James Marion Huffman

James Marion Huffman was born on 3 February 1855 in Barren County, Kentucky to Francis Marion Huffman and Nancy Jane Pedigo Huffman^[1]. When James was 6 years old his father and 2 uncles left home to join the Union Army during the Civil War^[2]. This would have begun a difficult time for young James. Barren County during the Civil War was a dangerous and scarey place for a child. The people of Barren County were split in their loyalties between the Union and the Confederacy. To add to the tensions there were many small skirmishes between soldiers of both armies. It was a very difficult and frightening time for the residents of the area. (Francis) Marion returned from the Army in 1863 because he was injured after his participation in the Battle of Shiloh^[2]. The bones in his foot were shattered by a bullet to his right foot. Surgeons had to remove the bones that had shattered. This left James with little use of his right foot and made farm labor very difficult. James eventually died as a result of complications (gangrene) of his injuries in 1874^{[2], [6]}. His children probably had to do extra farm chores to assist their partially crippled father. In 1865 the oldest brother of James died.

On 23 June 1883³ James Marion Huffman married Mary Buell Baldock. According to the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records the family lived in their home in Temple Hill, Barren County, Kentucky. According to family lore, they lived in the house of the parents of James. I do not know if this is true, however, I do know the house had the family cemetery on the property. James and Mary had 7 children in their 35 year marriage. Mary Baldock Huffman died on 26 of February 1918⁴ at the age of 55. According to her death record she died of "cancer of the womb". James Marion died on 5 January 1927 in Glasgow, Kentucky⁵ at the age of 71.

James Marion Huffman and Mary (Baldock) Huffman had the following children:

• Sherman Arthur Born 24 May 1884 Died 2 Jul 1974
  Married Iva Belle Smith
• Otha M. Born 25 May 1886 Died 19 Oct 1945
• Nannie May Born 19 Nov 1890 Died 15 Feb 1935
  Married William Delmar Rigsby
• Mattie S. Born 30 Jan 1893 Died 13 Jan 1977
  Married Frank Bray
• Carl Thomas Born 21 Jun 1895 Died 21 May 1981
  Married Goldie May Bray
• William Marion Born 20 Apr 1898 Died 18 Dec 1986
  Married Mary Elizabeth Smith
• Mary Earle Born 9 May 1903 Died 6 Apr 1994
  Married John Rigsby

According to family stories, James was considered a wise man and many people came from near and far to hear his advice. Despite the fact that several of the Huffman children moved to Illinois, they remained close until their deaths. James Marion Huffman died on 5 January 1927 at the age of 72 of bronchial pneumonia^[8]. His death was reported by his son Sherman.

Mary Buell Baldock

Mary Buell Baldock was born on 16 May 1862⁴ to James Thomas Baldock and Martha Leah Pedigo. Like her husband, Mary's father served in the Civil War from 1861 to 1863. In 1863 her father contracted Tuberculosis while serving in the Union Army and was honorably discharged due to disability⁵. Her father survived Tuberculosis and in 1870 the family was living in Montgomery, Gibson County, Indiana⁶. The family did not stay in Indiana for long though and moved back to Barren County. The 1880 United States Federal census showed Mary living in the household of her future brother-in-law Jonathan Clark Huffman where she is listed as a servant and housekeeper in his home. Also living in the household of Jonathan Clark Huffman was his wife Mary Jane Pedigo and his mother Olive Pedigo Huffman. Mary Baldock was the great niece of Olive and the cousin of Mary Jane Pedigo. I do not believe Mary was actually employed by Clark Huffman, rather she was merely helping out. My reason for believing this is simple. The day the enumerator came to document the census was the same day Mary Jane Pedigo Huffman gave birth to her son Charles Thomas Huffman. The Huffmans already had 7 young children living in the house as well as Jonathan Clark's 80 year old mother. I believe Mary was there to take care of the entire family, cook for them and perhaps assist her cousin in her labor. Mary's parents were on the same page of the census so it is clear they lived very near to the Huffman family. Mary married James Marion Huffman in 1883 and raised 7 children with him. The Huffmans had over 30 grandchildren, many of whom were born after their deaths. Based on newspaper articles I have from Glasgow, Mary was very active in the local school. Mary's life was cut short by cancer "of the womb" on 26 February 1918 at the age off 55^[7].

I would like to make a notation here about the name of Mary, in particular her middle name. I have seen another website that has referred to her as Mary Belle not Buell. The photograph you see on this page has a notation on the back of the photo that names her Mary Buell Baldock. Through process of elimination, I believe that is her handwriting on the back of the photo. Another inscription on a family photographs also references her middle name as Buell. Although it can never be known for sure, it is possible her middle name is in honor of Don Carlos Buell who was a Major-General at the Battle of Shiloh in the Civil War. Mary's father James Baldock was a soldier who fought in this famous battle and any memory of him would have been fresh at the time of Mary's birth in 1863.

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