William Huddleston
3rd generation
son of Henry Huddleston, Jr.

William was my 5g-grandfather.
He was probably born July 6, 1733 in Plumstead twp, Bucks Co, Pa.
Plumstead was organized in 1725.  English Friends moved northward through the woods along the Delaware River from Lower Bucks.  Francis Plumstead, a London businessman, received 2,500 acres from William Penn, though he never went there.  Most early settlers were English Quakers. Plumstead Friends Meeting, founded in 1727, was the township's first religious establishment.

William was named for his uncle, William Huddleston, and for his great-grandfather William Cooper.

Maybe 19-year-old William was amazed to hear that the first lightning rod, by Benjamin Franklin, was erected in Philadelphia in 1752.

He married Martha Myer, Aug, 19, 1758.   He was an early settler of Langhorne, and was a shoemaker by trade.

At right is a 1770 map of Virginia.  Bedford County is #6.
About 1770 he went south down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and settled in Bedford Co., Va (near Roanoke) along with his brothers, Daniel & Abraham and sister Huldah Montgomery.  Just south of the town of Bedford, (Bedford Co) Va. is a town called Huddleston, near what is now Smith Mountain Lake (from the dammed up Roanoke River).
William may have fought in the Revolutionary War there.

About 1785-93 he and his brother Daniel moved northwest to Kanawha Valley, Va (now near Charleston, WV).  Brother Abraham died in 1785 in Bedford Co, so perhaps that's why his family didn't move with them.  There was a William Huddleston listed in an early Virginia census of 1801 living in  the Armylands, Va. Military District.  (This must be son, William Jr.  I don't know who else it could be.  William Jr. didn't have any cousins named William.)

William died in 1817/22 in Kanawha Valley, (W)Va.  All of his sons left the Valley and moved West.
Sons:
William Jr, John "Boomer", & Nathan moved to Champaign Co, OH.
Abraham moved to Smith Co, Tn, then to Pope Co, IL then to Oregon Co, MO.
Henry also went to Smith Co, Tn where he probably died.  Some of his children ended up in Missouri, Arkansas & Texas.
Thomas went to Montgomery, Ind.
Daniel moved to Illinois
Polly remained unmarried and moved to Oregon Co, Mo with Abraham.
Not sure where Rebecca, Elizabeth and Patsy went.



Legend for above map:
1. Accomack County   2. Albemarle County   3. Amelia County   4. Amherst County   5. Augusta County   6. Bedford County   7. Brunswick County   8. Buckingham County   9. Caroline County   10. Charles City County   11. Charlotte County   12. Chesterfield County   13. Culpepper County   14. Cumberland County     15. Dinwidie County   16. Elizabeth City County   17. Essex County   18. Frederick County   19. Fairfax County   20. Fauquier County   21. Gloucester County   22. Goochland County   23. Halifax County   24. Hampshire County   25. Hanover County   26. Henrico County   27. Isle of Wight County   28. James City County     29. King and Queen County   30. King George County   31. King William County   32. Lancaster County   33. Loudon County   34. Louisa County   35. Mecklenburg County   36. Middlesex County   37. Nandsemond County   38. New Kent County   39. Norfolk County   40. Northampton County   41. Northumberland County   42. Orange County     43. Pittsylvania County   44. Prince Edward County   45. Prince George County   46. Prince William County   47. Princess Ann County   48. Richmond County   49. Southampton County   50. Spotsylvania County   51. Stafford County   52. Sussex County   53. Surry County   54. Warwick County   55. Westmoreland County   56. York County