Joshua B. Huckeby - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Joshua Brannon Huckeby (February 13, 1802– March 22, 1889) was an 19th century American politician and lawyer. Huckeby represented Perry County

Perry County, Indiana

Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. The county seat is Tell City. It is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties of in Indiana as it features more than of Hoosier National Forest...

in the Indiana House of Representatives

Indiana House of Representatives

The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits...

during the 21st, 27th and 29th sessions of the Indiana General Assembly

Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...

. He served as Prosecuting Attorney for the 3rd Indiana District Common Pleas Court from 1854 to 1856.

Family

He was born near the courthouse at Liberty, Bedford County, Virginia

Bedford County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 60,371 people, 23,838 households, and 18,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 26,841 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile...

, to John Huckeby, Sr. (1774–1827) and his wife, Frances Anne (Brannon) Huckeby (1781–1851). John was a local farmer. In 1805, John and his family left their home near the "Peaks of the Otter

Peaks of Otter

The Peaks of Otter are three mountain peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the town of Bedford, Virginia, nine miles to the southeast along State Route 43. These peaks are...

" and moved to Barren County, Kentucky

Barren County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,033 people, 15,346 households, and 10,941 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 17,095 housing units at an average density of...

, living successively in Garrard

Garrard County, Kentucky

Garrard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is pronounced 'Gair-ad' with the third "r" silent. It was formed in 1797 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Its county seat is Lancaster. The population was 16,912 in the 2010 Census...

, Lincoln

Lincoln County, Kentucky

Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 24,742 in the 2010 Cesus. Its county seat is Stanford. Lincoln is a prohibition or "dry county" and is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

and Breckinridge

Breckinridge County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,648 people, 7,324 households, and 5,309 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,890 housing units at an average density of...

counties.

His paternal grandparents were Thomas Huckaby and Keziah Self. Thomas was born in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

but later settled in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. His ancestors had come from the east of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

to Virginia during the reign of Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. Keziah was the daughter of William Self of Cumberland County, Virginia

Cumberland County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,017 people, 3,528 households, and 2,487 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile . There were 4,085 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...

.

His mother's father, Lawrence Brannon was of Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

descent. His wife, Olympias (Loudoun) Brannon had been left an orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

in infancy.

Early life and marriage

In common with most of his contemporaries of the frontier

Frontier

A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...

he grew up without the privilege of even a common school education. Altogether his schooling did not amount to a term of three months.

In 1823, he left Breckinridge County, Kentucky

Breckinridge County, Kentucky

and came to Perry County, Indiana

Perry County, Indiana

settling near the town of Rome

Rome, Indiana

Rome is an unincorporated community along the Ohio River in southeastern Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana, United States. It lies across the river from Stephensport, Kentucky and just off Indiana State Road 66 above the city of Tell City, the county seat of Perry County. Its elevation is...

. There he met Rebecca "Becky" Lang (1808–1891) and after a brief courtship

Courtship

Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...

they were married at Rome by her stepfather, Lemuel Mallory (1763–1851), on April 4, 1824. Joshua and Rebecca Huckeby were the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters: Mary Ann (1826–1864), Rachel Littell (1828–1883), Eliza Ellen (1830–1901), Elizabeth (c.1833-1852), John Lang (1835–1882), William Lamb (c.1838-1903), Sarah Jane (1840–1852), Isabelle (1845–1909) and Thomas Jefferson (1847–1849).

The family moved from Rome

Rome, Indiana

to Cannelton circa 1848. As in Rome

Rome, Indiana

, he operated a tavern in Cannelton for awhile. In 1856, he bought a house from R. Henry Gay on Taylor Street. This house would come to be known as the "Virginia Place."

Political career

Huckeby was elected a Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

in 1833, served on the county board of school examiners in 1836, and was county surplus revenue agent in 1843. He represented the county in the General Assembly

Indiana General Assembly

of the State for the sessions of 1836-37, 1842–43 and 1844–45, but lost for state representative in 1846 and 1850. He was a staunch Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

while that party maintained its organization, and in 1860 was an Elector for John Bell

John Bell (Tennessee politician)

John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...

and Edward Everett

Edward Everett

Edward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...

. After this he united with the Republican party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

and became its earnest and sincere supporter. His bitter and unrelenting opposition to the Democratic party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

often led him into unpleasant controversies, however.

Fellow members of the same legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

, with whom Huckeby was more or less closely associated, regardless of political differences, were James D. Williams

James D. Williams

James Douglas Williams , nicknamed Blue Jeans Bill, was a farmer and Democratic politician who held public office in Indiana for four decades, and was the only farmer elected as the Governor of Indiana, serving from 1877 to 1880...

, William A. Bowles

William A. Bowles

William A. Bowles was a doctor who led the Knights of the Golden Circle in Indiana in the early 1860s. Earlier he founded the town of French Lick, Indiana and began a resort at an area, which lasts to this day.-Pre-war:...

, Samuel Hanna, David Macy, David P. Holloway

David P. Holloway

David Pierson Holloway was a U.S. Representative from Indiana.Born in Waynesville, Ohio, Holloway moved with his parents to Cincinnati in 1813.He attended the common schools....

