When James Monroe Hudson was born on 17 January 1847, in Yalobusha, Mississippi, United States, his father, James Bullard Hudson, was 41 and his mother, Tabitha Cumi Sullivan, was 31. He married Edna Frances Jolly on 15 January 1873, in Pulaski, Arkansas, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Magness Township, Lonoke, Arkansas, United States in 1920 and Cabot, Lonoke, Arkansas, United States in 1930. He died on 22 October 1930, in Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Cabot, Lonoke, Arkansas, United States.