John Joseph HUDMAN

The following bio was taken from page 247 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Gloria Freeman Riley

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

John Joseph Hudman, son of Francis M. and Elizabeth P. Spencer Hudman, was born January 6, 1859 and died February 27, 1943. In 1882 he married Mary Frances Garner (May 11, 1866-December 29, 1894), daughter of Sarah Smith Garner and J. T. Garner.

John, like most farmers of his day, cleared new grounds, split rails to build fences, and helped his neighbors with log rollings. He built his own house of logs, with a stick and dirt chimney.

Mary Frances looked after her children, sewed, cooked, and made soap. To make soap, she would save the ashes from the fireplace, place them in an ash hopper, and pour water through them to make lye water. The mixture of water, fat meat, and hog lard cooked together would turn to soap. A battling block was used to clean the clothes by beating them.

Once a salesman called at the home with a washing machine that cleaned clothes by turning a hand crank, and Mary Frances could not resist. She traded one of John’s calves for the machine. When John returned home and learned of the trade, he was most unhappy. The calf was one of a pair he had been training to work an oxbow.

The oldest child, Viola, at the age of four was with her father in the company of neighbor men who were whittling on pieces of wood. Being interested, she wanted a knife to whittle, and someone gave her his knife. Instead of pointing toward the ground, the knife came up and into her left eye putting out her eye. As of this date, October 1981, she is ninety-seven years old and can tell you of the tragedy.

Mary Frances and her sister, Amanada Garner Nix, died at the same time of pneumonia. They were buried in homemade caskets placed in one box and buried in the same grave. The two mothers left behind six children each, the eldest being Viola, age nine. Viola, Lizzie, and Lucy went to live with their Aunt Nannie Lee Hudman, who had no children. She was a music teacher and taught Viola music. The three boys—Oscar, John Thomas, and Henry—lived with their father.

John Joseph married Mary Jane Arnold in 1895, and they had seven children. Viola married Augustus Marvin Biggs and had six children. Lizzie married Thomas Patrick, and they had three children. Turner married Pearlie Sears, and she bore him three children. Isiah married Velma Cobb. They had one daughter. Levy married Etha Gaddy and they had four sons. Chester married Laura Frances Grubenman. Their only child was a boy. James Davis married Mary Akin. Hubert married Louise Nelson, and they had four children.

Shiloh Cemetery in Rusk county is the last resting place for many of the Hudmans.

Written by Huelitt Biggs Chadwick