Garfield's mother, Eliza Ballou Garfield, was the first significant figure in Garfield's life. After his father died when he was two, Garfield's mother continued the family farm.

While a student at the Eclectic, Garfield courted a classmate, Lucretia Crete Rudolph, finally marrying her in 1858. Their courtship

and early marriage were rocky. He feared marriage, and put it off for years. It took ten years for their relationship to bloom. The Garfields had seven children, with five living to adulthood: Harry, James, Mary, Irvin and Abram.