Horace was a smart, curious, talented, and interesting man who came from a family of interesting and talented people. He was the only child of the marriage between James Madison Fulwider and Mary Melinda York Fulwider. In the early years of the Civil War, while Horace was still a baby, the Fulwiders divorced. James would remarry in about 1876 and Horace would gain eight half-siblings throughout the years. Mary Melinda never remarried.

Photo # 1: Horace Mann Fulwider
Horace was a dapper man and could almost always be seen wearing his derby hat.
(This notation and photo are from the personal collection of Ancestry member prairyk1 and was originally shared on 17 Jul 2012)

Photo # 2: Horace Mann Fulwider and his Talking Machine, circa 1890 in Illinois.
Horace held several patents, but he didn't get one for his "talking machine" soon enough—Edison beat him to it. Both men invented the phonograph at about the same time. Up to 5 or 6 persons could listen at one time, wearing earphones, and Horace frequently took it around to public halls where he hooked an amplifying device to it and gave "concerts." It was a popular activity in the county square in Paris, Illinois, and other surrounding towns. The phonograph used cylindrical records. The device in the photo was his phonograph. It played cylindrical rather than flat records. In the photo, you can see a small cylindrical record with the needle poised above it. The phonograph also had a wooden carrying case with handle. (This notation and photo are from the personal collection of Ancestry member prairyk1 and was originally shared on 19 Jul 2012)

Additional Children:
Charles Rush Fulwider
Bessie Doris Fulwider Hearn
Bruce Raymond Fulwider
Minnie Cornelia Fulwider Smith
Cora Kathryn Fulwider Mawby
Infant Fulwider