Ernest Barnes and Helen Barnes Marriage – 22 February 1914

Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, 329 West 42nd Street, New York, NY [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Cross_Church_(New_York_City)%5D.

Helen K. Barnes and Ernest H. Barnes were married at the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan on 22 February 1914. The church is right around the corner from Port Authority in New York City, and is a well-known landmark. From the Holy Cross Parish website:

When you enter Holy Cross Church on 42nd St, between 8th and 9th Avenues, you are stepping into the history and essence of New York City. A living landmark, Holy Cross Parish was founded in 1852, and the church is the oldest structure on all of 42nd Street. However, Holy Cross does not live only in its rich past. With weekday and Sunday Masses, Community Outreach Programs, and a vibrant and growing roster of parishioners, Holy Cross is an essential ingredient in Times Square and Western Midtown [http://web.archive.org/web/20100704184750/http://holycrossnyc.com:80/history_index.html].

I received back three copied pages from the City of New York Municipal Archives, for the marriage of Ernest and Helen Barnes, in under a month. Parents were noted for both couples, and also place of birth. Helen (called Ellen at birth and nicknamed Nellie) was living at 126 West 45th Street, and she lived within the parish boundaries. Her occupation was listed as Bookbinder. She was a cradle Roman Catholic, but Ernest was a Protestant, so it must have been her decision to marry in a Roman Catholic church. Ernest’s address was 7 West 65th Street, which is between Lincoln Center and Central Park. Of course I had to google the addresses! The Affidavit for License to Marry also noted that Ernest’s occupation was mechanic. On the 1910 Federal Census for New York City, Ernest H. Barnes had been living at 154 West 61st, and was listed as a timekeeper at an auto company. I haven’t found a conclusive 1910 Federal Census return for Helen Barnes. This is the first page – State of New York, Affidavit for License to Marry, No. 4831, dated 17 February 1914.

Source: The City of New York Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007

The second page is the Certificate and Record of Marriage. Both pages give Helen Barnes’ place of birth as Tipperary, Ireland, and although her family’s home was only a mile or two from County Tipperary, she was actually born in County Kings, Ireland, now called County Offaly.  Ernest had been born in Wayne County, North Carolina, as noted.

Source: The City of New York Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007

The last page was the for the clergyman or magistrate to fill out. James F. Ferris, Catholic Priest, residing at 329 West 42nd Street, in the county of New York, entered the information and signed it, along with the two witnesses – Nellie Cunningham and D. Bishop. It was said that a match-making mutual friend had introduced the couple the year before, since they shared the same surname. Perhaps it was one of these two witnesses.

Source: The City of New York Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007

The cost to obtain the record was $15.00. When requesting a marriage record, and the year to be searched is not known, it costs $2.00 more, with a limit of two years. Always note on the application for a search that you want all of the pages copied, not only the marriage certificate. To obtain the form go to:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/archives/genealogy.shtml

Helen Katherine Barnes. From her daughter –  Helen Barnes Golden.

Ernest Howard Barnes. From his daughter – Helen Barnes Golden.

Good luck searching for your family marriage records!

Copyright 2017 by Maryann Barnes.

Searching New York City Marriage Records for Barnes – 1914

I’ve finally had luck searching for the marriage application of Ernest Howard Barnes to Ellen Barnes, for February 1914. There are new records online for New York City births, deaths, and marriages from a group called Reclaim the Records.

We knew that Ernest and Ellen, or Helen as she was later called, married on 22 February 1914, from a family bible. It didn’t state where the marriage was held, but since both were living in Manhattan at the time, that was the place I first searched. There are at least two websites with excellent NYC records, one –  http://www.italiangen.org/ and the other –  http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/.  They both have great search engines, but I couldn’t find the record.

When I searched Reclaim the Records, I quickly found the correct marriage application. This group has posted records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Both the bride and the groom were listed in a logical order for February of 1914. It took me only minutes to find the record. The marriage application was dated 17 February 1914. The number on the certificate is 4831.

