The earliest recording of a Luffman ancestor in
America occurred when a William Luffman sailed from
Bristol, England and landed in Anne Arundel County, MD
in 1658. There were two more Luffman males who later
were transported from Bristol to Anne Arundel Co., MD.
Daniel Luffman in 1660, and another William Luffman,
in 1665.
The relationship between these three men is
yet unknown. A recent finding suggests they may have
been brothers. There are bits and pieces of
information, including a will for a William Luffman of
Anne Arundel Co., MD dated 1676. The will lists his wife
Elizabeth and his sons William and James. Another
source refers to additional children but doesn't name
them.
Daniel Luffman paid for passage of at least six
people to come from England to work on his land in
Virginia.
The last item found in MD is the murder of Roger Kemble
by his wife who then escaped into Virginia with a William
Luffman!
From early in 1700 until 1798, Luffmans lived and
farmed in Currituck and Pasquotank Counties in North
Carolina. It's difficult to sort records as
many of the males were named William.
There are two wills dated 1798 in Paquotank County, NC where
William Luffman Sr. and William Luffman Jr. both perish within weeks of some accident or disease. This must have dealt
a real blow to the remaining family.
William Jr.'s two brothers
Edward and Owen also died within the next couple of years.
William Jr.'s will named his wife Ann and sons John and
Miles. The will also mentions "the unborn child my wife
now carries". This child has been proven to be a male named William (NC orphan records).
Ann Luffman is found in 1800 census living by herself
in Halifax County, Virginia. There is no mention of her
three boys until John shows up in Stokes Co., NC selling
his Pasquotank Co. land that was bequeathed him.
Two years later, again, in Stokes Co., brother Miles sold his
Pasquotank Co. land. John and Miles were both in their late teens when these two land deeds transpired.
Younger brother William is found in Guilford Co., NC in about 1816, named
in orphan dockets.
There are misc. records on all three boys in the North Carolina counties of; Guilford,
Surry, Stokes, Wilkes, and Ashe.
It is these three boys; John, Miles, and William who start three of the five main Luffman branches.
There are five identifiable branches of the American Luffmans. The Wilson Luffman branch beginnings remain a mystery. We don't know who Wilson's parents were, or how is connected. This is an ongoing focus and it's possible DNA testing could help solve this puzzle.
Miles, son of William Jr., probably started the Tennessee branch
of Luffmans. It is unclear at this time
whether Miles himself ever made it to Tennessee.
The names of Miles several children and that of this wife are yet unknown. We have not found them in any post-1840 census or other
records. By process of elimination and the dates/locations of records we do have, there is a great deal of evidence that suggests
Milton H Luffman was a son of Miles Luffman.
Milton was born in 1817 in Guilford County, NC. Milton married Lucinda Perdue
on 28 May 1836 in Surry County.
They moved around: their first child Robert was born in Russell County, VA in 1837,
2) daughter Nancy was born in 1842,
3)Benjamin N. was born in 1845 in Surry County,
4)John T. was born in 1846 in Cherokee County. In 1850, the
family was living in Monroe County, TN where
5)William Franklin Luffman
was born.
Their last child, Elizabeth (Jennifer) was born in 1856, also
in Monroe County, TN.
In 1860 they are found back in Cherokee Co, NC, and by 1870
they are in Dickson County, TN.
The 1880 census lists Milton H Luffman as living with his married
daughter, Elizabeth Elliott (married Millard Fillmore Elliott) in
Dickson County, TN. It also states his wife (Lucinda) died that year.
The Elliotts later moved to Texas, but not until the turn of the century.
Milton and Lucinda's family
The Georgia Luffman branch began with John Luffman, son of William
Luffman Jr. and Anne. John was born in NC abt 1794. John married a woman
named Priscilla, her last name is unknown. They lived in Surry Co., NC for
several years, relocating to Murray Co., GA in about 1860. John and
Priscilla had five children;
All the children were
born in North Carolina. Their son William (b. 1820) never married. He was
an attorney, and served the Confederate Army of Georgia during the Civil
War, rising as high as Lt. Co. in the 11th of GA.
John and Priscilla's family:
The Florida Luffman branch began with William Luffman.
William was the youngest son of William Luffman Jr. who passed away
in 1798 in Pasquotank Co., NC and his wife Anne. William Luffman
married Charity Watson on 12 February 1820 in Guilford Co., NC. William and Charity Luffman had six children that we know of:
All of these children were born in NC. William and Charity Luffman,
along with their children moved south, finally settling in the state of
Florida.
If you're interested in the Florida Luffman branch, there
was a book published in 1968 by Mrs. Leoneade M. Ramsey entitled
"The Luffmans And Allied Families 1710-1967".
It's out of print, but copies do still exist. The Mormon church microfilmed the book.
The film number is 103578.
