Joshua Henrod Budd was born near Ottawa in Putnam County, Ohio on 3 April 1873, the only child of Zina Budd and Samantha Boggs. His father died when he was just two years old, in 1875. His mother died just a few years later, in 1881. Young Joshua lived with his grandparents, John & Julia Boggs, for a time. By 1900, however, he was in another state, working as a farm hand and living with an unrelated family.
He married Goldie Pearl Pargin in Lawrenceville, Illinois, 2 October 1912. Although the couple had nine children, only 4 survived to adulthood. They lost four as infants and one son, James Arthur, at the age of 5. The couple divorced in 1935, and Joshua lived with his son Richard in Putnam County, Ohio, then stayed with his son John's family in Marshall, Illinois. He died 24 May 1950 in the State Hospital in Alton, Illinois, over 160 miles away from his family. He was returned to Marshall for burial in the city cemetery, but had no stone.
I wonder if Joshua felt connected to his family or if he felt he were living in solitude? He often had people around him, but they never seemed to be the same people for a very long time, and tragedy often struck the family.
No comments:
Post a Comment