Life History

Notes

• John and Minerva Barnett are enumerated in the 1850 census living in Itawamba County, Mississippi.  The census month in 1850 was November, which meant most of the children had already had their birthday for that year.  The census month in 1860 was June.
  
  1850 Federal Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi, 2 November, District 6, page 133 (scan 368), Hse #904, Fam #911
  John Barnett 28 M Farmer  Georgia [born abt 1822]
  Minerva Barnett 26 F South Carolina [born abt 1824]
  Caroline  Barnett 12 F Alabama [born abt 1838]
  Louisa J Barnett 9 F Alabama [born abt 1841]
  Elizabeth Barnett 7 F Alabama [born abt 1843]
  Lucinda K Barnett 5 F Mississippi [born abt 1845]
  Frances Barnett 4 F Mississippi [born abt 1846]
  John F Barnett 1 M Mississippi [born abt 1849]
  
  Lucinda here has the middle initial of K.  In 1860 we will find she is Lucinda C.  With these two initials, her name is probably is Catherine or Katherine.  Barnett researcher Kay Harper has the middle name spelled Catherine, so I am using that spelling of the name.
  
  From the birth place of their first three children, we can tell John and Minerva married in Alabama.  Going by the age of Caroline, the oldest child, they would have been married about 1837.  The year of Caroline's birth is the same year that John enlisted in the Alabama Volunteers, recorded as 1837.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi, 20 June, PO Gun Town, page 1 (scan 219), Hse/Fam #2
  Barnett, John 36 M Farmer  $200 real $1125 personal  Georgia [born abt 1824]
  Barnett, Minerva 38 F South Carolina [born abt 1822]
  Barnett, Louisa J 17 F Alabama [born abt 1843]
  Barnett, Sarah E 14 F Alabama [born abt 1846]
  Barnett, Lucinda C 12 F Mississippi [born abt 1848]
  Barnett, Francis (Frances) A 11 F Mississippi [born abt 1849]
  Barnett, John F  10 M Mississippi [born abt 1850]
  Barnett, William A  8 M Mississippi [born abt 1852]
  Barnett, Lee M 7 M Mississippi [born abt 1853]
  Barnett, James C 6 M Mississippi [born abt 1854]
  Barnett, Susan A 3 F Mississippi [born abt 1857]
  Barnett, Manday [Mandy] 1 M Mississippi [born abt 1859]
  
  Sarah E matches Elizabeth in 1850 and 1870.
  
  Ages vary wildly in these censuses, providijng unintended comic relief to the story.  In 1860 John is 36 (thus born abt 1824) and Minerva is 38 (thus born abt 1822).  The children's ages are about 10 years greater in the 1870 census, but in that 10-year period, John ages 19 years and Minerva ages 15 years!
  
  By 1870, they are in Prentiss County, Mississippi, near Booneville.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi, 11 June, PO Booneville, Township 6 Range 7, pages 5-6 (scan 428), Hse/Fam #31
  (page 5)
  Barnett, John 55 M W Farmer $200 real $1125 personal Georgia [born abt 1815]
  Barnett, Manerva 53 F W Keeping House Georgia [born abt 1817]
  Barnett, Elizabeth 24 F W Alabama [born abt 1846]
  Barnett, John F  19 M W Mississippi [born abt 1851]
  Barnett, William A  18 M W Mississippi [born abt 1852]
  (page 6)
  Barnett, Peter M 16 M W Mississippi [born abt 1854]
  Barnett, James C 15 M W Mississippi [born abt 1855]
  Barnett, Susan A 14 F W Mississippi [born abt 1856]
  Barnett, Amanda 12 F W Mississippi [born abt 1858]
  Barnett, Mary E 10 F W Mississippi [born bet June-Dec 1860]
  Barnett, Amos 8 M W Mississippi [born abt 1862]
  
  Living a few houses away in 1870 was the Gooch family, whose son Jesse A Gooch would marry John's daughter Amanda about 1877.
  
  A Barnett family genealogy by Kay Harper lists the children of this family, which I will not include in my primary entries:
  1. Frances BARNETT b: 1849
  2. Mary Nancy Ellen 'Mollie' BARNETT b: 31 Jan 1861 in Prentiss Co, Miss
  3. Lucinda Catherine 'Katie' BARNETT b: 27 Dec 1847 in Wheeler, Ms
  4. Louisa J. (Jane) BARNETT b: 1843 in Ala
  5. Sarah E. (Elizabeth) BARNETT b: 1846 in Ala
  6. John F. BARNETT b: 1850 in Ms
  7. William A. BARNETT b: 1852 in Ms
  8. James C. BARNETT b: 1854
  9. Susan A. BARNETT b: 1856
  10. Peter M. BARNETT b: 18 Jul 1856 in Ms
  11. Amos BARNETT b: 1862
  --  Kay Harper, http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=katty&id=I16762
  
