Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Moulse-Huff Genealogical Collection, Accession #2012.1.06, Roanoke Public Libraries, Roanoke, VA

Acquisition Information

Donated by Connie Mattox

Biographical Note

Helen Huff Moulse (1910-1997) was a lifelong resident of Salem, Virginia. She married fellow Salem resident George Hampton “Hamp” Moulse in 1933 and raised two children. In the 1970s she began researching her family history. In 1981 she completed paperwork tracing part of the Huff lineage to Revolutionary War soldier John Huff and became a member of Daughters of the American Revolution. She continued to research her genealogy until the 1990s, compiling the letters, charts, and documents that form this collection. She belonged to Ridgewood Baptist Church in Salem for many years. The Moulse family has lived in Southwestern Virginia for many generations. The Moulse, Mowles, Aliff, Adams and Mattox families are all well-represented in this collection. There is also material about the Oklahoma branch of the Mowles family. Moulse/Mowles family reunions were held in Mowles Spring Park in Salem, VA starting in 1979. The Huff family has also inhabited Southwestern Virginia for many generations. John Huff, Sr. originally lived in Pennsylvania, but later settled in Virginia after participating in the American Revolution. The family married into the Cannaday, Early, and Richardson families.

Scope and Content

The Moulse Huff Genealogy Collection consists of seven boxes of documents – five record boxes and two oversize boxes – stored in the Special Collections in Virginia Room. Materials contained within the collection include handwritten notes and correspondence, photocopies of original records such as marriage and death certificates, snapshot and portrait photographs in black and white, color, negative, and photocopy form, memorial booklets from funerals and brochures about local places, photocopied excerpts from published books, and numerous newspaper clippings, including obituaries, marriage announcements, and articles featuring relatives. Much of the collection is pedigree charts, family trees, and family group sheets that list married couples and their offspring. Oversize materials include copies of records and very large hand-drawn Moulse family tree charts. There is also a large scrapbook featuring Moulse family history and family reunions. Also, two tintype photographs There are photocopies of document such as will and marriage licenses dating back to the early 1800s, but the earliest original documents are photographs from about 1890. There are also original marriage, will, and death records and a few pieces of correspondence from the 1930s. The bulk of the collection consists of photocopies of historic material, original notes and correspondence, color snapshots and portrait photographs, and genealogist’s family group sheets and pedigree charts created in the 1980s and 1990s. Folder titles are chosen to describe the bulk of the folder’s contents, not every name included. Although the collection is nominally organized by last name, information about surnames is actually found throughout the collection. Information about the Huff family is not found exclusively in folders labeled Huff, but may also be found in Moulse, Cannaday, and other names. Only about half of the photographs in the collection are identified. The Moulse, Mowles, Aliff, Adams and Mattox families are all well-represented in this collection. Most documents such as marriage licenses, armed service records and wills are photocopies of original records, but there are original documents for G. Hampton Moulse and some of his siblings. This collection includes invitations and informal photographs from the reunions. The Huff family married into the Cannaday, Early, and Richardson families. Most documents such as marriage licenses, armed service records and wills are photocopies of original records, but there are early photographs of the Huff and Richardson families.

Arrangement

Documents are arranged in groupings by last name, with oversize documents stored separately. A few non-name documents grouped by location.