New York City Marriage Records – Manhattan – 1914 – Grooms

New York City Marriage Records – Manhattan – 1914 – Brides

Ernest Howard Barnes was born in 1885 in Wayne County, North Carolina and Ellen Barnes was born in 1881 in County Kings, Ireland, now called County Offaly. Here’s a photo taken on their wedding day.

Ernest Howard Barnes and Ellen Barnes, February 1914. Photo curtesy of Betsy Coleman.

I sent this week to the New York City Municipal Archives for the actual marriage application and recorded license. http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/archives/genealogy.shtml

One of our Barnes family members has done an actual painting from this wedding photograph. She is very talented! Take a look at her artistic rendition of the photo above at Fine Art America. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/ernest-and-helen-barnes-phyllis-andrews.html

Happy Saturday! Good luck searching for your family records!

Copyright 2017 by Maryann Barnes

N. C. Death Records – Nancy A. Musgrave Barnes (1837-1921)

Nancy Barnes’ Death Record – Source: ancestry.com. Database: North Carolina Deaths 1906 – 1930, image hosted by Family Search; record accessed 9 April 2016.

Today I’m looking at the death record for Nancy Ann Musgrave Barnes on Ancestry.com. This Nancy Barnes was my husband’s great-great-grandmother, and she was married to Jacob H. Barnes. Her parents were Tobias and Apsilla Whitley Musgrave, and she was born in Wayne County, North Carolina. Although the death record shows Nancy Ann’s birth as January 1838, I’ve seen other documents putting it at 1837.

The informant was listed as D. C. Cogdell, and he was Nancy’s granddaughter Alice’s husband –  Dallas Claude Cogdell (1875-1968). Nancy Ann and Jacob had three children: Emma, Alice, and Thomas Whitley Barnes. Emma Barnes (1855-1880) married Amariah A. Grantham, but sadly she died very young, leaving two young children – Claude Marshal and Alice Grantham. Baby Alice was under one year old when her mother died.

After Emma Barnes Grantham died, Alice married her sister’s husband, Amariah A. Grantham, on 26 November 1882, in Grantham Township, Wayne County, NC. Nancy’s daughter, Alice, helped raise the two children. This sequence of events baffled me for quite a while until I did more research on our Barnes family!

This is what I had found when I started, so of course I had thought Alice Grantham Cogdell was the daughter of Alice Barnes Grantham, but I was wrong.

Willow Dale Cemetery in Goldsboro, NC. First Section West of the office:
Nancy Musgrave, wife of Jacob H. Barnes, 1837-1921
Alice Barnes, wife of A. A. Grantham, 1858-1932
D. C. Cogdell, 10-18-1880; 3-10-1968
Alice Grantham, wife of D.C. Cogdell, 1879-1965
N .W. Musgrave, 6-25-1842; 8-2-1926
M. Yelverton, 11-17-1849; 2-23-1917.

Source:  Wayne County, NC – Cemeteries, From the book, “Gravestone Inscriptions“.

N. W. Musgrave was Nancy Ann’s brother, Needham Whitley Musgrave. John Musgrave (1667-1746) arrived in Pennsylvania from Northern Ireland in 1682. His son, Caleb, moved to Wayne County, North Carolina with other Quaker families in the late 1700s. Caleb Musgrave was N. W. Musgrave and Nancy Musgrave Barnes’ great-grandfather.

Source: ancestry.com; Needham Whitley Musgrave’s Death Record; North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930; image hosted by Family Search; Record accessed 9 April 2016

Lots of family trees contain errors, and it is always good to check and re-check facts that you find. Quite often I still see the death date for Jacob H. Barnes as 1869, when he really had died in 1863 while a Confederate POW, after being wounded and captured at the Battle of Gettysburg. I think the source of that confusion is that his widow, Nancy, had applied for her Dower Rights in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1869.

