Manning Cemetery - Lawrence County Arkansas

While in Arkansas for Christmas, I took a trip to my family's cemetery "Manning #1 Cemetery" in Lawrence County between Hoxie and Sedgwick. This post is less abut dead ends although I do lose good documentation after these folks.

Meet my great-great-grandfather Francis M Manning. He was a confederate soldier out of Alabama. Notice is birthdate of 18 May 1817. I have documentation that does NOT agree with his birth date:

1. 1850 Franklin Co GA states he is 22 years old (abt 1828) born GA
2. 1860 Shelby Co AL states he is 28 years old (abt 1832) born TN
3. 1880 Muhlenberg Co KY states he is 55 years old ( abt 1825) born GA

Above is his wife, Emily E Kitchens, her birthdate is marked as 18 Jan 1818 but, like her husbands headstone, I do not believe this date is correct. It is more like she was born about 1829.

In a previous post I spoke about the difference in primary versus secondary information. The birthdate on a headstone is a great example! The event that spurred her headstone is death and if the headstone was issued at that time, the date should be correct because it is primary information. However, the birth date is secondary information because it happened many years prior. In fact, the folks responsible for the information on this headstone more than likely were not around to witness her birth.

Similarly, when there is a delay in making/setting a headstone, the possibility of misinformation grows with the length of the time delay (in the absence of an original document such as a death certificate).





James John Manning (above) is the son of the Francis & Emily Manning (the two headstones previously pictured). His first wife's, Sarah MaryAnn Whittaker, headstone is picture below. She has one of those Woodsman of the World monuments that you can find around the south. Her son (not pictured in this post) does as well. After Sarah died JJ (as he was known) remarried but I have not located her grave.

 



 

 

JJ & Sarah had 6 documented children. One of there children was my grandfather, Andrew Jackson Manning. He married Rose Cleo Truxler in Lawrence County Arkansas in 1910. My dad, Carl Richard Manning, was born to them on 14 Oct 1928 and departed this life on 8 Jan 2010. He is interned with his third wife Bessie Burrows. I am an only child but my dad loved a big family and enjoyed his 6 stepchildren and all their children and grandchildren.

My dad, wanting to ensure that I was buried next to him, bought and placed a headstone for my husband and me for my birthday present one year. He didn't think that was weird at all! (I did not post a photo because I didn't want to display our dates of birth on the internet.)

Back to George Barnes

So, I found something new that is promising enough that I included the information on my Ancestry.com page. The person who submitted it online is unreachable. Boo!

I've always known that my George Barnes died before the 1880 census because Rebecca is listed as a widow. But, they had a child in 1875 so the window narrows. This unknown researcher led me to the 1880 mortality schedule which listed a George W Barnes in Franklin Co Arkansas who died in November 1879 of typhoid fever. Since Rebecca was also on the Franklin Co Arkansas census in 1880, as a widow, I felt pretty good about it. UPDATE: Actually, she is in the town of Franklin but county of Izard when the 1880 census was taken. Franklin County is next to Sebastian County where "the other" George Barnes lived with his wife Anna and is often confused with our George.

The part of this record that leads me to even more questions is the year of birth - 1826. I always had his birth year as 1840 but that could be from when I believed his father was likely Dennis (there are still people who believe that but I'm thinking that George is the one in Sebastian Co who married an Ann).  Since his birthdate is not a primary record on his death certificate, it could be off.

So, if he was born in 1826 (in TN) and he and Rebecca started having children in 1864 (meaning they were likely married in 1863) then he would have been in his mid thirties when they married. Possible but unusual. More likely she would be a second wife.

Now I am wondering if there was a first wife. If so, where there children and what happened to them? I have spoken to two other researchers who are offspring from George and Rebecca's daughter Florence and they have never mentioned half siblings or another marriage of George. However, the man is such a mystery that I don't rule it out.

There seems to be a zillion George Barnes and including a middle initial of W only slightly helps to narrow things down.  I guess what I am saying is that I haven't gotten any closer to him but perhaps I am eliminating more folks who are not him.

You Maried The Same Woman Twice? Nope, Her Cousin.

Meet Thomas William Whittaker and Melissa Ann Whittington. Though not a brick wall (anymore) regarding this ancestral couple, at one time they caused much confusion and I don't have much beyond their generation that is reliable.

These are thought to be photos of them but the owners cannot guarantee:

 

writing on back says wife #2

OK, so I am clipping along doing research on Thomas. He is the son of Talamacus and an unknown/unsure mother. According to his head stone, Thomas was born 15 April 1843. Lawrence County Arkansas censuses 1850 though 1900 consistently list birthplace as Missouri and verify that his father has a difficult name to spell ;)

I find a marriage certificate in Randolph County Arkansas of Thomas Whittaker and Melissa A Whittington. You can see below that Randolph County is the county north of Lawrence County and Randolph is on the border with Missouri.

lol, it's a map of counties where you can, or cannot, sell alcohol

The certificate states they were married 8th day of June 1863, that Thomas Whitker is from Lawrence County Arkansas and is 21 years old, and that Mealisia Ann Whittington is from the Butler County Missouri and is 18 years old. The certificate lists her father, not by name, as doing something regarding her age (can't read it).

perhaps you can tell me what her father did (certify?)

 

They have children in 1866, 1867, 1869, 1871, 1873, 1875, 1876, and 1879.

On the 1870 census "Malissa" is listed as 24 born Tennessee. (there is a Thomas Whittington next door and Talamacus Whittaker two doors down). 1870 - 24 = born 1846.

 

On the 1880 census "Malessa" is 27 born Missouri. The oldest child is 14 meaning if this Melissa is her mother she was only 13 when she delivered her. We know from the marriage certificate that "Mealisia" was 18 when they were married. 1880 - 27 = born 1853

 

On the 1900 census "Mallissa A" is 48 and born in Missouri. They also state they have been married 20 years meaning they were married in 1880). 1900 - 48 = born1852

 

Thomas and his wife have more documented children in 1882, 1883, 1884, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1896.

 

Long story short - according to other researchers, there's a second marriage for Thomas to Malissa Ann Whittington in Butler County Missouri on 25 Jun 1879. I'm told the first Malissa died and he married her first cousin also named Malissa Ann Whittington.

 

I found this listing from Butler county Missouri Marriage Records Book C at http://www.usgwarchives.net but I don't have a copy.

        Whitacre, Thomas       Whittington, Malissa A.       6/25/1879   page 33.3

 

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 - ?)