, and William Hayden English

William Hayden English

William Hayden English was an American politician from Indiana.William English was most famous for his role in the passage of the infamous, pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1858...

. Huckeby also corresponded with Robert Dale Owen

Robert Dale Owen

Robert Dale Owen was a longtime exponent in his adopted United States of the socialist doctrines of his father, Robert Owen, as well as a politician in the Democratic Party.-Biography:...

of New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...

.

From 1854 to 1856, he served as prosecuting attorney for the 3rd Indiana District Common Pleas Court, discharging his duties with marked ability, and for several years thereafter practiced his profession with vigor and success. For several years of the latter part of his life, from 1871 to 1884, he served as postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

at Cannelton.

The bent of his mind was decidedly political. He was a natural born politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. Politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

was his meat and drink, and nothing so delighted him as the opportunity to engage in political discussion in which he was apt to engross most of the time. On the stump

Stump speech (politics)

A political stump speech is a standard speech used by a politician running for office. The term derives from the custom in 19th century America for political candidates campaigning from town to town to stand upon a sawed off tree stump to deliver a standard speech...

he was a formidable antagonist and his experiences in this respect has probably never been equaled in Perry County

Perry County, Indiana

. His knowledge of the roads, streams and by paths, the ravings and hollows, the school houses and places of public resort in Perry county was surpassed by no one.

His grandson, Thomas James de la Hunt, Jr. (1866–1933) wrote this of his grandfather, "He was a marked example of the Old School

Old school

In slang, old school can refer to anything that is from an earlier era. Old school refers to something that is fairly old and not very recent. Depending on the context and intent, the term can imply a high regard or respect, or be a pejorative...

politician, violently unrelenting in many inherited prejudices, and always delighting to dwell reminiscently upon the political triumphs of those early years when–it was his favorite boast–he knew every man in Perry County, his politics, his religion, and the nighest way to his house."

Civil War

Huckeby was a supporter of the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

. In the 1860 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1860

The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...

, Huckeby's southern birth and conservatism allied him with the Constititional Union party

Constitutional Union Party (United States)

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...

, and he was placed upon the Bell and Everett ticket as elector for the First District of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, to which Perry County then belonged. However, in this sentiment he was not upheld by his wife and his two sons who were Lincoln adherents

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. His wife, Rebecca, was a distant cousin of John Henninger Reagan

John Henninger Reagan

John Henninger Reagan , was a leading 19th century American politician from the U.S. state of Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. He served in the cabinet of Jefferson Davis as...

of Texas, Postmaster

Postmaster

General of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

.

In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Governor Oliver P. Morton

Oliver Hazard Perry Morton

Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton , commonly known as Oliver P. Morton, was a U.S. Republican Party politician from Indiana. He served as the 14th Governor of Indiana during the American Civil War, and was a stalwart ally of President Abraham Lincoln. During the war, Morton suppressed the...

of Indiana ordered that Perry County send its muskets to Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

for the war. However, the weapons were removed by local residents and hid on Huckeby's property. A reward was offered for their return, but it was some time until the circumstances connected with the removal of the weapons were divulged.

In 1864, Huckeby entertained Captain Edmund Morgan of the USS Springfield

USS Springfield (1862)

USS Springfield was a steamship purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways....

at his home "Virginia Place". This house, which is still standing, was built during the early 1850s and is believed by locals to be haunted

Haunted house

A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...

. The house remained in the Huckeby/DeLaHunt family from 1856 to 1933. In 2007, Jill Harris Newton published a book about this entitled "Ghosts of the Virginia Place."

His two sons, Captain John Lang Huckeby and William Lamb Huckeby, served in the Civil War

American Civil War

. His daughter, Rachel Littell (Huckeby) Mason was president of the Ladies' Patriotic Aid Association which supplied the Quartermaster-General at Indianapolis

Indianapolis

with much needed clothing for soldiers. Her husband, Judge Charles Holland Mason

Charles Holland Mason

Charles Holland Mason was an 19th century American politician and lawyer. Mason served as United States Commissioner for the Indian Territory from 1890 until his death.-Early life and marriage:...

(1822–1894) served as a colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

during the war. His youngest daughter, Isabelle Huckeby, married Major Thomas James de la Hunt, Sr. (1835–1872) after the war.

Death

Huckeby died at his home "Virginia Place" in Cannelton on the morning of March 22, 1889, at 87 years of age. He was survived by his wife and three children. His funeral took place from St. Luke's Episcopal Church on the 24th. As the oldest Freemason in the county, his local lodge and the neighboring lodges from Tell City, Indiana

Tell City, Indiana

Tell City is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, along the Ohio River, Indiana's southern border. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Perry County.-History:...

and Hawesville, Kentucky

Hawesville, Kentucky

Hawesville is a city in Hancock County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 971 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area...

were in attendance. He was interred in Cliff Cemetery in Cannelton.

His grandson, Thomas James de la Hunt, Jr. (1866–1933) was a well-known writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

and newspaper columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

External links

Joshua Brannon Huckeby at Find A Grave
Find A Grave
Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Family

Early life and marriage

Political career

Civil War

Death

See also

External links