The Bobbitt Family In America
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[13]James Bobbitt was born in Orange County, Indiana near Valeene. He was the seventh son and tenth child of John Huse and Catherine (Goble) Bobbitt. There were thirteen children in the family. His father was a minister of the Gospel who raised his children with strict discipline. The family was poor and although they all worked hard on a small farm, their poverty was seldom relieved.
When James was 21 years of age he married Martha E. Smith. They had three boys and one girl. In 1884 Martha Bobbitt died. The eldest of her children, John Franklin Bobbitt was just eight years of age at the time. The children were:
John Franklin Bobbitt born Feb. 16, 1876 Emma Beatrice Bobbitt born Apr. 26, 1878 Arthur Garfield Bobbitt born Feb. 6, 1880James Douglas Bobbitt born Jul. 26, 1883
After the death of his first wife, James Bobbitt married Elizabeth E. Gresham, on March 13,1885. They were married in Crawford County and made their home there for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth Bobbitt became the careful mother of her four stepchildren and gave birth to seven children, three of whom died in infancy. The children who lived to maturity were:
Ivan Cecil Bobbitt born Jun. 3, 1888
Grave Leons Bobbitt born Jan. 23, 1890 Dora Monselle Bobbitt born Nov. 21, 1891 Edna Fern Bobbitt born Jul. 20, 1698
James Bobbitt was born when his mother was 37 years of age. Although the family was poor, the children were all highly intelligent and interested in school and every form of self-education.
There are numerous accounts of the activities and accomplishments of James Bobbitt, including one in the "History of Crawford County", by Pleasant. An excellent biography was written in the "English News" of Crawford County at the time of Reverend James Bobbitt's death.
When James was 16 years of age he was baptized by his father, Elder John H. Bobbitt, of the Christian Church of Valeene. The deeply religous family led James to become an Elder of the chruch and later an ordained minister of the Christian Church. James was called a minister of the Gospel, a farmer, and educator, superintendent of schools, politician, and an outstanding citizen.
"James Bobbitt was born September 12, 1854 on the old farm near Valeene, Indiana. Here he grew to manhood and obtained the scant education offered in the district schools at that time.
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