❧ A family scrapbook ❧
Buffington & Caudle
The people, the photographs, and the stories that connect us.
Come meet both sides of Carrie’s family. Start with a face you recognize, follow a relationship, or explore the records when you want the deeper history.
This branch follows Carrie Johnson’s Buffington, Miller, Padgett, Perry, Caudle, McKellar, Gable, and connected family lines. It is a living research project, not a finished declaration carved into digital stone.
Begin with a person
Meet the family
You don’t need to understand the whole tree. Just follow a photograph, a name, or a memory that catches your attention.
Grandmother · Buffington
Granny Buff
The front porch, quiet afternoons, and memories that still arrive with a butterfly.
Read her story →
Father · Buffington
Jake Paul Buffington
Snapshots of Jake and his family, from childhood photographs to familiar faces.
Browse the photographs →
Mother’s side · Caudle
The Caudle Family
Explore the Caudle, Gable, and McKellar connections through the generations.
Follow this branch →Great-grandparents · Miller & Padgett
James & Lula Mae
Old records, a family baseball story, and clues from life in Georgia and Tennessee.
Follow their lives →One thread through the generations
How these lives connect
Start with Granny Buff’s maternal grandparents and follow that one line forward. Each name leads to the person’s story or research further down this page.
Newton Padgett
& Lula Perry
Lula Mae Padgett
& James C. Miller Jr.
Mary Robb Miller
“Granny Buff”
Jake Paul
Buffington
Some early relationships, dates, and family stories are still under review. Source details and disagreements remain visible in the research below.
A family memory
Remembering Granny Buff
Granny Buff always made me feel safe. Just being around her, I felt loved and cared for.
I remember sitting on her front porch, listening to everyone talk. I remember staying with her during the day. She would turn on the television and go about her chores around the house. Those ordinary moments have stayed with me.
She always seemed so calm and strong. I don’t remember needing her to do anything special to make me feel better. Her presence was enough.
Every time I see a butterfly, I think of her—and that feeling of being safe, loved, and cared for.
— Carrie
From her son, Jack Shipp Buffington
Granny Buff’s 110th Birthday Remembrance
Read Jack’s loving tribute to his mother, Mary Robb Miller Buffington, with her restored portrait.
The Caudle Family: My Mother’s Side
This branch starts with my mother, Deborah Joanne Caudle, and follows the generations before her through the Caudle, Gable, McKellar, Reynolds, and connected families.
Our Family Fan Chart
Start at the center and follow each ring back through parents, grandparents, and earlier ancestors. The empty spaces are places where our research can keep growing.
Open the printable Caudle family chart (PDF)
Parents and Grandparents
Caudle & McKellar
My mother’s father is shown as Talmadge Luther Caudle (1914–1992).
His parents are shown as Terrell Minton Caudle (1879–1932) and Mary Elizabeth McKellar (1888–1977).
Gable & McKellar
My mother’s mother is shown as Carrie Estelle Gable (1927–1989).
Her parents are shown as Henry Harmon Gable Sr (1895–1980) and Lena Mae McKellar (1901–1998).
Help Us Fill in the Stories
Do you recognize these names? A family photograph, a remembered place, a recipe, or a story about someone on this branch could help bring the chart to life.
Email a Caudle family story or correction to Carrie. Please say whether I may share it on the public website or whether you would like it kept private.
These names and relationships reflect the current FamilySearch tree and are research in progress. They have not all been independently verified against original records. Living relatives’ birth dates and personal details are kept off this section.
Photographs from the family collection
The Buffington family album
Family connections and childhood moments from Carrie’s paternal family, preserved in their original black-and-white, sepia, and color tones.
Identifications follow the original filenames and family recollections. Except where noted, dates and locations remain unconfirmed. Select any photograph to view the full image.
A record from the research collection
View JC Buffington 1910 — census image and source citation (PDF)
Filed under the original document title. Includes a historical census image and a FamilySearch citation; the relevant household and relationships still need to be checked against the original record.
Pages from the family album
More stories from this side of the family
A little memory, a photograph, or an old record can open a whole story.
From Track Hand to Railroad Engineer
A 1912 Masonic memorial preserves the story of James B. Buffington’s railroad career and community life.
A Life Preserved in Photographs: Jake Paul Buffington
Family photographs follow Jake from childhood through school, work scenes, young adulthood, and later portraits.
