"Abraham Huffman was one of the first settlers in Clear Creek Twp. and did a great deal to improve his community; a man of great industry and energy, always ready to administer to the wants of the needy. His uncompromising hostility to what he considered wrong sometimes caused him trouble that many others could have avoided.
In 1820, the first school house was built on the line of the land of Abraham Huffman. The house of hewn logs 18 x 20 feet, cabin roof, puncheon floor, tables, and seats. It had greased paper windows. Because of an insufficient heating system, the ink would freeze in the winter."
Abraham was born on the 19th of November of 1785 in Hampshire County, Virginia. By the 15th of March in 1810, he married Margaret Cuppy in Jefferson, Ohio. The marriage was solemnized by William Argo, minister of the Gospel.
In 1825, Abraham's source of income seemed to mainly be from his occupation as a maple syrup maker. As I understand it, he carried his barrels of syrup overland, perhaps by an ox team, to the Ohio River, and then often shipped the syrup himself to New Orleans. Some of the tales of his troubles with Indians on the Ohio River are upsetting, but understandable for his need to protect himself, his sons who accompanied him, and his property. (I've also read that the Indians were fond of the maple syrup and made a habit of leaving their reservations to revisit their former residence and to treat themselves of the syrup when it was running.)
Abraham was elected the Trustee of Clear Creek Twp., Richland, OH in 1829. He was on the Board of Trustees for the Ashland Academy 1841-1842, and he was the corporator of Ashland County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. to name a few of his responsibilities to the citizens of his places of residence. In addition, he was named as an administrator to many of his neighbors' wills, more evidence that shows the respect that his friends had for him.
The photo, above, is of the main street of the city of Ashland, Ohio as it looks in 2017. Abraham died on the 16th of October in 1860, according to the "History of Ashland County, Ohio", Author: George William Hill, M.D., pub. 1880. Abraham was buried in the Ashland City Cemetery.
ABRAHAM HUFFMAN
BORN: 19 Nov 1785 in ,Hampshire, VA
MARRIED: 15 Mar 1820 in ,Jefferson, OH
DIED: 16 Oct 1860 in Ashland City, Ashland, OH
BURIED: Ashland City Cemetery, Ashland, OH
SOURCES: U.S. Federal Censuses of 1790 to 1860; LDS Ancestral File; U.S. Marriage Set; Several Land Purchasing Records at BLM;and the two history books mentioned above by authors Hill
and Knapp.
