By Beverly Belcher Woody
This week, we bring to a close—at least for now—our ongoing series on the children of Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett. We end with the story of their fifteenth child, Hosea Puckett, and his devoted wife, Sarah Ann Young. We may return later to explore the lives of the remaining Puckett children whose stories still whisper through the hollows and ridges of Patrick and Carroll Counties.
Hosea Puckett was born on April 13, 1842, into the bustling and faith-filled household of Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett. On February 21, 1861, as the clouds of war gathered over a divided nation, young Hosea married Miss Sarah Ann Young in Carroll County, Virginia. The ceremony was performed by Preacher Thomas Vass. Sarah was the daughter of Benjamin and Jane Carson Young of Patrick County—a union that joined two strong and deep-rooted mountain families. The couple set up housekeeping near Pilot View Church, at the foot of Groundhog Mountain.
Later that same year, in November of 1861, Hosea and Sarah celebrated the arrival of their first child, William Taylor Puckett. But before long, duty called. On March 10, 1862, Hosea enlisted at Patrick Court House, Virginia, as a Private in Company I of the 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment on the Confederate side. His service record lists his age as twenty-one. By November of that same year, he was marked as absent without leave (AWOL)—a term that may not reflect desertion, but the crushing grief and hardship surrounding his family during those dark days of war.
Between 1862 and 1864, sorrow struck the Puckett family with unimaginable force. Within just two years, Hosea lost six of his brothers to war or to the hardships of the time:
Churchill Puckett (1833–1862) – died March 30, 1862, in Carroll County.
Kelsey Puckett (1830–1862) – died April 5, 1862, at the Russell County Courthouse, Virginia.
Jubal Puckett (1850–1862) – died September 27, 1862.
Doctor Floyd Puckett (1836–1863) – died March 28, 1863.
Lewis Puckett (1827–1863) – died in Ohio later that same year.
George Washington Puckett (1836–1864) – lost his life in 1864 and rests in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia.
In the midst of such sorrow, new life brought healing. Hosea and Sarah’s daughter, Elizabeth J. Puckett, was born on June 13, 1863, in Patrick County. Together, Hosea and Sarah would welcome eleven children who lived to adulthood, and one infant who tragically died only a few days after birth.
William Taylor Puckett married Miss Emma Stanley. He lived around Gladys, West Virginia, about 1908, and by 1910 resided in Dry Fork, Randolph County, West Virginia. He passed away in March 1920 in Allegany County, Maryland.
Elizabeth J. Puckett married Benjamin Ellis Bowman (1857–1943) on October 13, 1883, in Patrick County, Virginia. Elizabeth and Benjamin raised a couple of children in Carroll County, Virginia.
Eli Alonzo Puckett married Rosabelle Marshall (1871–) on January 17, 1888, in Carroll County, Virginia. Eli and Rosabelle raised at least seven children.
Ulysses Grant Puckett married Iowa M. Smith (1871–1929) on January 15, 1889, in Patrick County. Ulysses supported his large family of at least nine children by running a sawmill in Ararat, Virginia.
Walter Staples Puckett married Ruby King Cranford, a young widow, in the fall of 1896. Ruby was the daughter of Albert King and Matilda Norman King of Ararat. Her first husband, Alison Cranford, son of William and Susan Dunkley Cranford, had passed away at only twenty-three. Walter and Ruby raised five sons.
Hosanna Puckett married William Walker Marshall of Carroll County on July 16, 1891, in Patrick County. The couple later moved their eight children to Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and by 1920 were in Durbin, West Virginia, where William worked as a mechanic and Hosanna worked as a photographer. What an interesting life that must have been for a woman working in a trade that was in its’ infancy at a time when most women did not work outside the home! Hosanna passed away on September 23, 1956, at age 82.
Barbra married George Cabel Marshall (1878–1941) who was the brother of William Walker Marshall on December 5, 1899, and lived in the Dan River district, Patrick County, before moving to Cumberland, Maryland, where she died in 1963.
Rutherford Hayes Puckett married Clara Hussey (1877–) on June 21, 1899, in Marshall, Iowa. He later married Maude Fern Hamilton (1895–) on September 2, 1920, in Clarke County, Iowa. He died on July 2, 1930, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was buried in Davis City, Decatur County, Iowa.
Falus Penn Puckett married Mabel Clara Bolt (1886–1978) on October 26, 1903, in Surry County, North Carolina.
Their granddaughter, Hilda Stanley Vivier, shared treasured memories of her grandparents:
“My grandfather was Falus Penn Puckett (1883–1951), the tenth child of Hosea and Sarah, and my grandmother was Mabel Clara Bolt (1886–1978). They married in 1903—he was twenty; she was seventeen. They had twelve children, including twin sons who were either stillborn or died shortly thereafter. My mother, Audrey Lula, was their fourth child.
After marrying, my grandparents moved to West Virginia, where their first child, Serle, was born in Durbin. They then moved to Dyer, Indiana, where my mother and two other children were born. My grandmother had siblings who had moved from Laurel Fork to Indiana, and that’s what drew them there. I often wonder how they traveled. These were people who had never been anywhere—how did they manage? They returned around 1910 and lived out their days not far from Hosea’s old home.”
In 1940, Falus and Mabel lived in the Laurel Fork District of Carroll County, Virginia, where he worked in the grocery business. Falus passed away the following year on July 6, 1951, in Hillsville, Carroll County.
Maude Evelyn Puckett married John William Weddle (1876–1967) on September 28, 1901, in Patrick County and they had several children. Maude passed away on October 22, 1961, in Hillsville, Virginia.
Patred Matthew Puckett married Ina C. Marshall (1883–1945) on January 3, 1906, in Carroll County. Patred and Ina raised several children on Bell Spur Gap Road and later Pilot View Road in Patrick County. Patred later died on February 18, 1954, in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Through hardship, heartbreak, and endurance, the lives of Hosea (1842-1913) and Sarah Young Puckett (1841-1919) reflect the unbreakable spirit of Patrick County’s mountain families—men and women who worked hard, loved deeply, and rebuilt after war and loss. Their children and grandchildren spread across Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, and beyond, carrying the Puckett name and legacy into new generations.
Though this chapter concludes with our present look at the children of Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett, their stories still echo across our Blue Ridge valleys—testaments to courage, faith, and family. Each one adds another thread to the tapestry of Patrick County’s past, woven by hands that endured and hearts that remembered.
Thank you so much to Hilda Stanley Vivier for the information and photographs for this story. For questions, comments, or ideas for a story, contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
