Corrine A. Huff
Corrine A. Huff lived an extraordinary life of triumphs and disappointments. She was a beauty with an outgoing personality. Her early achievements were followed by what appeared to be glamorous opportunities, but were to some degree unfortunate entanglements.
Her grandmother Gladys was raised on a farm in western Pennsylvania, and married into a business family living in town, moving up in the world. Gladys and husband Branfield Sheffer had two children, son Branfield Jr., and daughter Dorothy, (Corinne's mother). Successive tragedies struck the young Sheffer family as first the father and then the mother died before Dorothy was four years old. The orphaned children were housed by various aunts, and when Dorothy was six years old, her brother also died, drowned while playing in the Allegheny River. She was moved from place to place out west with the Wonderlings, (a Sheffer aunt & her husband), and eventually her grandfather Sheffer tried to raise her, keeping her from becoming a ward of the state, although by that time she was beyond his abilities to guide her. Dorothy, no doubt much traumatized by events of her childhood and suffering from the instability of shifting caregivers, began at age sixteen an unfortunate series of three failed marriages. To this damaged mother, Corrine was born.
Between Dorothy's first and second marriage, daughter Corrine was born the child of a liaison with a Mr. Huff, a man whose heritage purportedly included among others Scottish, Black, and possibly Native American strains. In the American culture of the forties and fifties, this meant that the Huff family were automatically regarded as of the Black race.
Corrine was not raised by either of her parents, but by Mr. & Mrs. Russell Huff, he being an attorney and the brother of her father. She was possibly adopted by them, as one newspaper reports her as living with "her parents". Corrine lived with the Huff family in New Castle PA where she graduated from high school. The family, or perhaps only Corrine, then lived in Youngstown, OH where she enrolled at Youngstown University, studying to be a teacher.
At age 19 she became Miss Ohio, the first Black woman to compete in a major national pageant. She had been initially the runner-up in this contest until the first place contestant was disqualified and Corrine was promoted to first place. In the spirit of the times, she received hate messages in connection with entering this competition and earning this title. The lifetime effect of this early mixture of achievement and denunciation can only be guessed at. She fulfilled the expectations of her Miss Ohio title by entering the Miss U.S.A. contest, where she was also a semi-finalist.
She became a secretary to Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., who represented Harlem, NYC, from 1945 through 1971, and was the first Black man from NY elected to the U. S. Congress. As chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Powell was instrumental in passing social legislation during the administrations of presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Residents of Harlem took pride in Powell's representation and accomplishments. There was a darker side however. Despite Powell's three marriages, Corrine reportedly became his living companion, enjoying with him jaunts to Europe and elsewhere. He was accused of extravagance and high living at government expense and eventually faced more than one investigation on various charges of corruption and money-laundering practices based in the Bahamas.
Corinne at age 28 married Powell's Bimini-based fishing-boat captain, 25 year old Patrick Brown, but the marriage was brief.
Apparently, some of the money invested in the Bahamas was done in Corrine's name or through a company set up by associates of Powel but nominally headed by her. In her final year however, she reported the funds to have been reclaimed by others. She died in 2006 bereft of access to monetary support.
She was unknown to her mother's side of the family except for her step-siblings until some years after her death. This researcher deeply regrets not having known this complex woman. Her early beauty can be seen in the Aug. 4 1960 issue of JET magazine, where she appears in a swimsuit pose typical of the era's contest entrants. There and in online photographs she strikingly resembles her maternal grandmother Beulah Gladys Kline. See http://www.geocities.com/missusamagica2/MU1960Delegates.html
| Date | Location | Notes | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 14 June 1941 | expect PA | [13] | |