The Mary Boykin Chesnut Family Tradition
A meaningful family tradition connects the Miller line to Mary Boykin Chesnut, but the relationship remains unproven.
Family history, without pretending
Not every family relationship is simple, and not every ancestor leaves happy memories. This archive makes room for love, loss, humor, difficult histories, and unanswered questions. A place in the family tree does not automatically mean a glowing tribute.
We’ll share what records support, preserve personal memories as memories, and respect the privacy of living family members. The people we loved can be remembered fully without pretending every part of our family history was perfect.
Granny Buff: The Stories Behind the Records
Mary Robb Miller Buffington was Granny Buff to Carrie. The memories of her porch, ordinary afternoons together, and the feeling of being safe and loved are part of this family’s history, just as much as the names and dates on a chart.
Jack Shipp Buffington’s birthday remembrance adds another family perspective. Our next research steps are to verify the Miller family relationships through historical records, identify dates and places for family photographs, and preserve the original memories alongside the documented facts.
These are ongoing research questions, not settled conclusions. Follow the research in our library.
The research notebook
For anyone who wants to dig deeper
These records are the paper trail behind the family stories. You’ll find census entries, marriage and death records, conflicting dates, and questions we haven’t answered yet.
Start with Granny Buff’s records, James and Lula Mae, or Newton Padgett and Lula Perry. Nothing here is presented as proven simply because a name appears in a shared tree.
A book for Buffington family research
The Buffington Family in America: A Source Book for Further Research (1965), edited by Ralph Meldrim Buffington and published by Mary B. Webb, is a reference for exploring Buffington family branches.
View the 1965 book’s Google Books catalog page for bibliographic information and limited indexed material. Find library holdings through WorldCat; ask your library about consultation or interlibrary loan.
These are catalog and library-finding links, not a promise of free access to the complete book. Borrowing and viewing options depend on the holding library. Family connections in a compiled genealogy need comparison with original records; this book alone does not establish our direct ancestral line.
Granny Buff’s Life in the Records
Old handwriting, familiar names, and the details of an ordinary household can make the past feel close. Explore these records alongside the family memories above. The notes explain what each record supports and where questions remain.
A few dates to follow
October 24, 1916: the birthday shown in her family tree, cemetery memorial and gravestone photograph. Her Social Security index instead gives October 24, 1917; we are keeping that difference visible as research continues. The 110th birthday remembrance follows the family’s 1916 date.
December 14, 1935: her current tree gives this as the date she married James Clarence Buffington in Rossville, Georgia. The original marriage record still needs to be checked.
March 14, 2006: her death date agrees across the obituary, Social Security and cemetery indexes. Her memorial places her burial at Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.
Her Miller and Padgett family
The current tree names her parents as James Chestnut Miller Jr and Lula Mae Padgett. The 1920 census index names James C Miller Jr and May Miller, while the Social Security index names J C Miller and Lula M Padgett. These records support the connection; each earlier generation still needs its own evidence.
View the family records
Select an original census scan to zoom in on the handwriting, or open its indexed record for an easier-to-read transcription. FamilySearch may ask you to sign in to a free account. These links open the records on their source websites; they are not PDF downloads from Kritter Ridge.
1920: Mary in the Miller household
Mary R Miller appears with James C Miller Jr, May Miller and Janet, in the household of the older James C Miller. Look for Mary on line 76 of sheet 23B. The indexed age is 4; the handwriting and census date need to be considered before using it to settle her birth year.
Explore the original census scan · Read the indexed record
1940: The Buffington household
Mary R Buffington is indexed as the wife of Clearence Buffington, with Mary A, Mike and Ethel. The record preserves the spelling used in the index; the tree names her husband James Clarence Buffington.
Explore the original census scan · Read the indexed record
1950: A growing family in Chattanooga
The indexed household includes James C and Mary M Buffington, Mary A, Mike, Ethel M, John, Jim and young Paul. Carrie identifies Paul as her father, Jake Paul Buffington. Mary’s indexed age of 43 conflicts with other records, so this is a document to examine carefully rather than a settled birth-year source.
Explore the original census scan · Read the indexed record
1967: Named in her son’s death record
Mary Miller and James C Buffington are named in the record of John W Buffington, who died August 23, 1967. This date belongs to John, not to Mary. An original image was unavailable in the source panel reviewed.