In the Johnston County Loose Estate Records 1771-1962, abstracted by Elizabeth E. Ross, Jacob Barnes was listed under the year 1869, and his widow, Nancy A Barnes, had applied for her dower rights. Number of documents were 10+.  In 2007, I sent to the Archives in Raleigh, NC, and received back 22 pages. In 2015 Ancestry.com added the database, North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, and it is included under Jacob H. Barnes, and is now very accessible to read through all the pages [Johnston County, North Carolina Estate Records; Author: North Carolina. Superior Court (Johnston County); Probate Place: Johnston, North Carolina].

It is possible that this photograph saved by her daughter-in-law, Sarah Ophelia Rose Barnes, was Nancy, but at this time our family isn’t sure. She doesn’t look like Ophelia or her siblings, so perhaps she was Nancy Ann, and not Ophelia’s mother, Nancy Brent Rose.

Photograph from Betsy Coleman.

Nancy Ann had five grandchildren: Claude and Alice Grantham and also Ernest, George Herbert, and Bessie Pauline Barnes. George Herbert and his wife Sadie Barnes, named their only child, Nancy Rose Barnes, most likely in honor of his grandmothers.

Results from my husband’s DNA test at Family Tree DNA, shows that he is indeed related to the Barnes, Musgrave, Brent, and Rose families of Wayne and Johnston counties, North Carolina.

Copyright 2016 by Maryann Barnes.

 

Researching the Barnes Family of Johnston and Wayne Counties, North Carolina

Johnston County, NC at formation on June 28, 1746. Source: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncjohnst/maps.htm

I’ve been researching my husband’s Barnes line from North Carolina more extensively since receiving back his DNA results. This map is from the North Carolina Atlas of Historic Boundaries, by John H. Long, Compiled by Gordon Denboer, Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY, NY, (May 1998).  I’ve found these historic maps very helpful. They show how the borders of the counties of North Carolina have changed over the years. You can click on this map to enlarge it.

The Barnes clan lived in this area from the 1700s,  possibly coming from the coastal counties of the Colony of North Carolina, from where they lived in Virginia – most likely circa mid 1600s. If you know this area of eastern North Carolina, the Barnes surname is very common. I started researching about fifteen years ago, and there are still so many family lines to untangle! We turned to Family Tree DNA, based in Houston, Texas to try to find out some more answers. I have no affiliation with this company. We used the Y-DNA test to find out the heritage of my husband’s Barnes line. He also did the Family Finder test for his autosomal DNA results going back at least five generations for both his maternal and paternal ancestry.

The autosomal DNA test results show my husband is 100% European, with about 57% British Isles, 40% Western and Central Europe, and 3% Southern Europe roots. The results took from about December 26, 2015, when the lab received back the test kit, until January 22, 2016. There were pages of matches, with some known distant cousins that we have corresponded with. The Y-DNA test took until February 4th, 2016 and gave him matches from his Barnes paternal line. This test showed the genetic distance between the matches. What was very interesting was the geographic concentration of the matches, leading back to the exact area of North Carolina that his grandfather, Ernest Howard Barnes, was from. Ernest lived in Wayne County, NC from his birth in 1885, until going north to New York State when he was around twenty years old, to attend a business college. The photo below was taken while he was in college in North Carolina when he was about eighteen years old.

Photo of Ernest H. Barnes, taken about 1903. Initials on his collar are AMC. N.C. College of Agriculture & Mechanical Arts in West Raleigh, NC. Taken about 1903.

Ernest Barnes’ parents were Thomas Whitley Barnes and Sarah Ophelia Rose, and they had a farm in Grantham Township, Wayne County, NC. His grandparents were Jacob H. Barnes who had married Nancy Ann Musgrave; and George Pinkney Rose who had married Nancy Brent or Brunt (I have seen both spellings). The last four were my husband’s great-great-grandparents. All of these families had lived within the boundaries of the map I posted on top.