| Marriage, (divorced) | about 24 Oct 1969 | Bimini, Bahamas; Anglican ceremony | to Patrick Brown | [8][11] |
| Death | 17 Feb 2006 | Miami, FL | [8][13] |
Ancestry chart segment
"Generation 1" "Generation 2" "Generation 3"
+-- Beulah Gladys Kline
| (1890-1925)
+-- Dorothy Kline Sheffer --+
| (1918 - ????) |
| +-- William Otis Branfield Sheffer
Corrine A. Huff --+ (1887-1922)
|
| +-- Lafayette Huff
| |
+-- unknown Huff -----------+
(d. bef. 1960) |
|
Russell Huff -----------+
|
+-- Mary Cutshall
Sources: [5]
Places of Residence
| Location | Dates | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton, OH | by June 1950 | Russell Huff family of Dalton, visit to Floyd McCormick (of Bakersville in Coshocton area?) | [7] |
| 3 Tucker Way, New Castle, PA | in 1959 | "with parents" Mr. & Mrs Russell Huff | [3] |
| Coshocton, OH | by July 1960 | living with aunt and uncle, an attorney; working as Youngstown telephone operator; Miss Ohio title | [4] |
| Washington, D.C. | by Aug. 1963 | working for Adam Clayton Powell; trip to Europe | [5] |
| Miami, FL | 2000 | "returned to Miami in 2000" | [8] |
Photo Gallery
Sources
| Ref. Num. | Description | Image of original |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | New Castle News - Miss Ohio competition, New Castle News, July 2, 1960, New Castle, PA. See:,BR.http://search.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=51761&iid=News-PE-NE_CA_NE.1960_07_02_0001&rc=1033,1850,1155,1887;289,4954,371,4991;2248,3762,2423,3895;2083,5071,2230,5108;2251,5071,2356,5108;2042,5183,2149,5220;2149,5366,2231,5403;2187,5550,2270,5587;2046,5696,2123,5733;1857,6800,1944,6837&pid=503547905&ssrc=&fn=Corrine&ln=Huff&st=g "Corrine Huff, 1959 graduate of New Castle High School and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Huff, 3 Tucker Way, is leaving tonight for Miami, Fla. to represent Ohio in the Miss Universe contest... Mrs. Huff said her daughter will be sophomore in the fall at Youngstown University...A brown eyed brunette, Miss Huff plans to teach in the elementary grades. She was a member of the Ne-Ca-Hi drill team." | |
| 4 | Coshocton Tribune - Miss Ohio competition, The Coshocton Tribune, July 2, 1960, Coshocton OH.See: http://search.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=6824&iid=NEWS-OH-CO_TR.1960_07_02_0001&rc=2657,1154,2756,1191;4628,1404,4707,1441;2065,5629,2207,5666;2227,5629,2329,5666;2101,6012,2181,6049;2731,5779,2829,5816;3340,5675,3422,5712;3371,5766,3471,5803&pid=503547905&ssrc=&fn=Corrine&ln=Huff&st=g "Winner of Miss Ohio Title Too Young;Negro Girl, Runner Up, Takes Her Place" - Corrine Huff, a Negro, named Miss Ohio in June 26-27 contest; flew to Miami for Miss U.S.A. contest starting today. Miss Huff, a Youngstown telephone operator...age 19, lives here with her aunt and uncle who is an attorney. As runner-up, Huff was given the title after first place winner Kathy Justice found out she was too young to compete. Competition sponsor said the "contest was a very close one, both in the judges' minds and in the response of the audience". | |
| 5 | Obituary of Mrs Sadie (Huff) Haller, The Coshocton Tribune, Tue. evening April 12, 1960. See: http://search.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=6824&iid=NEWS-OH-CO_TR.1960_04_13_0002&rc=1520,162,1605,199;2187,562,2286,599;2243,867,2372,904;2390,867,2482,904;4600,754,4675,791;1689,4221,1936,4325&pid=503460866&ssrc=&fn=Russell&ln=Huff&st=g Mrs. Sadie Bell Haller, 79, native of Coshocton county, died Monday...She was born April 25, 1880 a daughter of Lafayette and Mary Cutshall Huff and was married 20 Dec. 1905 to Harry H. Haller who died May 14, 1946.... Surviving are two daughters... one brother Russell Huff of this city, two sisters...two brothers are deceased. Member First Baptist Church. Burial South Lawn Cemetery. | |
| 6 | Tucson Daily Citizen - trip to Europe, Tucson Daily Citizen, Wednesday evening, Jan. 8, 1964. See: http://search.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=52141&iid=News-AR-TU_DA_CI.1964_01_08-0014&rc=1021,3208,1110,3241;8273,1717,8370,1750;9218,883,9354,916;8993,921,9082,954;8942,1133,9019,1166&pid=505454606&ssrc=&fn=Corrine&ln=Huff&st=g "One August... Powell disappeared from Washington...gone to Europe to study Economics of Common Market, and equal pay for women. He sailed on the Queen Mary with two companions - Miss Corrine Annette Huff, first American Negro ever to compete in the Miss Universe contest in which she was runner up...Miss Huff was listed as a congressional clerk. | |