2006: Her obituary record
The Chattanooga Times Free Press obituary index gives Mary’s death as March 14, 2006 and publication as March 16. It names her husband J C Buffington and members of her family. The newspaper text and the index are different forms of evidence.
2018: Remembered in Ethel’s obituary
Mary Miller Buffington is named as the mother of Ethel Mae Buffington Kilgore. The 2018 dates belong to Ethel’s death and obituary, not to Granny Buff.
Visit Granny Buff on Find a Grave
Her memorial includes photographs, cemetery information and links to relatives’ memorials. The gravestone photograph shows October 24, 1916–March 14, 2006. You can explore the photographs on Find a Grave.
Visit Mary Robb Miller Buffington’s memorial ↗
Her husband: James Clarence Buffington ↗ · Her father: James Chestnut Miller Jr ↗ · Her mother: Lula Mae Padgett Miller ↗
More evidence and open questions
Social Security index · Cemetery index · Granny Buff’s FamilySearch profile
We are still checking the conflicting birth year, census ages, original marriage record and earlier Miller and Padgett relationships. A name in a shared tree is a research lead, and an index can contain errors. Family traditions about ancestry remain questions until records establish the links.
Have a photograph, document or memory to add? Email Carrie. Please include the names, date or place you know and whether your contribution may appear publicly or should stay within the family.
Records reviewed October 25, 2026. Living relatives’ dates and private tree entries are not included here.
Granny Buff’s Parents: James and Lula Mae
Mary Robb Miller Buffington’s parents were James Chestnut Miller Jr. and Lula Mae Padgett. Following their records takes this branch through Alabama, Chattanooga, and northwest Georgia. Names change from one document to another: James appears as James C., Chess, and Chester; Lula Mae appears as May, Mae, and Lula M.
James Chestnut Miller Jr. · 1895–1951
James’s draft-registration index gives his birth as April 17, 1895 in Mobile, Alabama. The 1910 census lists him as Chess Miller, age 15, in his widowed father James C. Miller’s Chattanooga household. The 1900 census gives April 1895 but records Tennessee as his birthplace, so the birthplace evidence is not completely consistent.
1900 census record · 1910 census record · Current draft-registration record
The draft registration is evidence of registration, not proof of military service. An older copy of that record has been retired by FamilySearch, so the link above follows its current copy.
Lula Mae Padgett · 1898–1961
In the 1900 census, May Padget is a two-year-old daughter in Newton and Lula Padget’s household in Hollywood, Jackson County, Alabama. Her birth is recorded as April 1898 in Georgia. By 1910, the family appears in Peavine, Walker County, Georgia, with May, age 12, and her siblings.
1900 Padgett household · 1910 Padgett household
Her 1961 death certificate names her father Newton Padgett, her mother Lula Mae Perry, and her husband James C. Miller. It gives her birth date as April 23, 1898. The certificate gives Tennessee as her birthplace, while her childhood census entries give Georgia; the family tree’s more specific Lindale birthplace still needs separate evidence.
Their marriage and family
Their marriage is indexed as Chester Miller and Mae Padgett, March 5, 1914, in Walker County, Georgia. The original marriage book contains an entry under those names. This is the record currently attached to both of their FamilySearch profiles.
Read their marriage record · Explore the original marriage book
The 1920 household includes James C. Miller Jr., May, Mary R., and Janet with the older James C. Miller. By 1940, James C. and Lula M. Miller are listed in Walker County with Janet, Lula, William, and Richard. These snapshots help connect the generations, but no single census is a complete list of all their children.
1920 Miller household · 1940 Miller household
The baseball photograph
A photograph attached to James Chestnut Miller Jr.’s FamilySearch profile shows the man identified as James in what appears to be a baseball uniform, standing on a ballfield with other players behind him. Carrie contributed the photograph to FamilySearch in January 2020.
Carrie recalls that James mostly went by J. C. In a family recollection shared on October 25, 2026, Jack Shipp Buffington remembered his grandfather James Chestnut Miller playing baseball for a St. Augustine, Florida, team and for the Chattanooga Lookouts in the 1920s. We are preserving Jack’s account as family testimony while looking for records that identify James as the player.
