Genealogy Roadshow

I've been watching a show on PBS called "Genealogy Roadshow" for two seasons now. At first it wasn't exactly "my cup of tea" because the stories are brief compared to other genealogy shows that I have watched; however, I'm won over because these are regular folks they are helping with family history research. What a gift to have professional genealogist work on your line.

While "Who Do You think You Are" and "Finding Your Roots" spend more time and travel to different locations in their searches, they only research the family history of celebrities. The shows are interesting and it's obvious that no expense is spared.

I'm impressed that the Genealogy Roadshow took a risk and created a show featuring regular folks like me. I hope that it pays off for them and that the shows continue.

This leads me to......guess who applied to the show? Me! Yup, I decided to give it a try with George Barnes. The only thing I've ever won is jury duty but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Afterall, what a gift it would be to have professional genealogist work on my line.

It's A Miracle!

As I mentioned in previous post, I have been researching George Barnes for about 20 years with very little luck. Yesterday I found something! The interesting part of my find is how it came about.

I was on Find-A-Grave (if you haven't been there you should) and looking at a different relative fro the same area (Izard Co Arkansas)  when I noticed someone had left a memorial about having served in the confederate army out of Missouri. I knew he was a Confederate soldier, I have his parole papers, but I knew him as only serving out of Arkansas. So I went to the web site mentioned and found much more than I expected.

I verified my ancestor William Riley Gillihan did serve out of Missouri too and was listed as being from Izard Co Arkansas. Then I noticed a lot of these men were from Izard county so I decided to read all the names and THERE HE WAS - GEORGE W BARNES! I have so little on him so I was super excited and stayed up way past bed time researching him.

Immediately went to Fold3 and saw he was also captured and imprisoned. His name is so common I am not sure if he is one of the many George Barnes also listed as Union soldiers after his capture - some signed oaths of allegiance, some were killed, some traded sides. The regiment he was in had an interesting story and fought at the battle of Pea Ridge - a kinda famous Confederate battle site in Arkansas.

William Andrew Barnes, Son of George Barnes

William Andrew Barnes with daughter

 

William Andrew Barnes is the son of George Barnes and Rebecca Florence Hanna - he is my great grandfather. Here's a little more information on him:

Born - 21 July 1869 in Franklin Township, Izard County, Arkansas
Appears as an 11 year old on 1880 census for Franklin, Izard, Arkansas with mother Rebecca F Barnes age 42, sister Florence Barnes age 15, brother David W Barnes age 13, sister Mary V Barnes aged 5, and half-sister Martha R. Bush aged 17.

Rebecca states she was born in Alabama, her father Kentucky, her mother Tennessee. Head of house.
Florence is listed was born in Arkansas, her father Tennessee, her mother Alabama. Daughter.
David W shows as born in Texas, father Tennesse, mother Alabama. Son of head of household.
William A born Arkansas, father Tennessee, mother Alabama. Son of head of household.
Mary V is listed as born Arkansas, father Tennesse, mother Alabama. Daughter.
Martha R Bush born Arkansas, father Tennessee, mother Arkansas. Daughter.
This is a good time to point out another important genealogy lesson - primary versus secondary records. I'll use an example to explain. Let's say we have a birth certificate and a death certificate for Jane Doe. And, let's say the birth date doesn't match on the two documents. Which should you chose as her date of birth? Generally speaking, you should choose primary record. When a record is created to document an event at that time, such as a birth certificate, it is a primary record. When that same birth date is recorded on a docunment years later, such as a birthdate on a death certificate, it is a secondary record because the event did not happen at that time and is being recalled after-the-fact. The person recalling that information is providing information as they know it.

So, with that said, Rebecca recalling she was born in Alabama is technically less reliable than her recalling where her children were born because she has no recollection of her birth but should recall the birth of her children. Points of interest on the 1880 census birth information is that one child, David W, was listed as born in Texas while the others were born in Arkansas. Additionally, the listings are all consistent in listing the father's birth place as Tennessee and mother's as Alabama. Since none of the children of George and Rebecca were there to witness their parent's births, and probably did not answer the census taker, it's likely Rebecca provided the information and believed her (late) husband was born in Tennessee.

The odd entry on the 1880 census is the entry for Martha R Bush who is thought to be the daughter of Rebecca and her first husband Lee S Bush who was killed in the Civil War. She's lsited as born in Arkansas, her father Tennessee, but her mother Arkansas instead of Alabama. This could be a mistake or it could mean that she is not the daughter of Rebecca despite being listed as her daughter. Because I know other researchers of Martha, I'm going to count this as a mistake by the census taker.

Back to William.  He is found in the 1900 and 1910 census as living in Izard County Arkansas with wife Lydia F (1900) and Francis (1910). In 1910 they are listed with the last name Bornes instead of Barnes. Genealogy lesson - spelling doesn't count. Sometimes you have to march up the first names, birthdates, and birth places to recognize a surname problem. Often the person recording the information is not the informant and in families like mine, the official is working with people speak with an accent and do not read/write themselves.

William's first wife was Lydia Francis Samples but she was known as Lottie (family lore). They were married in 1894 in Izard County Arkansas. Their last child was born in 1908 and he remarried Delia Lee Sellers in 1911 so Francis/Lydia/Lottie died somewhere between 1908 and 1911.

In the 1920 and 1930 censuses William is living in nearby Craighead County Arkansas (where my mother was born and where I went to high school). He is buried in the Bowman Cemetery in Craighead County. Their last name is recorded as "Burrus" in the 1920 censos so, again, you have to look through spelling issues with genealogical research.

Children of William Andrew Barnes and Lydis Francis Samples:

David Andrew Barnes (1895-1972) my grandfather
Homer Barnes (1896 - 1900)
Florence Barnes (1900-1992)
Nancy Barnes (1904 - ?)
Ruby Ethel Barnes (1906 - 1923)
George Newton Barnes (1908 - 1986)

Children of William Andrew Barnes and Delia Le Sellers:

Zelma (1912 - 2001)
Virgie A (1915 - ?)
William Lee (1916 - 1967)
Earnest A (1917 - 1995)
Felix E (1920 - ?)

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)