  There is a child of this family missing from Kay's and another Barnett genealogy I found.  She is listed in two censuses I have found.  She is Amanda, age 12 in 1870, and reported as Manday (for Mandy), age 1, in 1860.  Larry Kingsley includes Amanda in his genealogy of several families that includes this Barnett family.
  --  Larry Kingsley, http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ldkingsley&id=I02794
  
  Some genealogies have one child as Susan Amanda.  Susan always appears in censuses as Susan A, but I have never seen the name Amanda in any records, only in genealogies, without any source or documentation.  Since there was a younger child, Mandy, a standard nickname for Amanda, it seems certain that Amanda was a younger daughter of this family, not the same child as Susan A.
  
  John and Minerva moved to Texas in the 1870s.  Their son James C is living next to them in the 1880 census in Young County, Texas.  James and his wife have one son, 1-year-old Christopher.  Christopher is reported as 1 year old and born in Texas.  I have not identified the ward William Hays.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Young County, Texas, 13 June, Precinct 2, District 168, page 17, Hse #144, Fam #148
  Barnet, John  W M 64   Farmer GA GA GA [b abt 1826]
  Barnet, Menerva W F 56 Wife Keeping House SC VA SC [b abt 1824]
  Barnet, William A  W M 25 Son Single Farmer MS GA SC [b abt 1855]
  Barnet, Susen A  W F 22 Dau Single Keeping House MS GA SC [b abt 1858]
  Barnet, Mary E  W F 18 Dau Single Farm Laborer MS GA SC [b abt 1862]
  Hays, William  W M 12 Ward Single Works on Farm TN -- TN [b abt 1868]
  
  Next door is John and Minerva's son James C and his family.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Young County, Texas, 13 June, Precinct 2, District 168, page 17, Hse #145, Fam #149
  Barnet, James C  W M 22   Farmer MS GA GA [b abt 1858]
  Barnet, Christina  W F 20 Wife Keeping House IL -- -- [b abt 1860]
  Barnet, Christopher  W M 1 Son Single TX MS IL [b abt 1879]
  
  In the 1900 census, we find Minerva living in Chickasaw Nation, the part that became Love County, with her son James and his wife Christina.  There are 4 men living with them as boarders.  James is listed as a farmer, and his son Christopher is working on the farm.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, 1 June, Township 7, Marietta, District 150, page 6A, Hse/Fam #90
  Barnett, Jas Head W M Oct 1856  43 Married 23 yrs  MS GA SC Farmer Rents
  Barnett, Christiana  Wife W F Mar 1858  42 Married 23 yrs  1 child/1 living IL NJ IN
  Barnett, Christopher C Son W M Nov 1877  22 Single TX MS IL Farm Laborer
  Barnett, Minerva Mother W F July 1823  76 Widowed Married 59 years 13 children/7 living SC VA SC
  
  For a long time, I could find no information on Minerva's parents, and no other Barnett researcher I had worked with over the years had any.  In September 2013, another cousin in the Barnett line contacted me for the first time, and in our exchanges reported to me the names of Minerva's parents.
  
  A reference below mentions the legendary family tradition referring to Minerva as a "Cherokee princess," a common fairy-tale white man's term for some fancied or real female Cherokee ancestor.  However, if her mother was really the daughter of a Ross chief's brother, it is closer to the truth in this case.  But they were not kings, princes and princesses, the Cherokee had no "royalty," even if she is of venerable heritage.
  
  Minerva and her children were denied enrollment in the Cherokee nation.  That is not worth much as far as it goes, due to the corruption and politics involved in the Dawes Commission's work and resulting lists.  But the Nations decided that those official white man's rolls would be the official reference point, and many true Native Americans for whatever political or valid reasons were denied their petitions.
  
  "I have Minerva Taylor Owens' parents at Alexander Owens and Deborah Ross.  It is our understanding that Deborah Ross was Chief John Ross's niece.  My mother's grandmother passed down that we were related to Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation who was the Chief during the Trail of Tears."
  --  Jared Kirk, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 10 September 2013
  
  Then I found one genealogy that reported these same names, and dates and places in addition.
  
  Alexander Owen
  Birth 1790 in North Carolina
  Death 1860 in Cherokee, Alabama
  Souse Deborah Ross Owen
  Birth 1795 in North Carolina
  Death 1860 in Cherokee, Alabama
  Minerva Taylor Owens
  Birth Jul 1823 in South Carolina
  Death Aug 1903 in Fort Gibson, Muskogee, Oklahoma
  --  Owen, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/54864920/person/13727259934
  
  According to Susan Ball, a Green-Barnett researcher, Minerva claimed to be Cherokee, and tried to get Cherokee land for Susan.  Family sources report Minerva was half Cherokee.  Her application to be registered as a Cherokee with the notorious Federal Dawes Commission were fruitless, draining her time, energy and funds for lawyers and travel.
  
