I've also seen his birth date listed as 1833 and December 28, 1838. In the 1880 Census of Wise County, Texas, James is listed as being 46 years old. This would mean he was born about 1834. Since censuses are taken in the summer (normally), and he was born in December, we can safely assume that his birth year must have been 1833. (He would have turned 47 in 1880, but the census said he was 46.) From the information below, supposedly his tombstone says he was born on December 28, 1844. I think it's safe to assume that 1844 is too late a birthday for James. The tombstone was either incorrect or not correctly read. His oldest daughter, Sarah, was born in 1859 (according to the same 1880 Census). If James were born in 1844, he would have only been 15 when she was born. I think he must have been born in 1833 and the tombstone was read or engraved incorrectly.
One of his descendants in Van Buren, Arkansas (Shareen Hobbs) told me James was married three times. He had three children by his first wife in Texas (maybe Oklahoma). He was divorced from her and married again. The second wife's name may have been Emma. She died and James married a third time. He had nine children from wife number three in Arkansas.
The family in Texas knew nothing about the family in Arkansas, but Shareen said that her great-aunt, James' daughter, Mary Margaret had heard of this other family. The ones in Texas learned of the connection through correspondence between Clarence Prebbles Bodine and J. R. Bodine (son of John Newton Bodine) in 1960.
May 10, 1998: This is some info obtained from the Internet at www.k12.ar.us/pop/parkview.htm. This comes from a field trip that a fourth grade class made to a Bodine homestead on Lee Creek (a tributary of the Arkansas River) in Van Buren, Arkansas. The site said:
"Parkview Elementary School is located in Van Buren, Arkansas, home of the Arkansas AAAA State Championship High School Football Team! Van Buren is located in the foothills of the beautiful Ozarks. Our community of about 18,000 is on the Arkansas River 5 miles from Oklahoma and easily accessible on I-40. Parkview has about 400 students in grades Kindergarten through fourth grade. This 'HomePage' has been created by students who wish to share some of their excitement for learning with others!"
According to the research done by the class, James J. Bodine was born on December 3, 1838. Harriet Roxie Anne Chamberlain born in Monroe County Michigan on July 4, 1872. James J. Bodine married Roxie Chamberlain on August 21, 1888. In 1896, the Bodine family moved to Van Buren, Arkansas. Isaac Watts Bodine was born in Van Buren in 1897. In 1900, William Louis Bodine was born in Van Buren. Edith Mae Bodine was born in Van Buren in 1903. In 1905, James Bodine died near Lee Creek. Wiley Franklin Bodine and Riley Thomas Bodine were born August 20, 1905. Riley Thomas Bodine died September 30, 1905.
"We found graves of the Bodine family with a headstone and footstone. One tombstone read, 'James Bodine born Dec. 28, 1844 (sic?). Died Feb. 1, 1905, husband of Roxie Bodine.' On the back of Bodine's tombstone was carved - 'I have lived a Christian life, God bless my children and my wife.'"
The child's tombstone read "Wiley T. son of James, born Aug. 20, 1905, died Sept. 30, 1905." The year Bodine died Wiley T. was born.
"This hilltop was once a family farm. It was probably like many other homesteads in rural Arkansas. We found other interesting things on the hill; old cans, hinges on a fence pole from an old door, old foundation rocks, but the most fun was sliding back down the hill."
Here are some comments made by the students: "I thought the best part was when we found James Bodine's headstone" (Ciara Hayes). "There were two tombstones of William Bodine and James Bodine" (Kayla Whitworth). "The graveyard was so sad because there were three people buried there named the Bodines" (Chad Moore). "We visted a homestead of the Bodine family where the father and son died" (Heather Titsworth).
"Mr. Gelly talked to us after we followed the compass back to the bus. He used to own and live on this land. He told us about the Bodine family. He knew some of the children of the James Bodine family that are buried in the cemetery. He said that about 400 people are buried in the cemetery on the hiking trail, and many of them were Confederate black soldiers from the Civil War. He told us that a one room school house, Number 43, used to be where there is now a church. He said the foundation which is still on the top of the hill was part of a potato house, and that there were parts of old Model-T cars still there."