The Rose and Brent families lived near Bentonville, Johnston County moving slightly east into southern Wayne County in Grantham Township. The Barnes and Musgrave families had lived towards the northern part of the map. The Barnes family lived near the border of today’s county line between Johnston and Wayne counties. Jacob H. Barnes had inherited land in Boon Hill, Johnston County (renamed Princeton in 1873), although on records he had put that he was born in Wayne County. The Musgrave family had lived in Fork Township, Wayne County, on land situated north of the Neuese River and south of the Little River. Although the Barnes, Rose, and Brent families had come down to North Carolina from Virginia in the early to mid 1700s, the Musgrave family had come from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to the Falling Creek area of Wayne County in the mid 1700s.

What was interesting with the DNA Family Finder test, was that all four names – Barnes, Rose, Musgrave, and Brent – showed up in 2nd to 4th cousin matches with my husband. Fourth cousins have one set of great-great-great-grandparents in common, so I think some of these matches are really 5th cousins. If any of his first or second cousins had been tested they would have been shown as immediate or close relative. For a simple Cousins Chart and explanation use this link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin

In the weeks to come I will delve deeper into the Barnes distant cousin matches. One outcome of my husband’s Y-DNA test is that I will look more closely into a certain group of Barnes men from Edgecombe, Wilson, Johnston, and Wayne counties of North Carolina. There seems to be a close relation between Jacob H. Barnes’s father Jacob, and men with the first names of Jesse, Jethroe, Josiah, and possibly another Jacob Barnes (Sr.) from about 1750 through 1840. From some of the DNA results it seems that the  Will of Jethroe Barnes of Wayne County, dated the 13th Day 1816, may have been written by the brother or uncle of our Jacob Barnes that died in May of 1840. Hoping for some brick wall busting!

Copyright 2016 by Maryann Barnes

 

Marriage of Herbert Barnes and Sadie Fitzgerald, 1914

Marriage Record of Herbert Banes and Sadie Fitzgerald

This image is of the marriage record of Herbert Barnes, age 24, of Wayne County, NC and Sadie Fitzgerald, age 21, of Johnston County, NC . The marriage license application was on February 6, 1914 and the marriage was celebrated on February 18, 1914, in Johnston County, North Carolina. The marriage record is faint, and some lines are almost ineligible, but still it is great that the record was on an Ancestry.com database. Here is the source citation: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

The record shows that Herbert Barnes’ parents were Tom Barnes, Deceased, and Ophelia Barnes, Living. Sadie Fitzgerald’s parents were Gaston Fitzgerald, Living, and Tabitha Fitzgerald, Living. I can’t make out the names of the three witnesses.

There is a recording of this marriage in the Barnes Family Bible.

Barnes Family Bible – in possession of the Coleman Family

In this same family bible, it shows George H. Barnes was born on March 6, 1889. He was known as Uncle Herbert, to his niece and nephews in our Barnes family.  Searching for George Herbert Barnes in the U.S. Federal Census returns, it shows he switched back and forth between his two given names. In the 1900 Federal Census he was Herbert G. Barnes. In 1910 he was Herbert Barnes. In 1920 he was George H. Barnes. 1930 shows him as George H. Barnes, and in the 1940 census he was once again Herbert Barnes. In all of the census returns he was living at Grantham Township, Wayne County, NC [Sources:  Ancestry.com. 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010].

After their marriage, George Herbert and Sadie Elizabeth Fitzgerald Barnes lived at the family farm in Grantham Township, Wayne County, NC. They had one daughter, Nancy Rose Barnes, born December 22, 1914.

Good luck searching for your family marriage records!

Researching the Barnes Surname at the North Carolina State Archives

Photograph taken by Maryann Barnes

This spring I decided to finally take a trip to the North Carolina State Archives, in Raleigh, to research my husband’s Barnes line. I had one main objective – to find something new about Jacob Barnes (1759-1840). He died in Johnston County, NC in May 1840, after having lived in Wayne County for many years. His estate was settled in Johnston County in 1842. I had previously posted about Jacob’s estate here.

First, I looked at the books about Wayne and Johnston counties.  In a book called, Marriage, Cohabitation, Divorce, Bastardy Records of Wayne Co, NC, I found an intriguing entry with the surnames Barnes and Simms. Since you are allowed to take a camera (without flash) into the archives I took a photograph.

