Source: http://pcahs.com/JohnHuddleston/murfreesborolife.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 11:57:12+00:00

Document:
During the first four years in Murfreesboro, Diamond John engaged in only three lawsuits, none of which related to the buying or selling of real estate. Two of these, however, were long battles providing additional insight into the man's abilities as well as his character.
 Cross Reference 4 . Local Brevities, Southern Standard , March 14, 1918, p. 5 (Huddleston selling home to John Riggan; moving to Murfreesboro); Clark County, Deed Book 85, p. 411, WD, J. W. Huddleston to John M. and Emma Riggan, March 26, 1918 (the three acres); Pike County, Personal Tax Record 1918, p. 124, line 18 (entries included two wagons/carriages; a piano; $75 in other household items [a high level for the area]; a firearm; $500 in “monies, credits, and bank balances”; two horses; two mules; three cows; sixteen hogs; . . .; $1,005 total valuations, very high for the area); Shiras, “Arkansas Diamond Discoverer” (comment about the home, where he interviewed Huddleston); Federal Census, 1920, Pike County, Thompson Township, household 15/15. The census-taker recorded three grandchildren living at the home: William Manley, 7; Myrtle Manley, 5; and Martha Manley, 4½. Delia, still with her father, evidently was mistaken for the mother of the children, and was listed as “Delia Manley, 24.” Willie, then 24, was not listed (remarried soon after the census, to J. M. Goodlett, real-estate developer).
Sales of Clark County properties are listed in Cross Reference 1, above. In Pike County, a flurry of buying occurred in 1918-1919, with cash payments of over $12,000 indicated by the following deeds. Very few sales occurred in that period.
John Huddleston's Pike County purchases, 1918-1921 (between the return to Murfreesboro and his second marriage): Pike, Deed Record 30, p. 480 , Warranty Deed, Z. A. and Amanda C. Copeland to J. W. H., October 24, 1918 (price of $1,250, with $800 cash paid and balance by January 1, 1919 [marginal notation: paid in full January 27, 1919], for total of 20 acres: 10 acres, S ½ of S ½ of NE ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec. 9-8-25, and 10 acres, S ½ of S ½ of NW ¼ of SE ¼ of 9-8-25); 34, p. 519 , WD, G. T. and Eula Parker to J. W. Huddleston, June 3, 1918 ($1,050 cash paid, for 40 acres, NW ¼ of NW ¼ of Sec. 16-8-25); 34, p. 537 , WD, Chas. And Ina Parker to J. W. H., July 16, 1918 ($300 cash paid, for a parcel 813' X 425' along Prairie Creek in NE ¼ of NE ¼ of Sec. 17-8-25); 34, p. 543 , WD, Z. A. and Amanda Copeland to J. W. H., June 4, 1918 ($4,000 cash paid, for total of 80 acres, SE ¼ of SW ¼ and NE ¼ of NW ¼ of Sec. 16-8-25); 34, p. 544 , WD, Z. A. and Amanda C. Copeland to J. W. H., July 27, 1918 ($1,346.20 cash paid, for 40 acres, SW ¼ of SE ¼ of Sec. 9-8-25); 37, p. 65 , WD, J. E. and Mary Terrell to J. W. H., December 16, 1918 ($370 cash paid, for 3.7 acres in NW ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec. 9-8-25); 37, p. 282 , WD, R. N. and Ollie Alford to J. W. H., September 2, 1919 ($400 cash paid, for Lots 901 and 903 on Washington St. and Lots 902 and 904 on School St., Kelly's Addition, Murfreesboro); 38, p. 105 , WD, M. W. and Carrie Greeson to J. W. H., June 14, 1919 ($700, with $50 cash paid and balance in annual payments by January 1, 1925; for 6.7 acres, Tracts 24-26 of the Murfreesboro Heights Addition); 38, p. 219 , Special Warranty Deed, R. W. and Ollie Alford to J. W. H., September 2, 1919 ($2,000, with $40 cash and the trade-in of a 1920 Maxwell automobile priced at $1,095 ; a balance of $865 due to Georgia State Savings Association, Savannah [Huddleston assumed a previous mortgage]; for Lot 805 on Conway St., Lot 806 on Washington St., and an adjacent 115' by 189' strip along the N sides of Lot 803 on Conway and Lot 804 on Washington); 39, 472 , WD, J. R. and E. M. Johnson to J. W. H., March 27, 1919 ($1,000 cash paid; for Lot 4, 46' X 54', in Block 18, original Murfreesboro); 47, p. 301 , Warranty Deed with Lien, G. P. and M. E. Crawford to J. W. Huddleston, April 12, 1921 ($2,200, with $100 cash down, note for $700 due by November 1, 1921, and note for $1,400 by November 1, 1922; for 24.5 acres and 30.5 acres, W and E of Prairie Creek, partial SE ¼ of NE ¼ and partial NE ¼ of NE ¼, both in Sec. 8-8-25); 30, p. 595 , WD, J. R. and E. M. Johnson to J. W. Huddleston, November 4, 1921 ($500, with $1 down, $199 due in sixty days and the balance by November 1, 1922; for forty acres, SE ¼ of NE ¼ of Sec. 6-8-25).
