze of Minneapolis. Julia is the wife of John Duffus of West Albany 
Township. Grace is the wife of Albert Zillgitt of Lake City. Mary is the 
wife of Ben E. Fick of Lake City. Edna is the wife of Daniel Slauson of 
Dumfries. Mr. Huddleston’s career has been contemporaneous with that 
of Wabasha County. As a boy he saw it in its infancy; later watched it 
developing its rich resources, as he himself developed into ripe manhood, 
and now in the evening of his life he is spared to witness its fullness of 
achievement as an organized part of the great commonwealth to which it 
belongs. In that wonderful growth and development he, himself, took an 
active part, and the life of ease and leisure he now enjoys has been well 
earned.

Note: This biography was taken from the book “History of Wabasha 
County” copyrighted in 1920.