Marriage, Cohabitation, Divorce, Bastardy Records of Wayne Co, NC, page 3. North Carolina State Archives.

From information at the Johnston County Heritage Center, Smithfield, NC, in the Barnes surname file, I had previously seen records that had been copied from the Johnston County, NC Deeds – T2, Page 289-290, that showed Garry Sims had been appointed the guardian of the children of Mary Sims Burnnum, after her death. Heirs of Joseph Simms, Feb. 1842, was registered in Johnston County on 28 March, 1842. Garry Sims was from Greene County, Alabama. From researching the family, I found that Mary Sims Burnham had died in that county in 1836, and her husband, Louis Burnham had remarried in 1837 to Catherine Sumrel. Johnston County records for Jacob Barnes’ estate had listed Simms heirs, through his granddaughter, Mary, and I had thought they were the only Simms heirs.

Looking through the Wayne County  book under the surname Simms, I found another reference listing Martha Simms and James Pope, two new names. This had the added information that Martha Simms Pope was the granddaughter of Jacob Barnes, and that she had lived in Houston County, Georgia.

Marriage, Cohabitation, Divorce, Bastardy Records of Wayne Co, NC, page 41. North Carolina State Archives.

Cross-referencing the page with the Pope surname confirmed that all three entries were in the Wayne County Record of Deeds, Volume 19, page 57.

Marriage, Cohabitation, Divorce, Bastardy Records of Wayne Co, NC, page 36. North Carolina State Archives.

After that find, I took the book up to the reference desk to make copies, and asked how to locate the deed book. One of the staff took me over to the microfilm room, and pulled Wayne County Record of Deeds, C.103.40008, 1838-1848, Vols 18, 19, 20. She said to forward the microfilm to Volume 19, and then to start looking for page 57.

Pages 57 and 58 showed that James Cook, a planter from Houston County, Georgia, was asking to be included in the estate of Jacob Barnes of Johnston County, through his wife, Martha, who was a granddaughter. He applied the 6th day of December 1841. James Cook wanted an advance of $528.78. Printing off of the machine, I couldn’t get a good copy of page 57 even with the staff helping. Page 58 came out much nicer. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Wayne County Record of Deeds, C.103.40008, 1838-1848, Vols 18, 19, 20. Microfilm – Volume 19, page 57.  North Carolina State Archives.

Wayne County Record of Deeds, C.103.40008, 1838-1848, Vols 18, 19, 20. Microfilm – Volume 19, page 58. North Carolina State Archives.

With this new information it shows that there were at least two grandchildren from Jacob Barnes’ daughter (first name unknown), who married a Simms or Sims, most likely in Wayne County, NC. It is possible that his name was Joseph Simms. From researching census, marriage, and death records for Houston County, Georgia, Martha Simms Pope had died on 23 July 1848, after the birth of her last child, Josephine, who had been born on the 20th of July. James Pope had remarried to Nancy Wimberly on 27 December 1848 in Houston County, Georgia [Source: Dodd, Jordan. Georgia Marriages to 1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997].

From the Find A Grave website, James Pope died in 1853 and was buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Hayneville, Houston County, Georgia. [Source; http://www.findagrave.com Find A Grave Memorial# 116865177]. It is probable that Martha (Simms) Pope was also buried there, but it looks like her dates on the gravestone must have been hard to read, because the date of her death is listed as 1818, instead of 1848. This could also have been a different Martha Pope. Only six internments are known in this cemetery [Source; http://www.findagrave.com – Find A Grave Memorial# 116865261].

Photograph taken by Maryann Barnes

This research has hopefully given the Simms/Sims and Pope families some needed information about their ancestry, through Jacob Barnes. It is sometimes so hard to research female lines in family trees, when maiden names are unknown.

I’m looking forward to going back to the archives to spend more time in the both the search room and the library. I went on a Saturday, and it was only open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Giving thanks that so many records for genealogy have been stored in this great building for the public to use. Good luck researching your family names!