Huddleston's Pike County Sales, 1918-1921 : Deed Record 30, p. 481 , WD, D. A. and I. A. Stell to J. W. H., November 8, 1918 ($1,000, with $20 cash paid and balance due by November 1, 1919 [marginal notation: full payment certified by Stell and County Clerk; no date indicated], for Lot 2, Block 5, original Murfreesboro); 30, p. 500 , Warranty Deed, to W. O. Basham, March 31, 1919 ($1,000, with $250 cash down and $250 annually on January 1 [marginal note: paid in full February 22, 1921]; Lots 2-3, Block 4 of Goodlett Addition, a part of NE ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec. 17-8-25); 30, p. 579 , WD, to E. L. Dabney, April 4, 1921 ($800, with $600 cash down and $100 annually for two years, due by April 4, 1923 [satisfied in full September 3, 1938]; 40 acres, NW ¼ of NE ¼ of Sec. 26-8-26); 30, p. 616 , to Mary Wallace (Huddleston's daughter}, December 28, 1921 (stated price of $500, with $165 cash down, 10% interest stated; for part of the E ½ of the SW ¼ of Section 8, a large lot on the north side of Murfreesboro); 43, p. 32 , WD, to Lee J. Wagner (Huddleston's brother-in-law), May 26, 1921 (a stated price of $1,500, with $500 down and $500 annually for two years; Lots 7-12, Block 3 of Goodlett Addition, Murfreesboro); 43, p. 45 , WD, to Z. A.[E?] Copeland, November 3, 1921 (“not exceeding $500,” with $5 cash “and exchange of other property” [unstated price was fully paid; exchanged property not specified]; Lot 10, Kelly Subdivision of Murfreesboro, a part of W ½ of SE ¼ of Sec. 8-8-25); 42, p. 469 , Warranty Deed, to Delia Huddleston (his daughter), December 28, 1921 (stated price of $500; large lot adjacent to that of Mary Wallace, above); 45, p. 505 , WD, to Willie Goodlett (Huddleston's daughter), December 28, 1921 (stated $500, with $200 cash down and balance by January 1923, at 10%; for part of the E ½ of SW ¼ of Section 8, a large lot adjacent to that of Delia, above); “ lost” deed , Huddleston to Eunice Gentry (Huddleston's daughter), “about” December 28, 1921, replacement by Record 55, p. 506 , Quit Claim Deed, J. W. Huddleston to M. C. Barton, November 18, 1936 (no price stated, for Lots 805 and 806, Kelly Addition).
 Fletcher Chenault, “Pike County Destined to Become a Great Golconda,” Arkansas Gazette , October 4, 1920, p. 4.
 Quotation from confidential credit report by Pike County Bank, cited in Credit Department, Republic Paint & Lead Works, Cleveland, Ohio, letter to J. W. Huddleston, Murfreesboro, Arkansas, March 11, 1919, Plaintiff's Exhibit C, Pike County Circuit Court, Civil, David Bernstein v. J. W. Huddleston, August 31, 1920, No. 406, case packet in file drawer 129, third-floor storage room, Circuit Clerk's office, Pike County Courthouse.
As illustrated in this case and in others cited below, Pinnix remained one of Huddleston's principal lawyers as well as his chief financial manager.
 The case packet for Bernstein v. Huddleston contains affidavits and other relevant documents, beginning with the company's letters to Huddleston and his lawyers. The company's Complaint at Law filed in Circuit Court on September 11, 1920, included affidavits of the Justice of the Peace and others. Supreme Court of Arkansas, Huddleston v. Bernstein, Opinion, March 7, 1921, 148 Arkansas 1 1921 [Vol. 148, p. 1 of Arkansas Reports ] , provides a basic summary of previous actions, including the testimony of Huddleston and the renter.
 Supreme Court, Opinion; Circuit, Judgment, No. 406, case packet.
 Appeal from Circuit Court, October 9, 1920, case packet; Supreme Court, Opinion; Order for new trial, May 26, 1921, in case packet, No. 406. Huddleston's Motion for New Trial had listed eleven court errors (Circuit, September 25, 1920, case packet).
 Circuit Record, Civil, D, 41, David Bernstein v. J. W. Huddleston, Judgment, September 28, 1921, No. 406; D, 44, Motion and Granting of Appeal, September 29, 1921; full documentation, case packet. The case file ended with the granting of appeal.
 Quotations from Supreme Court of Arkansas, Huddleston v. Steuart, Opinion–Statement of Facts, April 24, 1922, 153 Arkansas 270 1922; also, Pike County Circuit Court, Civil, R. M. Steuart v. John W. Huddleston, Complaint, April 28, 1921, case No. 428, case packet in file drawer 130, Clerk's Office, third-floor storage, Pike County Courthouse; Answer and Cross Complaint, June 13, 1921; Answer to Cross, no date; Amendment to Answer, September 22, 1921; and other related filings, No. 428, case packet.
 Quoted in Supreme Court, Opinion, 275.
 Steuart v. Huddleston, Judgment, September Term, 1921, No. 428.
 Circuit Record, Civil, D, 85, R. M. Steuart v. John W. Huddleston, Motion of Defendant and Order of Continuance, September 21, 1922, No. 428; D, 85, Stay of Execution, May 21, 1923 (Surety Bond and agreement that Huddleston would pay $280 plus interest to Steuart or to the court within six months, “being the costs adjudged against the defendant” in case No. 428).
In a third, minor case in Circuit Court, Huddleston was awarded $22.50: Record, Civil, C, 538, J. W. Huddleston v. S. R. Graham , Order, March 18, 1920, case No. 311½. The case packet is missing and the court record failed to clarify details. Information in Bernstein v. Huddleston indicates Graham lived in a rental property that Huddleston owned.

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