A promising St. Augustine lead: the historical statistics database StatsCrew lists a pitcher named J. C. Miller with the 1926 St. Augustine Saints. His initials, the city, and the period fit the family account. However, the player entry supplies no birth date, birthplace, or full given names that connect him securely to James Chestnut Miller Jr. This is a research lead, not yet a confirmed identification.
The same player entry lists a career from 1925 to 1928 with several minor league teams, but does not establish a Chattanooga connection. The Lookouts were a professional minor league club during the period Jack remembers. His recollection of professional baseball is worth following; major league play has not been established.
Explore the 1926 St. Augustine Saints statistics · Read the J. C. Miller player entry · Read the Lookouts’ official history
A newspaper from the season: Harry Evans’s “Saints Beat Indians in Long Game,” published in the St. Augustine Evening Record on August 5, 1926, describes the Saints defeating Savannah 6–5 in fourteen innings. It names Miller as a Saints pitcher and says Dave McKinney relieved him in the seventh inning. The story gives Miller’s surname only; it does not identify him as James Chestnut Miller or connect him to the family. Explore the original sports page in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library (image 5 of 8; article in the left column).
A newspaper story naming his hometown or family, a player contract, or an identified team photograph could help settle the match. The date, team, and uniform lettering in the family photograph still need identification.
View James’s baseball photograph on FamilySearch
Their final records and memorials
James’s original death certificate records January 18, 1951; Lula Mae’s records November 30, 1961. Their Find a Grave memorials place both at Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga and provide photographs and connections to family memorials.
James’s death record · James’s original certificate · James on Find a Grave
Lula Mae’s death record · Lula Mae’s original certificate · Lula Mae on Find a Grave
A question for the next generation back
James’s current tree names his mother as Martha E. Elsworth Miller, also called Mattie. His death index names her as Mattie Brownson, and that surname also appears on the certificate. Jack Shipp Buffington also remembered his great-grandmother as Martha “Mattie” Ellsworth, spelling the surname with two l’s in his October 25, 2026, message. His memory supports following the Elsworth/Ellsworth lead, but does not resolve the Brownson name on the certificate. This difference needs further research before we describe her maiden name as settled. The 1900 index also calls James’s father John C., while later records use James C.; the original handwriting and family group need comparison.
We will keep family memories, what the documents show, and unanswered questions together as this branch grows. If you recognize James’s uniform or have a photograph or story about either parent, email Carrie and say whether it may be shared publicly.
Reviewed October 25, 2026. FamilySearch may require a free sign-in to view records and photographs.
One Generation Earlier: Newton Padgett and Lula Perry
Before Lula Mae Padgett married James Chestnut Miller Jr., she was May in the household of Newton and Lula Padgett. This generation connects Granny Buff’s Miller family to the Padgett and Perry lines. The shared tree names the couple Sidney Newton Padgett and Lula Mae Perry; their documents use several spellings and initials.
An 1889 marriage with two dates
The original Chattooga County marriage record names Newton Padgett and Lula Pery. Their license was issued November 8, 1889, and the certificate records the ceremony on November 10, 1889. That distinction explains why the family tree and different indexes give different dates.
Some transcriptions read the names as Newtor Padgett and Lula Berry. The handwriting, rather than the spelling in any one index, is the place to start when comparing those entries. Several attached sources refer to this marriage; they should not be counted as separate marriages.
Explore their original marriage license and certificate · November 8 index · November 10 index
Newton’s early years
An 1880 census entry attached to Newton’s profile lists Newton Padget, age 14, as the son of Abraham and Mary Padget, working as a farm laborer. His birthplace is Georgia. The record’s original place description gives Beat 5, Township 8, De Kalb, Alabama; the modern place label shown in the index differs, so the location needs care.
An attached 1870 entry lists Sidney, age 4, with Andy N., Mary, and William Padget. It is a possible earlier family connection to investigate, rather than enough by itself to settle every parent’s full name. Mary’s maiden name and the parents’ exact dates still need independent evidence.
1880 Newton Padget household · 1870 Sidney Padget entry to compare
Their household in Alabama and Georgia
The original 1900 census places Newton and Lula in Hollywood, Jackson County, Alabama, with Norman, William, Clifford, and May. Newton’s birth is recorded as May 1866 in Georgia. Their daughter May is the Lula Mae Padgett who later appears in the Miller family records.
