Caroline Barney

Caroline Haws was born to Gilberth Haws and Hannah Whitcomb. She married Walter Barney 5 May 1848 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had one son, Walter Warden Barney, born 15 Apr 1850. They had no other children of record. There has been some confusion of having a daughter named Maude M. Barney married to an Alexander Beckstead. Her husband remarried after her death. This Maude has been confused with her husband's second wife, Susan Zabriskie, and their grandaughter named Maude Minerva Beckstead. Barney and Susan's daughter, Mercy Minerva Barney, married Heber Alexander Beckstead. They were the parents of Maude Minerva Beckstead.

There is not a known photo of Caroline Haws Barney. Here is a description from a family book: 5'3" tall, 125 lbs, dark brown hair, and light blue eyes. She died of spinal disease, just like her sister Matilda. Matilda was the first person to die (4 Jun 1949) while at Fort Utah. She was reburied at Provo's Pioneer Cemetery. Caroline died in the Provo area, but the location is not known. We have found no record of her grave being moved to the cemetery as was Matilda's, not all graves are recorded or marked.

The following are some facts about two of the burial places in Provo at the time of Caroline's death. It was extracted from a history of Provo Cemeteries.

Temple Hill Cemetery: In 1850, a better location was found [for a fort] and a second fort was built. The houses and stockade were moved and replaced on the second spot. Later that year, it was extended by another addition or fort. A SECOND Fort Field Cemetery was begun. In The History of Provo 4th Ward, John E. Booth states, "Fort Field Cemetery name is changed to Temple Hill." By 1880, this site was discarded as a burial ground as the soil was too sandy, causing graves to cave in before burials could take place. This site is where the Maeser Building now stands on the Brigham Young University campus. [Caroline died 5 May 1853, so it is possible that she was originally buried here.]

PROVO CITY CEMETERY: The first Fort Field Cemetery was too wet, the Temple Hill Cemetery (second Fort Field) was too sandy, and the Grandview Hill Cemetery, where three farms converged had been closed at the request of the landowners. A new burial location was needed, so on June 11, 1853, a special meeting was called at the Public Square (Pioneer Park). A committee was appointed to find a better place for a cemetery. On June 25, 1853, their report was presented and the current site of the Provo City Cemetery on Springville Road (State Street) was chosen.

The Provo City Cemetery was dedicated in 1853. The process of moving the remains from surrounding burial grounds to the Provo City Cemetery took many years to complete. The records show that George Haws, Matilda Haws, Harriette Turner, and Wm. Dayton were moved from Fort Field to the Provo City Cemetery. Mary Blake Peay, Abisha Ware, and others were moved to the Provo City Cemetery from Temple Hill Cemetery. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers memorial drinking fountain lists the names of the known pioneers who were moved here from other burial sites. The first burial listed in the Provo City Cemetery records, not moved from a previous site is Joseph Whipple in December 1856. [Matidla is listed, but not Caroline.]

Inside the cemetery, a large area was designated for the remains of those people who were relocated from the Temple Hill Cemetery. It is in Block 5, Lot 62, which is located at 5th West and 1st South. Some headstones are present, but most are unmarked graves. [Caroline could be one of those unmarked graves.]