Marriage of Thomas Barnes to Barbara Woods – 1920

This past week I’ve been looking in the new records that FamilySearch added for New York City, and I found this marriage record, for one of our Irish Barnes clan. Thomas Barnes was born in the townland of Aghadouglass, in Kings County, Ireland on October 11th, 1884. He was the youngest of the twelve children of John and Mary Ryan Barnes, that lived to maturity.

Source: Irish Midlands Ancestry, Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland. Date: 12 May 2005 – Report on The Barnes family, of Kilcolman, County Offaly, Ireland.

Barbara Woods was born in Largydonnell, County Leitrim, Ireland to Patrick and Catherine Higgins Woods, on 2 March 1893. I found her application for a US Passport on ancestry.com and she had traveled back to Ireland, to see her mother, in 1923. At that time, Thomas and Barbara were living at 820 Third Avenue, in Manhattan. Below is her photo from her passport application.

Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

My father-in-law, Thomas Barnes, was named for this uncle Tom from his mother’s side, and also for his paternal grandfather, Tom Barnes, of Wayne County, North Carolina. I had heard stories that Uncle Tom Barnes was a captain on a tugboat in the New York harbor. When I checked with my husband’s aunt Helen a few years back, she corrected me, saying that he was only a fireman on the boats working in the boiler room. Aunt Helen said that Uncle Tom was a great favorite of her, and her siblings, because he was lots of fun and brought them candy.

When Thomas Barnes emigrated from Ireland in 1909, he listed that he was coming to his brother, Patrick Barnes, living at 223 East 36th Ave., Manhattan, New York. He left from Queenstown, County Cork, on the ship Majestic, arriving at Ellis Island on October 14th. Barbara Woods emigrated from Londonderry, Northern Ireland on the ship Cameronia, arriving at Ellis Island on 6 October 1912 [Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010].

From an old postcard. “RMS Majestic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Majestic_%281914%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cameronia_%281911%29

From the 1910 Federal Census, Thomas was living at 223 East 36th Avenue, in Manhattan,  along with his brother, Patrick, at what was actually the home of his sister, Maria, and her husband, Martin Gleason. Many of our Irish Barnes family first lived with the Gleason family on their arrival to New York City. Thomas was working as a laborer in a building, and was listed as 21 years old. On Thomas Barnes’ World War One registration card, he listed October 14, 1887 as his birthday, but most likely this was the day he was baptized.

From looking at the Federal Census records from 1930 and 1940, Thomas Barnes was listed as a water tender for New York City. The water tender was often also called the stoker, or fireman, on the boats. In 1940 he was listed as 48 years old. From the records that I’ve found, Tom seems to be hazy about the year of his birth – always making himself younger. He and his wife, Barbara, lived on Staten Island, in Richmond County. No children were listed in 1930 and 1940, and this seems consistent with family research, that since they were childless, they enjoyed spoiling their many nephews and nieces.

Many thanks to Randy Seaver, of Genea-Musings, for bringing these records to my attention! From his Tuesday’s Tips: the URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/03/tuesdays-tip-familysearch-has-added-new.html

 New York City Marriage Records from 1866-1938

Good luck searching your family marriage records!

Surname Saturday – Ryan Clan

Ryan Crest photo by http://www.4crests.com

The Ryan surname is often listed as one of the top ten surnames of Ireland. The Ryan Clan that I’m researching comes from Kilcolman, County Offaly (King’s), Ireland.

“Ryan Family History. Irish: simplified form of Mulryan.Irish: reduced form of O’Ryan, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Riagháin (modern Irish Ó Riain) ‘descendant of Rian’; Ó Maoilriain ‘descendant of Maoilriaghain’, or Ó Ruaidhín ‘descendant of the little red one’. Source: http://www.ancestry.com”

Since I’m researching the grandparents of my husband’s grandparents, today I’m focusing on the maternal grandparents of Helen Barnes. Helen was baptized as Ellen Barnes at the Kilcolman Roman Catholic Church on 5 August 1881. Her parents were listed as John and Mary Ryan Barnes [Source: Irish Midlands Ancestry, Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland – Date: 12 May 2005]. Her sponsors were Pat Barnes & N.R. Barnes (N.R. means the first name was not recorded). The Barnes family lived in the Townland of Aughadouglas. When Ellen came to New York City she married Ernest Barnes, retaining her own maiden name.