The original patent document for ownership of the property was signed by President Martin Van Buren in 1839!
"Then we went back to the Bodine homestead. We found flowers that marked where the Bodine house was located. We used a soil probe and dug holes to try to decide where a garden plot was located. Crystal found soil that was very old. It was a light color. We found pieces of old glass on the surface and deep in the ground using the soil probe..."
"We went to the Ft. Smith Library on April 24th. We went to do research on the James Bodine family. We found out that James Bodine was born in 1884 (sic?) and died in 1905. The Bodine Cemetery is located in the 43 Community on land once owned by Robert Gelly of Van Buren. This was the original Bodine farm. The Fairfield Church and school are located nearby. We also learned that the Bodines had twin sons Wiley and Riley. One of them is buried in the cemetery. The name Wiley is on the tombstone, but it was really Riley that died. The Bodine family didn't have enough money to change the name, but everyone knew it was really Riley that died."
"On May 7th, Mrs. Gwen Kerby came to our room to visit. She is 57 and the grandaughter of Mr. James Bodine that is buried in the cemetery at Lee Creek. She told us about the Bodine family. Her grandfather James Bodine was born in Missouri in 1838 and moved to Texas at the age of 14. While he was in Texas he was in the Civil War. During the time he served in the Civil War he came to Arkansas possibly the Battle of Dripping Springs. There is a story that there is buried Army gold on the hill. He saw the land on the hill and decided then that he wanted to move here. He bought 360 acres of land on Lee Creek from the Charley King family. James was 57 and Roxie 16 when they married on August 21, 1888. He had children older than Roxie from a previous marriage. Mrs. Kerby's father was William, son of James and Roxie Bodine. Roxie Bodine died July 30, 1950. Her funeral was the last all the children were together.
The foundation left on the hill is the remains of a potato house. Mrs. Kerby believes the farm may have been an Indian battlefield because of all of the arrowheads and pottery artifacts found over the years. The other cemetery found on the trail with all the graves in it is called Edgewood Cemetery. She told us about how her grandmother caught the house on fire. They used to hang socks near the fireplace to dry. She threw them in a closet not realizing one was on fire. James put the burning clothes in the fireplace. One man went down the well and got a blanket wet. He put it on the roof to stop the fire. Mrs. Kerby also told us the story about the twins Wiley and Riley. Wiley's name is on the tombstone, but it is really Riley that died. They didn't have the money back then to make another marker for the grave. We really enjoyed Mrs. Bodine's visit and learning about history from her.
Marty Bodine (bodine@pe.net), a great-great-grandson of James Bodine, said he believes that James J. may have been a member of the 9th Texas Confederate Cavalry. The 9th Texas was formed in Northeast Texas.
Marty asked the following questions: I have followed the census records of Andrew, James J.'s father in Texas, and John, who I believe was his brother, but I do not know where James was in 1860. Further, I would like to know where they lived in Missouri. Marriage records seem to indicate Camden, County, but where in Missouri was James born? According to my census records for John Newton Bodine, he, too, was born in Missouri. Again, the question - Where?
Someone has reported that Clarence Prebble Bodine said James J. Bodine was a minister. The info from this person also listed the children of James Bodine and Eliza Henderson as these:
..........i. JOHN NEWTON9 BODINE, b. April 20, 1858, Carthage, Missouri; d. November 08, 1928, Wanette, Oklahoma.
.........ii. ROSA BODINE, b. Abt. 1860; m. HENRY EATSON, Abt. 1881, Wise County, Texas.
........iii. JAMES BODINE, b. Abt. 1861; m. EMMA CARTER, September 08, 1886, Wise County, Texas; b. April 23, 1858; d. June 20, 1888.
More About EMMA CARTER: Burial: Bill Buckner Farm, Bodine Cem. near Sunset, Texas.
No sources for this information were given; so I will leave what I have for now.