Wade
Hampton Huntley was born on January
29, 1824 near “Rock Rest” in Anson
County, NC. He was a son of Thomas
Huntley and Mary Webb “Polly”
Cason. Mary was the descendant of
one of the original settlers of
Jamestown from 1607. Wade Hampton
Huntley who was called “Hampton” was
reared near Brown Creek and also
Lane’s Creek in Union County, NC.
In
1842, Hampton married Martha
Faircloth Rushing, (1825-1911).
Martha was the daughter of Jesse
Rushing and Mary Barrett. Mary’s
mother was an Indian, (possibly a
Catawba) who took the Christian name
of Martha. Her birth name may have
been “Fair- Cloth.” Along this
line, between Jamestown and American
Indian, I feel that I have pretty
much of the history of the continent
covered in my own little way.
Hampton and Martha Huntley had 9
children, and I am descended from
the 8th, (Isadora Norwood
Huntley 1859-1939), who later
married the Reverend Henry Maxwell
Brown, (whose biography you will
also find on Secession Camp’s
ancestor’s list. Hampton and
Martha’s 9th child
Fannie, may possibly figure
prominently later on in this
narrative.
Hampton’s
service to the Confederacy is
interesting and his record is well
documented. He enlisted in Union
County, NC on March 24, 1863 for a
term of 3 years. He was assigned to
Company C, 1st Regiment North
Carolina Heavy Artillery, (10th
North Carolina State Troops) also
known as the “Charlotte Artillery”,
(Capt. Joseph Graham and later Capt.
Arthur B. Williams). His rank was
private. Hampton was listed as
absent without leave from August to
October 1863. Perhaps the birth of
his daughter Fannie on September 1st
had some bearing. Bear in mind also
that Hampton may have already been a
medical doctor in private practice
by this time, as he was already 39
years old. If he were a doctor at
this time though it seems to reason
that he would have been assigned as
such, and with a rank above that of
private. By November of 1863,
Hampton, who served with his son
Thomas, was reunited with his unit
and welcomed back. It is said that
upon his return, he brought fresh
provisions and even new soldiers.
Hampton Huntley remained on the
active muster rolls for the
remainder of the war though often
going unpaid for stretches of many
months. Pvt. Huntley was serving as
of April 26, 1865, the time of Gen.
Johnston’s surrender to the forces
of Gen. Sherman at Bennett Place,
near Durham, NC. Pvt. Huntley was
paroled at Charlotte, NC on May 3,
1865, and returned home to civilian
life.
Dr.
Wade Hampton Huntley was in private
medical practice in North Carolina
until his death. He left home late
one night of December 23, to deliver
a baby. The next morning when his
wife Martha realized that he was not
in bed, nor in the house, she began
a search. Dr. Huntley was found by
a farm hand. Evidently, upon
returning before dawn from the
delivery, he may have decided to
place his doctor’s bag in his office
and/or do some paperwork there. His
doctor’s office was located above
the barn. Most likely, Dr. Huntley
slipped on the icy steps. He
suffered a broken neck. Dr. Wade
Hampton Huntley died on the ground
sometime in the pre-dawn hours of a
snowy Christmas Eve in 1894, about a
month short of his 71st
birthday.
Dr. Wade Hampton
Huntley is the maternal Great
Grandfather of Secession Camp 4
Compatriot Ray Swagerty.
Acknowledgements:
Mr. Virgil Huntley of Mystic, CT
Thomas Huntley, Sr. of Anson County
North Carolina, His Descendants in
the Carolinas and Elsewhere,
by Mr. Virgil Huntley
Mr.
Garey Gulledge
Ms. Dixie Chandler Ross of Mt. Dora,
FL
Confederate muster rolls
