James "Handsome Jim" Barnes

James Barnes was the son of Brinsley Barnes and Elizabeth (unknown) Barnes

DAR Patriot # Ancestor #: A006329 Red Flagged: "FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE".

There is a family history story that brothers Deaf John and Handsome Jim raised their children in a 'dog trot' type of log cabin in N.C., one family on each side. This may have been because of John's hearing handicap, he preferred living close by to relatives to help him through life. Their children were raised almost as if they were siblings instead of first cousins. And it was their descendants who eventually migrated to Lawrence Co., Indiana.

From Find A Grave Memorial# 92303545

According to Rev. Isaac Oxford, who wrote a short history of the Oxford Family in 1890:James was known as Handsome Jim Barnes. He and his brother, John "Deaf" Barnes raised their children together so that it became difficult, when researching, to separate their offspring into family units. Most researchers will agree, though, that the children have been assigned correctly. James was in Indiana by 1823, leaving his wife, Sarah, in NC with their daughter, Hannah Barnes Oxford. Some of his children accompanied him, including son, Jehu, and daughter, Elizabeth Swaim. James served in the Revolution, and his service is recognized by the DAR.

Links

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• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=walamb122...

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From: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=walamb122...

1800 Census Morgan, Wilkes, North Carolina; .Roll 33; Page: 26; Image: 468 - James Barnes Males 0-15 (1) 16-25 (1) 45+ (1) Females 16-25 (1) 45+ (1)

According to Rev. Isaac Oxford, who wrote a short history of the Oxford Family in 1890: James Barnes, by last account, was in Indiana. James was known as "Handsome Jim"

From Mary Lou Zimmerman: James was known as James "Handsome" Barnes. He and his brother, John "Deaf" Barnes raised their children together so that it became difficult, when researching, to separate their offspring into family units. Most researchers will agree, though, that the children have been assigned correctly. James was in IN by 1823, leaving his wife, Sarah, in NC with their daughter, Hannah Barnes Oxford. Some of his children accompanied him, including son, Jehu, and daughter, Elizabeth Swaim. James served in the Revolution, and his service is recognized by the DAR.

From Mick Barnes: The name James was obtained from various unconfirmed/undocumented genealogy files as well as from land deed transactions between James Barnes and his father, immigrant Brinsley Barnes, in Chatham County, NC and also the sale of the same land in 1778 between James & Sarah Barnes and Adam Moser The date of birth is an estimated date based on the confirmed birth date of his sisters, Mary and Anne, and the marriage date between James and Sarah CARTER Barnes. Similarly, the place of birth of James Barnes is guessed as being Chester County PA since his parents were known to be living there during that period of time. Other circumstantial information agrees with those estimates.

The marriage records of Swedes Church, Philadelphia, P A lists the marriage of James to Sarah Carter next to the marriage of John, brother of James, to Ruth Fisher.

1772 Militia Roll records for Chatham County, NC lists James in among his brothers, namely John, Brinsley II, Thomas and Jehu.

The date of death is estimated.

The names of the children of James & Sarah for my descendant records for immigrant Brinsley & wife Elizabeth were obtained from various genealogy sources.

Sarah Carter was a Quaker and James was not a Quaker. Beginning 29 August 1763, the Quaker Monthly Meeting (MM) records of Chester County P A Meeting House show that Sarah was removed from the Quaker church for marrying James Barns. Similarly, on 28 November 1763, the MM records for Chester County show, 'Sarah, dt (daughter) of Hanivey (see next paragraph), now wife of James Barns, dis (disowned) for mou (marrying out of unity)'. The link between the listed marriage of James & Sarah in the Swedes' church record to the Quaker MM records of Chester County P A is circumstantial but the location & dates & names all seem to fit reasonably well.

The transcriptions of the Quaker records by Hinshaw et al incorrectly listed Hanivey as the father of Sarah. I obtained a copy of the original hand written records and discovered / confirmed that the name of Sarah's father was Ninevah.

In 1767, immigrant Brinsley sold 160 acres of land in Orange County NC (later became Chatham County) to his son James & wife Sarah. Several male members of the Barnes family belonged to the Regulators and after the Battle of Allamance, 1771, a forerunner to our Revolutionary War, many of the Regulators fled to the western part of NC which was outside of the rule of the British Government. James, John, Jehu, Thomas and Brinsley Jr.,sons of immigrant Brinsley, appear on Militia Muster Rolls in 1772, Chatham County, NC. James & Sarah sold their land in 1778 and moved to Wilkes County NC and later moved with at least their son John to Burke County NC which was later divided/became Alexander and Caldwell Counties. The 1800 Federal census for Burke County NC, page 727/8, list James Barnes and John Barnes and Ninivy Barnes. Ninivy's census data was listed as Ninivy Barnes 1m 26-45; 2m -10; 1£ 26-45; 2f- 10 which would put the date of birth between 1755 and 1774 for Ninivy (probably Ninevah) and similarly for his wife who could have been Nancy AUSTIN Barnes.

In 1807, Ninavia (probably Ninevah) Barnes, made his mark on the sale of his 25 acres of land in Burke county to Jesse Reed and the sale was witnessed by Benjamin Austin and James Fletcher. Perhaps the date of the sale of the land marked the period in time when they moved to Tennessee as they did not appear in the 1810 federal census for Burke County, NC.

The parents of Sarah Carter were Ninevah Carter and Mary CLAYTON Carter (who were devout Quakers) so perhaps James & Sarah named one of their sons Ninevah.

