- T. J. Huddleston, Sr.
T. J. Huddleston, Sr. (
June 1 ,1876 —?) was a prominentAfrican American entrepreneur and community leader inMississippi . He owned dozens of funeral homes in Mississippi. [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-leon-finney-sr-06apr06,1,2983816.story Founded Leon's Bar-B-Q - Employees, Mississippi, Woodlawn Organization - chicagotribune.com ] ] He was the grandfather of former U.S.Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy , MayorHenry Espy ofClarksdale, Mississippi and great-grandfather of Mississippi RepresentativeChuck Espy (D - Clarksdale).Huddleston was also the father of Leon Finney, Sr. (1916-2008), the founder of a popular barbecue chain in
Chicago , who in turn was the father of Leon Finney, Jr. (1938-), a prominent Chicago minister and current president and CEO of the Woodlawn Organization. The Chicago and Mississippi branches of the family retain political ties. [ [http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?zip=60616&last=FINNEY&first=LEON NEWSMEAT ▷ LEON FINNEY's federal campaign contribution search results ] ]Biography
T(homas) J(efferson) Huddleston, Sr. was born on
June 1 1876 . [World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database online] , Humphreys County, Mississippi at http://www.ancestry.com]In 1924, Huddleston founded the
Afro-American Sons and Daughters , a fraternal organization inYazoo City, Mississippi . [http://www.visitmississippi.org/itineraries/themes_african_american_timeline.asp Mississippi Convention and Visitors Bureau: African-American Heritage Timeline] Four years later, he built and operated the Afro-American Hospital in Yazoo. It was Mississippi's first hospital owned and operated by blacks. [http://www.visitmississippi.org/itineraries/themes_african_american_timeline.asp Mississippi Convention and Visitors Bureau: African-American Heritage Timeline]Huddleston's children with his wife Patience included:
* Carrie Huddleston
* Fontaine Huddleston
* Ethel Huddleston
* Lula Huddleston
* T(homas) J(efferson) Huddleston, Jr., (March 2 ,1909 —May 10 ,1990 ) ) [Social Security Death Index [database online] , Thomas J. Huddleston at http://www.ancestry.com]
* Willie Jean Huddleston, (October 22 ,1914 —September 1985) [Social Security Death Index [database online] , Willie Espy at http://www.ancestry.com] mother of Mike Espy and Henry Espy.References
External links
* [http://www.visitmississippi.org/itineraries/themes_african_american_timeline.asp African-American Timeline] at [http://www.visitmississippi.org/ Mississippi Convention and Visitors Bureau]
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