Are you researching Acuff, Ecoff, Eckoff, Eickhoff or any spelling variants -- regardless of the origin of the surname or location? If so, then welcome "home"! This is the place to learn and share research about your ancestry.

The first Acuff/Ecoff/etc. genealogy homepage went on-line on March 12, 1996. The Acuff.org domain went "live" in February, 1999.

How did it happen? During 1995, a group of "hard-core" Acuff/Ecoff genealogy researchers across the U.S. tossed around the idea of creating a formal archives to centralize the documents we were collecting and distributing by mail. Our goal is to place the original research and documents we collect in a repository where the material will be preserved and made available to anyone researching this most-mysterious family. We also want to make research material available on the Web.

In addition to all that activity, we are in the midst of a DNA study to confirm historical lineages that can't be documented through traditional, paper methods. We are also updating the family history compiled by Knoxville, Tennessee, attorney Judd Acuff in the 1920's-1940's, with the hope of identifying every single Acuff/Ecoff/etc. descendant who ever lived in the world.

We now have more than 100 active researchers, world-wide, in the group!

About the Archives

In order to collect documents, share information, and identify Acuffs/Ecoffs/etc. more quickly, we thought it would be appropriate to organize the Acuff Archives and publish a quarterly newsletter of our activities. We also have a free, on-line discussion list (click "Cuzzins List" on the menu). The name of the organization quickly became Acuff-Ecoff to include all the spellings we've identified.

We need your help! Please send details about your immediate family and your Acuff ancestry as far back as you know it. You may either e-mail the information to the volunteer Coordinator, or you may send it via the US Snail to the Coordinator's address shown on the "Contacts" page (link above right).

We also hope you'll join us in our research by posting a query, joining our free mailing list, and subscribing to our quarterly printed newsletter. Surplus funds from newsletter subscriptions and donations from researchers pay for housing of this domain and research costs -- copies from libraries and similar costs.

The Archives Collection

The Acuff/Ecoff/etc. Archives Collection presently comprises approximately 18 linear feet of documents and books and 500 megabytes of digital data. It presently resides in the home of the volunteer Research Coordinator, but it is available for viewing by appointment. Ultimately, the collection will be deposited in one or more genealogical libraries in the United States where it will be preserved according to archival standards and made accessible to any researcher.

Documents and artifacts in the Archives are donated by researchers or acquired by the Research Coordinator with surplus funds from the quarterly newsletter budget or cash donations by researchers.

Purposes of the Acuff/Ecoff Archives

• Locate, copy, catalogue, preserve, and distribute (upon request) every genealogically-and/or historically-significant source document for ACUFFs/ECOFFs (and other spellings). Typical documents are shown in the table below.
• Identify every ACUFF/ECOFF/etc. immigrant to the United States and trace his/her lineage as far as possible in the European homeland.
• Correctly generate descendant charts for every immigrant ACUFF/ECOFF/etc.
• Assist ACUFF/ECOFF/etc. descendants in correctly preparing pedigree charts.
• Provide a forum for information exchange among ACUFF/ECOFF/etc. researchers worldwide.

Each paper or digital document and artifact in the Archives collection will be indexed, and that index database will accompany the material to its permanent home. Eventually, a copy of the index, with the accompanying document accession numbers, will be available on the Acuff.org Web site.

The Archives Collection is available for review by any researcher by appointment. Most documents can be scanned and sent by electronic mail. Paper copies are also available, but the Research Coordinator requests that photocopying and postage costs be paid in advance.

Care to Share?

Share your research, document copies, genealogy databases files, photos, and other materials today!

Contact the Research Coordinator for instructions. Details are on the "Contacts" link, above right.

If you need financial assistance for copying and postage, please send a description of the items and an estimate of the cost.

Sample Documents in the Archives Collection