The name Ninevah is rather unique and was certainly carried down through the family of James & Sarah to a grandson Ninevah Barnes who was listed as a son in the Will of his father Jehu Barnes. Jehu was a son of James & Sarah and I have Jehu's date of birth as being about 1760 which conflicts slightly with the date of marriage of his parents, James & Sarah. My notes on Jehu say that Jehu and his wife Lurannah TEAGUE Barnes and other family members left NC for Indiana around 1824. Jehu died in Parke County IN (which sounds/looks very similar to your 'Pike County, IL') in 1833. Jehu's age at time of death was not stated in his Will but the names of his wife and children were stated and I have used this information for my descendant chart for Jehu & Lurannah TEAGUE Barnes. If interested, you could probably obtain a copy of the death/burial record for Jehu from Parke County IN and it may list his age or date of birth. A son James was also listed in the aforesaid Will of Jehu which would connect Ninevah & James as brothers.

From the "History of the Oxford Family, 1890" by Rev. Isaac Oxford, it is stated that

' ..... In the fall of 1806 James Oxford took to wife, Hannah Barnes, daughter of James Barnes and Sarah Barnes. James Barnes was born in the state of Pennsylvania, was of Irish descent, his father having immigrated from Dublinbutte in County Down Ireland. Sarah, his wife's maiden name was Carter, she also was a native of Pennsylvania, of English descent and a Quaker by profession. She died at the residence of James Oxford in the year 1829 at the advanced age of 96. James Barnes, in last account, was in Indiana, was one hundred and fifteen years old and could walk five miles to and from church in the day...."

Several family stories say that James Barnes died in the home of his son Jehu in Parke County Indiana. Sarah CARTER Barnes died in the home of her daughter Hannah BARNES Oxford and is buried next to Hannah and James Oxford in the Union Baptist cemetery in Caldwell county NC. Immigrant Brinsley and sons James, John and Jehu et allived nearby in Alexander county which was once part of Wilkes and Burke counties. They also owned land in Orange & Chatham & Wilkes & Burke & Alexander counties beginning in the mid 1700s.

And finally, I have a copy of a letter written 18 May 1822 by a James Barnes in Warren County TN to "Dear brother and sister...... " whose names are not stated nor the destination of the letter. The text of the letter mentions Mathew Austin as well as William Read (Reed??) and the letter closes with the signee names of Ninevah & Nancy Barnes, Benjamin Austin, Polly Austin and James Barnes

When James Barnes settled on the west bank of Middle Little River in Burke County, North Carolina, there were perhaps less than a dozen white families in that vicinity. He arrived during The Revolutionary Era, but the exact date in now forgotten. Like other pioneers, he was searching for broad and lasting grounds. His venture was successful, for he found a hunter's paradise. With a sigh of satisfaction, he too, like Archimedes, could have cried, "eureka, eureka."

The dark forest was full of game and the beautiful streams stocked with fish. The entire section was crowded with nectar producing trees and shrubs, from which the wild bees manufactured honeys, whose flavors were beyond compare. The matchless "sourwood" might, almost, have placated the "Olympians.?

Barns' home was near where the old Downs' Schoolhouse was later built. That would be approximately two miles east of "Union Church," now Caldwell County, North Carolina.

At that time a few bands of Catawba Indians hunted and fished in that region. It happened that one of their camps was near the Barnes home. These natives were peaceable, friendly, and good neighbors and often visited James. Their daughter, Hannah, being five or six years old, the friendly squaws would beg Sarah to let them take her to their camp, promising to return her before sunset, a promise they never broke. Sarah, at last consented, and it proved to be a delightful visit for the child. On other trips, Hannah and the Indian children would play, hunt berries, grapes, nuts, and wild flowers until they were exhausted. Then the old women would put them on bear skins, hum and repeat a little Indian slumber song: with these words, "je"ho-ee"ee-ee,"

The primitive music had some potency, for it never failed. Morpheus took complete con­trol, for an uncertain interval, until a gentle nudge from some squaw would bring the children back to reality. Hannah never learned what the words of their song meant, but one can imagine they constituted an appeal to the "Great Spirit" for dreamless sleep. After her period of rest, Hannah would be fed and carried back to her mother.

Pioneer homes were not filled with dainties, but Sarah would show her appreciation by giv­ing her neighbors pie, cake made with wild honey, beads or scraps of bright ribbon, and they would depart happy and soon return. Hannah never forgot the kind hearted people of­ the hills who helped brighten her childhood. Till the end of her life she would relate these incidents to her wide eyed descendants.

Before Hannah was half grown these pitiable fragments of a once proud race, saw the hopelessness of their situation, and sank into despair. They took their last look at the graves of their" ancestors, abandoned their homes, and with indian stocism, but perhaps with ach­ing hearts, bowed their heads and disappeared into the wilderness.

Based on the information provided by Mary Lou BARNES Zimmerman, I have updated my descendant chart to include Ninevah as a son of James & Sarah along with Ninevah's wife Nancy Austin and their approximate dates of birth.

According to Rev. Isaac Oxford, who wrote a short history of the Oxford Family in 1890:James was known as Handsome Jim Barnes. He and his brother, John "Deaf" Barnes raised their children together so that it became difficult, when researching, to separate their offspring into family units. Most researchers will agree, though, that the children have been assigned correctly. James was in Indiana by 1823, leaving his wife, Sarah, in NC with their daughter, Hannah Barnes Oxford. Some of his children accompanied him, including son, Jehu, and daughter, Elizabeth Swaim. James served in the Revolution, and his service is recognized by the DAR. * Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 6 2020, 20:43:45 UTC