James D. Arbuckle was born on March 18, 1842 in Haw Creek Township, Bartholomew County, Indiana, the eldest of seven children of Henry and Margaret (Youngman) Arbuckle.

On March 20, 1862 he married his first wife, Mary Agnes Waterman, in Tipton County, Indiana. There were no known children by this marriage which ended with Mary’s death, about 1862-66.

At Indianapolis, Indiana on October 3, 1864, James Arbuckle enrolled in the U.S. Army and was mustered into Battery L, 1st Indiana Heavy Artillery (also known as the 21st Indiana Infantry).

Private Arbuckle was described as being twenty-two years old, height about five feet, seven and a half inches, with grey eyes, and light hair. His occupation at enlistment was that of a farmer.

He joined his unit in the field on October 22, 1864. Muster rolls show him present until February 18, 1865 when we was severely injured at New Orleans, Louisiana. While hauling a load of wood, the mule upon which he was riding slipped and fell upon him, thereby breaking his leg.

He was sent to St. Louis General Hospital at New Orleans, where remained from February to April, 1865. On April 20th Private Arbuckle was furloughed for sixty days and returned to Indiana to convalesce. He remained absent with leave in Indiana until he was mustered out on August 12, 1865, due to the end of his term of service.

After his discharge from the Army, James continued to have difficulty with weakness in his leg. The U.S. Government provided him with a pension due to his disabilities. When enrolled he had been a farmer, but after the war he began working as a house carpenter. He lived most of his life in Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana.

About 1866 James Arbuckle married his second wife, Joanna Jones. They had four children: Corta L., Lafayette, Tobey H., and Charles. His wife died on February 5, 1875 at Alto, Howard County, Indiana.

On August 4, 1875 James married again, this time to Rebecca J. Washington, by whom he had ten more children: Amanda Maud, Daisy, Effa, Claude, Dolly, Edith, Floyd “Buck”, Mabel, Ethel, and Roma R. “Dick”.

After Rebecca’s death on July 1, 1914, James remarried for a fourth time on November 20, 1915 at Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana to Ellen F. (Moore) Stonebraker-Coole, also a widow. There is no known issue by this marriage.

Less than two years later, James Arbuckle died at Noblesville, Indiana on April 14, 1917 at the age of seventy-five years.