  One descendant reports that her DNA testing revealed no Native American genetic ancestry.
  
  "If I am correct, and I believe I am, and Mary E. Barnett, daughter of Minerva, was my great grandmother.  I have had DNA testing and I do not have any Indian ancestry."
  --  Kay Fairchild, comment on the profile Minerva Taylor Owens on this genealogy in MyHeritage, 06 February 2019
  
  Information on Minerva's marriage and death are reported by family genealogies, but no documentation has come to light.  One or two sources have reported that Minerva is buried in Ft Gibson National  Cemetery, but she does not appear in the listings for that cemetery.
  
  We do find Susan and her husband Jacob Green living in Cherokee Nation, Township 15, in the 1900 census.  They are registered in Nash, Muskogee County (Choctaw Nation), Oklahoma, in 1910.  I have not found information on them between the years of their marriage in 1883 and the 1900 census.  The marriage date of 12 July 1883 for Susan and Jacob was also given to me by Susan Ball.
  
  Larry Kingsley reports from another family source that Minerva was 1/2 Cherokee.  He presents the following information about Minerva:
  
  Manerva Taylor OWENS
  Sex F
  Birth ABT 1817 in GA or SC
  Death AUG 1903 in Fort Gibson, Love Co OK
  Michael Epting "WCP" BLACK FAMILY record for Minerva Taylor Owens indicated Minerva was 1/2 Cherokee Indian.
  --  Larry Kingsley, http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ldkingsley&id=I02795&ftm=1
  
  Kay Harper reports this year of birth as 1817 also.  Neither give a source for the date.  The various censuses put her birth in the range of 1822-1824.  I suspect Larry Kingsley's source for birth in 1817 is the one aberrant census, 1870, when Minerva (Manerva) was reported as 53 and John 55 years old.  In 1860 John was 36, which fits, but would mean she aged only 7 years in the next ten.  In 1880 she is 56, catching her up with a 13-year gain, again making her birth year about 1824.
  
  Note that he reports the place of death as Ft Gibson, Love Co, Oklahoma.  However, Ft Gibson (the only one I know about) is not in Love County, but in Muskogee and Cherokee Counties.  Love County is on the border with Texas, whiile Muskogee is in east central Oklahoma.  Ft Gibson is where Minerva's daughter Susan Green was living at this time.  This makes it appear that after the death of her husband, Minerva had moved in with Susan and her husband Jacob Green.
  
  At the time of John's death in February 1897, they were living in Pickens County, near Marietta (county seat of what became Love County).  Her application for a widow's pension was filed from Marietta in March 1897.  In the 1900 census Minerva was still in what became Love County, in Marietta, Chickasaw Nation, not far from the Texas border.  She was living in the household of her son James C.
  
  Meanwhile, the 1900 census reported Minerva's daughter Susan and her husband Jacob Green in Cherokee Nation, around Ft Gibson where several genealogies report Minerva died.  She may have moved up there before she died.  Or she may have been living up there when John died, and she went for a while to stay with James before returning to Susan's home in Ft Gibson.  So I have reported Minerva's place of death as Ft Gibson.
  
  According to old maps of Indian Territory, Ft Gibson seems to be in Cherokee Nation, near its western border with Creek Nation. a little north of Muskogee, even though originally Mukogee (Muscogee, meaning the Creek Nation) was the capital of Creek Nation.  I have not been able to find information on why this capital of the Creek Nation wound up in Cherokee Territory.
  
  Several genealogies report death information for Minerva as Aug 1903 in Ft Gibson, but without providing a source.  I originally got this information from Larry Kingsley, whose source was Michael Epting.  Several genealogies have this same information, but I have not found the independent evidence myself.
  
  Susan Ball, a very careful researcher, gives this date for Minerva's death date in a discussion about Minerva's life (see below). but does not say where she learned the information.  The following information seems to reflect family sources, but does not say where the marriage and death information came from.
  
  Minerva Taylor Owens
  Birth Jul 1823 in South Carolina
  Death Aug 1903 in Fort Gibson, Love [should be Muskogee County], Oklahoma
  Marriage to John Barnett 7 Jan 1841 Cedar Bluff, Cherokee, Alabama
  --  Torum/Rogers, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/23282093/person/12109590169?ssrc=&ftm=1
  
  Cousin and coresearcher Winnie Yandell has provided notes on Minerva's deposition concerning her longterm attempts to be recognized as a Cherokee with the corrupt and politicized Federal Dawes Commission.  I have not seen this deposition myself. (Notes in parentheses below by Winnie Yandell)
  
  ---------------------------
  A notarized copy of deposition by Minerva "sworn and subscribed before me this 3rd day of Sept. AD 1896 at Marietta, I.T.  (Lafayette F. Butler, Notary Public, Southern Dist.)
  Witnesses:  J.A. Lester [that is Joseph Lester, former son-in-law of Minerva (Frances Barnett had died]; and John Maines [believed to be a brother of James C Barnett's wife, Christiana Maines Barnett].
  
