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Hello,
We are looking for descendants of Henry Huddleston 1775-1845 who married Martha “Patty” Lloyd. They were my 3rd great grandparents. The family cemetery where he is buried along with several other Huddlestons, Thomas’, Kirby’s, and Clements’ is in Bedford County, VA and was, up until recently, in an active cow pasture. The cows have broken many of the headstones that were not surrounded by a fence and trampled them into the mud. Over the past two years a small but dedicated group of Huddleston and Thomas descendants have traveled from various parts of the USA to Bedford County, VA and worked to remove unwanted invasive species of trees and shrubs and fought hard to get the owner of the surrounding property to fence his cattle out of the cemetery. Henry's Huddleston’s tombstone had been broken off near the bottom and knocked down. We excavated it and moved it inside a small fenced area so the cows could not damage it further.
We have been successful in getting the owner of the cattle and surrounding property to remove the cows from the cemetery area and put up a temporary electric fence to keep them from returning. However, this cemetery is in pitiful condition and we desperately need to put up a secure fence to protect our ancestor’s graves from any further damage. We also need to exterminate a colony of ground hogs that has burrowed into the Thomas area of the cemetery. One of the main problems we ran into when we first undertook this cemetery restoration project is that the cemetery was “excluded” for the sale of the original Huddleston family farm in 1949 and was meant to remain in the care of surviving family members forever. However, the cemetery was never properly surveyed and recorded at the Bedford County Courthouse with its own deed and plat etc. Additionally, the rightful Huddleston owners and heirs did not know that they had inherited the cemetery. Due to shoddy land surveying practices employed in the area the cemetery never received the proper legal protection required by Virginia State Law as the old Huddleston farm was further subdivided and sold off bit by bit.
Fortunately, another descendant who is a Virginia Licensed Land Surveyor and Professional Engineer has conducted the deed research and surveyed the cemetery so that we can ensure that the site is properly protected from now on. Currently, the boundary survey and plat for the cemetery are complete and ready to file. The Articles of Organization for the Huddleston-Thomas Cemetery, LLC have been prepared and put in the mail to the State Corporation Commission. The Quit-Claim Deed is prepared and will be mailed to the heirs next week (the elderly heirs have agreed to sign the cemetery over to a group of younger descendants). A draft Operating Agreement is being prepared (95% complete). This is the real business end of the LLC and will deal with members, meetings, accounting, etc.
So you see all the hard research and legal work has been taken care of and now we are turning our focus toward the physical protection (fencing) and restoration of the cemetery. We are looking for other descendants who might be willing to contribute to the cost of a fence and/or other cemetery restoration needs. We will be getting estimates soon from a fence contractor who also happens to be a descendant and from area stone masons for help in resetting toppled headstones and repairing/replacement of broken headstones.
According to Bedford County Museum Cemetery Survey the others buried there are:
Frank J. Huddleston Jan 20, 1868- Feb 9, 1916
Florrie M. Huddleston Feb 8, 1899-June 15, 1900
Donald Berkley Huddleston Sept 13, 1909-Nov 24, 1935
Fannie E. Huddleston Sep 4, 1872- Apr 3, 1940
Henry S. Huddleston Nov 1, 1834 - Mar 8, 1922
Mary E. Huddleston Aug 18, 1842-June 20, 1907
Fountain P. Huddleston Sep 9, 1874-Oct 28, 1931
Florence Porter Huddleston Oct 10, 1873-Feb 16, 1958
Bettie W. Kirby Clements Oct 17, 1855-Jul 2, 1919
Mary J. Kirby Oct 8, 1823-Mar 25, 1893
Geils Donald Thomas 1873-1945
Louise Elizabeth Yancy 1866-1942
William P. Thomas Nov 3, 1927- Apr 22, 1918 (CSA Civil War Veteran)
Sarah C. Thomas Dec 31, 1833-Mar 31, 1888
John P. Thomas May 13, 1864-Sep 22, 1965
Sarah A. Thomas died Jul 4, 1856 (age 24)
Also, on Thanksgiving Day 2008 we unearthed the headstones of Martha “Patty” Lloyd b. 1778 wife of Henry Huddleston (b. 1775, d. 1845). Her headstone is badly broken and is likely beyond repair. We also unearthed the headstones of Richard Huddleston and his wife Elizabeth (Oyler) Huddleston. They are my 2nd great grandparents. Photographs of the cemetery and the various headstones are available for those interested in joining the cemetery protection/restoration project team.
If you can help in any way, please feel free to contact me at retandkt@earthlink.net or Maryanna Weeks at amweeks@adelphia.net . Please forward this message to anyone else you know researching these Huddleston or Thomas lines.
Sincerely,
Robert Thomas,
Wake Forest, NC
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