Kilcolman Roman Catholic Church, County Offaly, Ireland. Photo taken by Maryann Barnes.

When I started researching Helen Barnes in 2000, I sent to the Social Security Administration for her original application for a Social Security number. The application showed that her father was John Barnes and her mother’s full name, at her birth, was Mary Ryan. Knowing her mother’s maiden name was a great help when I contacted the Irish Midlands Ancestry to compile a report for my husband’s family.

Original applications for a Social Security number are still available under the Freedom of Information Act. As an example, I submitted a request for another deceased family member on 5 February 2015. Since I knew the Social Security number the cost was $27. On February 20th, I received a form letter saying the request was received.  On 2 March 2015, a copy of the original application was sent to me. For more information on obtaining a copy of an original application under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) click here.

Along with researching our Barnes clan, the Irish Midlands Ancestry, also called the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society, looked at Ryan records. The Kilcolman Roman Catholic Baptismal Records they hold start at 1830. With the information from family members about the twelve children of John and Mary Ryan Barnes, and their wedding date of 13 June 1859, there were two possible records.

At the Kilcolman Church on 18 March 1831, a child, Mary Ryan, was christened with the parents listed as Stephen and Mary Fitzpatrick Ryan.  This Mary Ryan was the only child listed of those parents. Another Mary Ryan was christened on 15 July 1841, with the parents listed as Jamy and Johanna Ryan. Mary Ryan Barnes also had two other possible siblings christened at the church. James Ryan was christened on 11 April 1839, with his parents listed as James and Jony Ryan. Honora Ryan was born on 23 April 1844, with her parents listed as James and Honora Ryan. For all three of these records the mother’s maiden name was also listed as Ryan. With two of the twelve children, of John and Mary Ryan Barnes named James and Joanna, it seems that our Mary Ryan was the child born in 1841.

When I contacted the priest of the Kilcolman R. C. Church in 2008 for more information, he replied that John and Mary Ann Ryan Barnes were married on 13 June 1859, confirming the information from the Irish Midlands Ancestry. Earlier in 2005 I had sent a letter to the church requesting information, but it was returned unopened because that priest had left! I was happy that in 2008 I had the correct name, Rev. Kieran Blake, and that he took the time to reply.

When my daughter and I visited the Kilcolman R. C. Church in 2008, the priest was away. We searched the adjacent cemetery for any Barnes or Ryan headstones, finding only one for a Mary Ryan, which was obviously not the one we were looking for. Here is a photo in case it helps another Ryan researcher. We also visited the Coolderry parish church. According to Father Blake there is also a third church in the parish. The Kilcolman Church is about three miles from Birr, County Offaly, going towards Roscrea, County Tipperary.

Headstone at the Kilcolman Roman Catholic Church Cemetery for Kieran and Mary Ryan.

County King’s (Offaly) Tithe Applotment from 1820 lists nine occupiers with the name of James Ryan. The Griffiths Valuation from 1850 recorded thirteen occupiers under James Ryan. Although the Ryan surname is very common, especially in the Irish Midlands, I’m hoping that the release of the Irish Roman Catholic church records from the National Library of Ireland, planned for this summer will help me to narrow down the possible Ryan families. The records will consist of primary baptismal and marriage records.

The Irish Midlands Ancestry had included the marriage records for the surname Ryan from the Kilcolman Roman Catholic Church when they did our family report. They had fifteen listed under the husband’s surname, Ryan, from 1832 until 1918, and another fifteen under the wife’s surname of Ryan, from 1831 until 1930. None matched up with James and Joanna Ryan, so it is possible their marriage record will be found at another parish.

