Notes for: John Logan Bodine
Mary Watson's info says he was born in 1833 or 1840. It looks like he appears in the 1880 Census of Galena, Washington Twp., Stone Co., Missouri. He is 45, Delilah is 38, daughter Mary is 13, son John is 10, and daughter Manda is 7. Who is Manda? She wasn't listed in the children I had for them. FamilySearch also says he married about 1857 in Kentucky Town, Grayson County, Texas. They describe this whole family as from there.
From Ronny Bodine:
In 1860, John Bodine was living with his family in Hopkins County, Texas and in 1870 in Grayson County, Texas recorded as J. Bodine, a merchant, and blind. In 1880, the family was living in Washington Township, Stone County, Missouri. John Bodine was again noted as being blind, and engaged in farming.
According to his grandson, John Prebble Bodine, writing in 1959:
John Logan Bodine was a blind horse trader. However, he was very shrewd, and was hard to beat. He traveled a lot, and some of his children were born on the road. His wife finally got sick of it and stayed home. His son William, 17, accompanied him from town to town, selling his wares. At this time, the husband and wife were separated, and William died soon after of tuberculosis. John Logan took up with another woman and had a child, Barney or Barnett. It was not sure if they married or if the child was actually his. John made several trips to Joplin to see his son, James Thomas, and use the place to rest up. Since John was blind, he said he could not stand to stay in one place for long and that was why he left Joplin to be able to ply his trade and stay independent of his children who all had families of their own. John Logan left for Texas with this woman. On several occasions he visited his brother in Taloga, Oklahoma and his brother who lived in Van Buren, Arkansas. He said John Logan married for a third time and had more children.