| 7 | The Coshocton Ohio Tribune - Russell Huff family of Dalton, Sat. evening June 17, 1950, Pg. 5, col. 6 under "Bakersville".See: http://search.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=6824&iid=NEWS-OH-CO_TR.1950_06_17_0005&rc=2030,2108,2162,2133;4575,1071,4783,1096;929,3429,1075,3479;2796,2421,2879,2446;3028,2479,3107,2504;2700,2629,2777,2654;1549,4938,1682,4963;2392,4567,2465,4592;2445,4683,2524,4708;3417,4154,3558,4192;3578,4154,3658,4192;3589,4808,3744,4846&pid=498287621&ssrc=&fn=Russell&ln=Huff&st=g "The Russell Huff family of Dalton visited Floyd McCormick Sunday." Note: Dalton OH is on Rt. 30 just west of Massilon OH. Bakersville not located on OH or PA maps in Youngstown/New Castle area. | |
| 8 | Transcription from this site, no longer available: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_13_109/ai_n16346254/?tag=content;col1 "A former secretary of Harlem Rep. Adam Clayton Powell and the first Black woman to win a USA state beauty pageant, Corrine Huff-Brown, died in Miami at the age of 64. In Bimini, she married boat Captain Patrick Brown but divorced him a few years later. Spending most of her years in the Bahamas, the beauty pioneer returned to Miami in 2000." | |
| 9 | Book,Masters of Paradise, Organized Crime and the Internal Revenue Service in the Bahamas, by Alan A. Block. See: http://books.google.com/books?id=trFcGY20LX8C&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=%22Corrine+Huff%22+-Connie&source=bl&ots=PJrPZ8ahFg&sig=_pRWOKZz18TrgA4oNdK4a3eVl0U&hl=en&ei=iac2SpGJIInwMuX0kf8J&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7 p. 75 "Three days after the Post story (Bahamian Prime Minister)Pindling was in New York announcing he was going to make it more difficult for racketeers to use the Bahamas as a haven for illegal business. But a new note of discord had crept into the proceedings. Reporters wanted to know if he had any business connections or links with Rep- (p. 76) resentative Adam Clayton Powell, the tarnished New York Democrat, then living on Bimini island in the Bahamas. At that moment, Powell was under investigation by a congressional committee for various misdeeds. Pindling said he had no significant business connections with Powell. He did admit when pressed, though, to a minor and meaningless exception. The prime minister owned a share in Huff enterprises, a Bahamian corporation set up by some of Powell's associates and headed by Corrine Huff, a former beauty queen and Powell's mistress who appeared on his congressional payroll as a secretary. The company had been organized to secretly funnel money from the States into Bahamian ventures." | |
| 10 | Bimini Museum Website/Famous Visitors,with photo of Powell. See: http://www.biminimuseum.com/famous_visitors.html "US Congressman The Rev Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, the grandfather of the American civil rights movement, came to Bimini in the mid 1960s. Taken by the beauty of the island and the friendliness of the people he acquired a home on South Bimini. His fishing yacht, Adam's Fancy, was tied at Brown's Dock...While in Bimini, his companion, Corrine Huff --- a beautiful woman who had won the Miss Ohio competition and was a contestant for Miss America, left Powell and married his Bimini boat captain, Patrick Brown. Their wedding was featured in JET magazine. " | |
| 11 | Time Magazine Oct 24, 1969. See: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901612,00.html "Married. Corrine Huff, 28, onetime beauty queen and former secretary and No. 1 companion to high-living Congressman Adam Clayton Powell; and Patrick Brown, 25, until recently Powell's Bimini-based fishing-boat captain; both for the first time; in an Anglican ceremony; in Bimini, the Bahamas." | |
| 12 | Jet Magazine, 2 Oct 1969, p. 7 photos of Corrine Huff, Adam Clayton Powell.See: http://books.google.com/books?id=jDgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=cORRINE+HUFF&source=bl&ots=qOv5ebjWz4&sig=h6B-H7P0CJZY3_SgqcWnUGGJ9ik&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Article notes separation of the two for reasons unknown. (This publication was shortly before her marriage to Patrick Brown) | |
| 13 | Ancestry.com Social Security Death Index - Corrine A. Huff Brown
• Name: Corrine A. Huff Brown SSN: 160-34-5740 Last Residence: 33173 Miami, Miami-Dade, Florida Born: 14 Jun 1941 ; Died: 17 Feb 2006 State (Year) SSN issued: Pennsylvania (1958-1960) | |
| 14 | Personal correspondence with living Barry, 2006 ongoing; grandson of Beulah Gladys Kline and W. O. B. Sheffer. | |
| 15 | Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams, granddaughter of Winnifred May Kline. | N/A
|
