5th Generation Huntsville Baby Sleeps in Century-Old Family Cradle

A white pine cradle sold out of Harrison Brothers Hardware in 1914 has a new occupant, marking the fifth generation of a Huntsville family to sleep in it.

Douglas Claude Martinson IV was born on October 3, 2026, to Clay and Annabel Roth Martinson, 256 Today reported.

At Martinson & Beason—the North Side Square law firm where his family has practiced since 1937—attorney Clay Martinson (legally known as Douglas Claude Martinson III) is the baby’s father. Doug Martinson II, who heads the practice and works as the general conservator for Madison County, also rested in the bed during his infancy, much like his son. His grandfather, Doug Martinson Sr., held that post before him.

Annetta Martinson, Clay Martinson’s great-grandmother, was born on April 21, 1914, which was the exact day the family acquired the cradle. Her father, Claude Barnes, operated as a butcher on the present-day Andrew Jackson Way and purchased the item from his father, L.H. Barnes, one of the original clerks at Harrison Brothers.

“The cradle was purchased by L.H. Barnes at Harrison Brothers right in the square,” Clay Martinson told 256 Today.

“The cradle is now over 100 years old and it is special that Douglas Claude Martinson IV gets to sleep in the cradle just as the three previous Douglas Claude Martinsons,” he said.

The family’s record of the sale puts the price at $10, paid 50 cents a week. The newest Martinson carries Claude Barnes’ name as his middle name. Positioned on South Side Square across the courthouse lawn from the offices of Martinson & Beason, Harrison Brothers remains the oldest operating hardware store in Alabama.

Back in June 2002, when Clay Martinson’s younger brother Reed became the 37th baby to lie in the bed, The Huntsville Times featured the cradle on its front page. Clay, then a young boy, stood at the rail in the photo that ran with the story.

Doug Martinson Sr. pieced together the cradle’s history from the hardware store’s ledger, and relatives had shipped it between Huntsville, Birmingham, South Florida and Pennsylvania over the decades.

“It’s a very well-traveled cradle,” Roshelle Walker, Annetta Martinson’s sister, told the Times that year.

Accompanied by the cradle is a glass display case holding an inventory documenting every infant who has rested inside. Douglas Martinson IV is the 41st.