George Barnes

Rebecca Hanney/Hanna Bush Barnes Mathis

I've been doing genealogy since 1991 so good information about my 2nd Great Grandfahter has eluded me for almost 20 years. I'm not even sure if his name is George Barnes or George W. Barnes. I'm not the only researcher who has reached a brick wall with this fellow and it's true, misery does love company when it comes to dead ends.

What DO I know to be true? Let me start with how I get to him. There's me, of course, then my mother who will remain unnamed since she is among the living. Her father is David Andrew Barnes who was born in Fulton County Arkansas in 1895 and died in Arkansas in 1972. His father was William Andrew Barnes born in Arkansas in 1869 and died in Arkansas in 1936. It's William's father, George Barnes, who is a name only.

The information I obtained about George is from a family bible that lists this generation as George and Rebecca and from Middle Tennessee. As a genealogist I long ago learned to distinguish between "from" and "born". Case in point - a funeral record on another line says the deceased was from Kentucky. In reality, he was only there a couple years but Kentucky was the last place the family lived before moving to Arkansas so when asked "where are you from", the family must have answered with the last place they lived - where they came from.  He was born in Indiana as the family migrated from Alabama to Arkansas.

I will close my first offical genealogy post with a breakdown of the family I am looking for. In future posts I will add photos, documents, and headstone photos. Oh, and if you recognize one of these people, PLEASE contact me cousin.

George W. Barnes (b. AR, TX, or TN in abt 1840) and died before 1880 probably in Arkansas. The mother of his kids, presumeably his wife, is Rebecca Florence Hanney/Hannah. She was born in 1838 in Alabama and appears to have died in 1910 mostly likely in Izard County Arkansas. their issue:

Florence Elizabeth Barnes (1864 - 1940)
David W Barnes (1867 - ?)
William Andrew Barnes (1869 - 1936)
Mary Virginia Barnes (1875 - 1911)