The first evidence we've found of Luffmans in New York is a discharge from military service for John Luffman at Constitution Island dated 1779. It describes him as "aged 21 years, five feet ten inches high, dark complexion, light brown hair, blue eyes, born in North Carolina, blacksmith by trade." He began his service in the cause of the Revolution with the 1st NC Regiment in Col. Thomas Clark's Company, then served in Hathorn's Regiment and Weissenfels' Regiment of the NY Militia. The DAR Patriot Index reports he was born in 1751, died in NY in 1841, married 1) Christina Weaver, and 2) Polly Keeler. When John applied for his veteran's pension in 1818, he was living in Claverack, Columbia County, NY, with wife Polly, her children Jacob, Christina, and Sally and their two children Thomas, aged 4 and Eve Ann, aged 1.
Eve Ann and another daughter, Jane Ann were christened on 22 July 1831 at Christ's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Ghent, Columbia County.
From this information, we know John was a contemporary of William Luffman, Sr., who died in Pasquotank County in 1798, Lazarus Luffman, and Philip Luffman, at least cousins but possibly brothers.
A local physician's diary contains many notations of John Luffman (Loveman)and his family in the town of Clermont, beginning March 25, 1789. It lists visits by the doctor, treatments, and payments, although not naming other family members. School records of the day report attendance by John, William, and Polly Luffman, ages unknown.
We presume the Luffmans subsequently found in NY are descendants of John and Polly. So far, we have not yet linked the families identified in the following data but continue to work on it. You are invited to participate.
The US Census contain no Luffmans in NY for 1790 or 1800 but the 1800 count for Columbia County lists a John Loveman, probably the Revolutionary War veteran. In 1810, he was listed in Columbia County, William Lufmon was in Schoharie County, and Samuel Luffman is in New York County. The 1820 Census shows John still in Columbia County, Jacob Luffman in Schenectady County, and William in Saratoga County. In 1830, a 41-year-old John Luffman married Mrs. Betsey Cooley in Charlton, Saratoga County.
William Luffman is listed as living in Bath, Steuben County. In September 1830, Matilda Luffman, 21, married Maro Eaton in Charlton; a witness was John Luffman, Jr.
Sally Luffman Simmons and Jacob Simmons' son William Simmons was christened in 1807 at Red Church, Tivoli, Dutchness, NY. John and Catherine Luffman's daughter Lena as christened on 13 April 1823 at St. John's Lutheran Church, Manorton, Columbia County.
In 1840, Thomas Luffman was living in Ghent, Columbia County. He is likely the son of John, the Revolutionary War veteran. In the same census, John D. Luffman lived in Albany, Renssela County and Abraham Luffman was in Wayne, Huron County.
On 1 February 1848, Eveline M. Luffman died at the age of 1 year and 6 months in Saratoga County and was buried in Middleton Cemetary, Halfmoon. Her parents were J.D. and Jane Luffman. On 8 June, 1848 in Wolcott, Wayne County, Scynthia Luffman, 22, married William Carrier, 23. John D. Luffman died in Glenville at age 55 on 12 October 1864. Wife Jane E. Luffman died 31 December 1877, also in Glenville.
In the 1850 Census for Wayne County, Abraham Luffman is listed as living in Wolcott. He was born in 1796 in NY. Also in the household are wife Maria, 51, William 22, Charlotte, 17, Chester, 15, Mary, 11, George, 10, and Gordon, 13. All family members were born in NY.
Land records in Wayne County contain many references to transactions by William C. and Amelia Luffman, Abram Luffman, Chester, George, Luffman from 1849 till the late 1860's. Olin S. Luffman married Ester M. Swart on 13 January 1863 in Schenectady. He died there in 1909. A history of Schenectady reports Charles A. Luffman born in Saratoga County 22 December 1858 but living in Schenectady. James B. Luffman married Mary Ann Mather on 14 February 1842 in PA. He died in NYC in 1847. They had two children, Martin Mather Luffman (1843) and Sarah Ann (1844).
A Canadian branch of the NY Luffman is presumed to have begun with the marriage of James Luffman to Susan Wagar in Fredericksburg, Ontario in 1839. James was born in NY in 1818 but his family affiliation is not yet known. We think he may be the son of Jacob Luffman, reported in Schenectday County in 1820. Susannah Luffman and James Luffman's children were Thomas (1839), Mary Jane (1841) Elizabeth (1847), Hannah (1849), William (1853), Margaret (1855), Shadrach (1856), Peter Davis (1857), Eliza (1859), James (1866), George (1868), and Ebinezer (1863). This information and much more has been gathered by Margie Luffman, a Luffman descendant and member of the United Empire Loyalists. For more on the Canadian branch, contact Margie Luffman (email link located on Luffman Homepage in table "Luffman's Online").