By 1910, S. N. Padget and Lula appear in Peavine, Walker County, Georgia. The household includes May and her siblings. These census snapshots show the family at particular moments; they do not prove every child’s full name or later history on their own.
1900 family record · Explore the original 1900 census · 1910 family record
Lula’s later years in Chattanooga
In 1920, Lula Padgett is listed as a widowed head of household in Hamilton County, Tennessee, with several children and other household members. In 1930, Lula M. Pagett is indexed as the widowed mother-in-law of William B. Hickey in Chattanooga; Nannie Hickey and other family members appear in that household.
The ages in Lula’s census records vary. Her death certificate gives her age as 59, supporting a birth around 1871, but an exact birth date has not been established in this review.
1920 Lula Padgett household · 1930 Hickey household
The certificate that connects the Perry line
Lula Padgett’s original death certificate records her death in Chattanooga on June 19, 1930. It names her father as Eli Perry, born in Ohio, and her mother as Harriett Hughes, born in Georgia. Her husband is named as S. N. Padgett and her marital status as widowed. The certificate records burial at Rocksprings, Georgia, on June 21.
Those parent names give us a starting point for the next generation. A death certificate depends on the information supplied to it, so we will compare them with earlier records before treating the whole Perry line as proven.
Read Lula’s death record · Explore the original certificate
What we are still looking for
Newton’s own death date and burial remain unverified. Lula’s widowed status in 1920 suggests he died before that census, if the household identification and marital status are correct. The 1910 household provides an earlier point in the search. Later death records that name him as a parent are not records of his own death.
We are also looking for Lula’s birth evidence, a more precise burial location, and records connecting her to Eli Perry and Harriett Hughes during her childhood. Cemetery memorial links will be added when a matching memorial can be identified confidently.
Newton’s FamilySearch profile · Lula Perry’s FamilySearch profile
Do you recognize a name, place, or family story on this branch? Email Carrie with what you know, and please say whether it may be shared publicly or should stay within the family.
Records reviewed October 25, 2026. FamilySearch may require a free sign-in to explore the original documents.
Current focus
James Clarence Buffington
Building a documented account of his parents, marriage, children, residences, work, death, and burial.
Mary Robb Miller
Verifying her family line and gathering the stories, photographs, and traditions connected to Carrie’s paternal grandmother.
Jake Paul Buffington
Documenting basic biographical details and family connections. Historical photographs remain part of the archive, without treating every ancestor as a subject for a tribute.
Deborah Joanne Caudle
Identifying dates, places, and family moments represented in photographs across her life.
A documented story lead: James B. Buffington
A 1912 Masonic memorial describes James B. Buffington as a Hall County, Georgia native who moved to Murray County, began railroad work as a track hand, and advanced to locomotive engineer. It also describes his Methodist faith, two marriages, family life, and membership in Oostanaula Lodge No. 113.
Family traditions under investigation
The family has long carried a tradition of Native American ancestry through Carrie’s paternal grandmother’s family. Another tradition connects the Miller line in some way to Mary Boykin Chesnut. Both are preserved as meaningful research questions, but neither is currently presented as proven.
Find My Research on FamilySearch
I’m gathering our family connections on FamilySearch, too. The earliest ancestor currently linked in my direct Buffington line is Jonathan D. Buffington, born about 1805 in South Carolina and listed as having died before 1880. His wife is listed as Eliza.
Explore Jonathan D. Buffington’s FamilySearch profile ↗
FamilySearch Person ID: LRBX-37C
My current tree follows Jonathan D. Buffington → James B. Buffington → William F. Buffington → James Buffington → James Clarence Buffington → my father, Jake Paul Buffington → me.
Connect with Me
My FamilySearch contributor name is CarrieJohnson75. When you see that name beside one of my contributions or changes, select it to open the contributor information and contact me through FamilySearch.
You may need to sign in to a free FamilySearch account to explore the tree or send a message. You can also email me about a possible family connection.
These relationships reflect the current shared tree and remain research in progress. I’m sharing a deceased ancestor’s profile; living family members’ private tree entries are not public.
Connect with other Buffington researchers
Visit The Buffington Page on Facebook ↗, a private group where members discuss Buffington family connections. Relationships to our branch haven’t been confirmed.
Facebook membership and group approval may be required.