Surname Saturday is a blogging prompt suggested by Geneabloggers. Take a look at their webpage for more information. Happy Saturday!

Barnes and Musgrave Families of Wayne County, North Carolina

Source: Marriage record of Nancy Ann Musgrave and Jacob Barnes, 1854. Record accessed 17 November 2014. http://www.familysearch.org

When I started researching my husband’s Barnes line, I knew they had Wayne County, North Carolina roots. My husband’s father and his Aunt Helen had told me that their father, Ernest Barnes, had been born in the Goldsboro area in 1885, and that the family had lived in Grantham Township. It took lots of research to find out that his grandfather’s grandmother was Nancy Ann Musgrave Barnes (1837-1921). The Barnes surname is a very common one in North Carolina, and there are many different lines in Wayne County!

This year I have been trying to find out my about both mine, and my husband’s, grandparents grandparents. From focusing on these specific generations in our family tree I’ve been having very good results and learning more about the history of our families.

Nancy Ann Musgrave married Jacob H. Barnes on 18 May 1854 in Wayne County, NC. She was the daughter of Tobias and Apsilla Whitley Musgrave. After her father’s death in 1848, her mother married John T. Toler, of Wayne County, NC. From searching this month in the “North Carlina Estate Files, 1663-1979” I’ve finally found out that Nancy Ann’s father died on 1 January 1848 in Wayne County, when he was 42 years old, and she was 10 years old. The estate files gives many pages of details about the guardians appointed for Nancy Ann and her brothers, William and Needham, and the settling of Tobias’ estate.

Here is a note I saved from when I was trying to unravel the Barnes family tree.

Oct. 2004 – I’m not sure if Nancy Ann Musgrave is the mother of Thomas W. Barnes, but I’m entering her because the information seems to fit. On his marriage application he stated his father was J. Barnes – dead, and his mother is N. Barnes – living of Wayne County, NC. He gives his age as 23, and he would be turning 24 in April of that year if he was born in 1860. From the 1870 Federal Census for Wayne County. Grantham Township, there is a Thos. W. Barnes, age 10, living with his mother N. A. Barnes age 32, and sisters Emma – 15, Alice – 13. In the 1880 Federal Census, Wayne County, Brodgen District, there is a T. W. Barnes age 20. living with his mother N. A. Barnes age 42. Also, in the 1900 Federal Census for Wayne County there no longer is a Thomas W. Barnes, and Bessie Pauline Barnes seems to be listed twice; once with her mother Ophelia in Grantham Township, and earlier that month with Musgrave relatives in Goldsboro Township. [Yes, this is the right family. – Maryann Barnes].

Nancy Ann Musgrave’s husband, Jacob H. Barnes, died at age 36, after being wounded and captured during the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. He died at Fort Delaware during a measles outbreak, while being held as a prisoner of war by the Union side. She never remarried. Nancy Ann Musgrave Barnes is buried at the Willowdale Cemetery in Goldsboro, Wayne County, NC.

Below is where I found the copy of the marriage record at the top of this post. All of the records at FamilySearch are free, so take a look and try to find something new about your ancestry. Good luck researching your family and unraveling your lineage!

Jacob Barnes – Land and Slave Divison in Johnston County, NC, 1840 – Friend of Friends Friday

Friend of Friends Friday is a blogging prompt from Geneabloggers to upload records of enslaved ancestors, whether they are your own or not, and to transcribe them to your blog.  These records are from the estate of Jacob Barnes, who was born on 23 December 1759 in North Carolina, and who died May of 1840, at Boon Hill, Johnston County, North Carolina. The records show the land divisions, and also the disrupted family groups of the enslaved families, that the children and grandchildren of Jacob Barnes were given after his death by court decree. It was copied from the Barnes surname file at the Wayne County Public Library, in Goldsboro, NC, on 12 April 2005. You can click on the images to enlarge them. The record starts on page two, at the number 46.

Jacob Barnes of Johnston County, North Carolina – Records from 1840 – 1843

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Good luck researching!