Joe Godsby married Sarah Catherine ("Callie") Young in either 1889 or 1890. Since there is no record of the birth in Clay County, Tennessee, where most of the young people (and older ones, too) went to get married, Joe and Callie must have married in Cumberland County. Unfortunately, a great deal of the marriage records of Cumberland County were destroyed in a fire that swept through the County Clerk's Office in 1933.

Before Callie died on June 9, 1909, apparently of a fever, she gave birth to eight children. They were (by order of birth) John William (who was born on August 8, 1891), Delia Heard (who was born on Mary 17, 1893 and who married Howard Scott), Ada Catherine (who was born on December 15, 1896, and who later married Carl Scott, the brother of Howard Scott), James Hobart (who was born on August 8, 1898), Mary Pearl (who was born on January 21, 1901, and who married George Orville Adams), Dewey Ester (who was born on January 21, 1903 and who married Bessie Capps, then Lucy Florence Williams), Minnie Vena (called "Vini", who was born on September 4, 1905, and who married Osco Crowley), and Joseph Mitchell (who was born on October 18, 1908, and who married and divorced Estelle Whitely and then married an unknown woman with the first name and middle initial of Clara F.). Joseph Mitchell is in the 1954 Modesto, CA, city directory, along with his son Welbie L. Spears and his wife Alice J. Spears. Mitchel was living at 1618 Spokane and he was a construction worker. Welbie was living at 1940 Kenneth.

After Catherine Young died, Joe Godsby needed a mother for his children. He eventually married Martha Florence Spears, who was one of the most attractive young ladies on Pea Ridge. However, Martha Florence, who was always called Florence, was almost 20 years younger than Joe, having been born on May 25, 1889. There was something about the arrangement that bears some examination. Joe Godsby had many attractive qualities. According to Delia Belle Spears Blansett, his granddaughter, Joe was an exceptionally kind man. He would play host to a large number of families after church on Sunday at his place on the hill. He also befriended a local Black man and went so far as to invite the man to sit on the porch with him. This act would have shocked many of Joe's relatives and friends. Joe was also well-to-do by most standards of his day. He owned some of the best land on Pea Ridge, he owned a legal whiskey distillery before he became a Christian, and he was half-owner of a store. Despite all of his positive characteristics, it was uncommon for a man in his situation to have sought out a new wife who was so much younger. It is the author's opinion that the marriage was forced on Florence by her father, who was Joe's first cousin. Darius was a stern man and, as we have learned, a reckless one also. It is not out of the question that Darius felt Florence owed it to her family to marry Joe. It was also a step up in status. The fact that they were first cousins, once removed, was no barrier in southern Cumberland County.

Joe and Florence married on May 19, 1910, in Celina, Clay County, Tennessee. The marriage took place six days before Florence's twenty-first birthday. Joe was then just short of his forty-first birthday. Before their marriage, Florence had been engaged to Luther Presley. Family lore indicates that he and Florence met while both were attending a normal school at some unknown location. Both men and women attended normal school to prepare them for a career in teaching. Family lore further indicates that Luther Presley was en route to Cumberland County to attempt to dissuade Florence from marrying Joe and he was scheduled to arrive on the day Joe and Florence were married.

Florence proved to be Catherine's equal and more, as she brought forth nine children, although one of whom (Charles Payne) died before he reached the age of two years. The nine children included (by order of birth): Eular Paul, George Payne, Ida Eunice, Hall, Emily Annice, Stella, Ella Mae, Harmon Joe, and Billy Darius. One doesn't have to be an aficionado of mathematics to appreciate how one man can contribute to the population explosion of a single generation. Joe Spears was one of the giants in the art of multiplication.

Eular Paul was born on December 28, 1911. Consistent with southern Cumberland County practice, he was always called Paul. He married Brica L. Whittaker on November 10, 1934. Brica was pronounced "Bry-cee."

George Payne was born on June 12, 1914, and died on August 30, 1915. The family called George Payne "Little Black Eyes."

Ida Eunice was born on March 18, 1916, and she married Woodrow Phillips on December 25, 1938.

Hall was born on February 28, 1918, and he married Mary Edna Felkins on November 9, 1941.

Emily Annice was born on March 29, 1921, and she married Cager "Boda" (pronounced Bo-dee) Hisaw on January 27, 1940.

Stella was born on November 28, 1922. She married Bill Cook.

Harmon Joe was born on May 31, 1927, and he married Geraldine Patricia Trail on September 29, 1946.

Billy Darius was born on October 16, 1932, and he married on January 25, 1957.

All of the birth and marriage information came from a Bible given to Florence by Hall and Mary Spears on Christmas of 1941. Hall and Mary were given the Bible when Florence died.

In between children, Joe Godsby found time to operate a store in Spearstown called Spears' Store, two farms located on what was loosely called bottom land, where he raised corn and tobacco, and a still on leased land. As mentioned above, Joe stopped producing whiskey when he became a Christian. The family lived near Peytonsburg, Kentucky, which was located on what is now State Route 61. Peytonsburg was a post office with a few houses along the street located 13 miles south of Burkesville.

The Spears family consisted of five girls and two boys when Joe and Florence decided to move to the newly-created state of Oklahoma for at least one year. Joe's eldest daughter from his first marriage, Delia (better known as "Deli"), and her husband, Howard Scott, had gone to Oklahoma several years earlier and they wrote glowing letters about the money that they were making in the former Indian Territory. The Scotts lived near Granite in western Oklahoma and they invited Florence and Joe to come out for one year to see if they wanted to make the move a permanent one. Joe was 57 years old in 1926 when the decision was made to go to Oklahoma.