  One 1900 I.T. census for James C w/Minerva in HH, states their residence was in Pushmataha Co.
  
  If that is true, then it was in far SE corner of OK in Choctaw Nation...and Marietta was just west---almost a straight line.  In this deposition, Minerva says she has "paid out considerable sums of money to Cherokee Attys, making trips to Tahlequah, I.T.  and getting encouragements from the Attys,  But when the Dawes Commission was sent them I again went to Cherokee Nation to get my papers, and not even a copy could I get.  And as death has taken off my main Witness, I returned Home." ...."it is now too late I do not attempt to make my old claim and that I have no personal interest in case."
  
  Signed with "X" her mark.
  ---------------------------
  
  The following contribution was found on a discussion group.
  
  ---------------------------------------
  Re: Minerva Taylor Owens Barnett
  sebball  15 Nov 2007 1:55AM GMT
  
  I'm descended from Mary Ellen "Mollie" Barnett (sister of Lucinda) who married Sam Houston Black. Minerva Taylor Owens Barnett died at or near Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma, August 1903. She may have been living with either her daughter, Susan Barnett Green, or her son, James C. Barnett. Prior to that, she lived near Marietta, Love County, Oklahoma. John Barnett died in Love County, OK in 1897; Minerva is listed in the 1900 census in her son James' household in the same area. Any newspaper article about her during her lifetime would most likely have been written in those areas prior to 1903, her death.
  
  Your [?] husband's Aunt Amy may have read articles written about Minerva by her grandson (my grandfather), Earl William Black.  Earl wrote "Western Stories" as a hobby, and the local paper (Muleshoe, Bailey County, Texas) published these as he wrote them in the 1960s.  One or more of them were reminiscences of his grandmother, Minerva Taylor Owens Barnett.  I would say, after research, that the stories were equal part hyperbole and fact.  Several exceedingly fanciful tales have been spread about Minerva, few have been proven.  The Cherokee Princess title is most certainly a stretch.  John and Minerva attempted to obtain land for their children Susan and James under the Dawes commission, but no record has been found to indicate the application had been granted.  Apparently, insufficient proof existed for their claim to Cherokee citizenship.
  
  Best Regards,
  Susan Ball
  --  Ancestry Discussion Groups, http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.ethnic.natam.nations.cherokee.cherokee-nat/1236.1.1/mb.ashx
  ---------------------------------------
  
  Note:  the Dawes Commission was notoriously corrupt and it is thought by most researchers that many, many applications were denied that were in fact valid.  --  OBJ
  
  A memorial for Minerva on Find a Grave reports birth and death dates that differ from all other documents, even though they are exact.  They fit poorly with other known facts.  But dates for the birth of her husband John B Barnett also vary from 1814 to 1824!
  
  ----------------------------------------
  Minerva Taylor Owens Barnett
  Birth Jul 1, 1817 Georgia
  Death Jul 1, 1903 Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma
  
  THIS MEMORIAL IS POSTED HERE BASED ON ALL RECORDS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
  IF SHOWN SHE IS BURIED SOME PLACE ELSE - THIS MEMORIAL WILL BE TRANSFERRED.
  
  Spouse John B Barnett (1814 - 1897), was a Veteran.
  They were Married on January 07, 1841.
  On March 12, 1838 he Enlisted in the Seminolian Indian War as a Private in the Alabama Volunteers at Fort Payne, Alabama.
  He was Discharged July 22, 1838.
  
  They relocated to Itawamba County, MS in 1850 from AL; and then to Prentiss County, MS.
  They moved to Young, TX and remained a few years before relocating in OK.
  
  After his death February 14, 1897 Records show she was living with her Son, James C. Barnett, and his Family in Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, OK.
  
  DOCUMENTED:
  #1> Death Published Anadarko Daily Democrat, Anadarko, OK Archives Historic Newspaper, Fort Gibson, OK (not always accessible).
  #2> Census Dated 1850 and 1860 - John Barnett Family Living in Itawamba County, MS.
  #3> Census Dated June 16, 1870 Family Living in Prentiss County, MS.
  #4> Census Dated June 13, 1880 Family Living in Precinct 2, Young, Texas.
  #5> Census Dated June 01, 1900, Township 7, Range 2, East, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation, Minerva Barnett, age 76, was Living with Her Son, James C. Barnett and Family.
  
  Children:
  Lucinda Katherine Barnett Rogers (1845 - 1902)
  John Franklin Barnett (1850 - 1914)
  Susan A Barnett Green (1855 - 1939)
  Amanda 'Danie' Barnett Ridge (1859 - 1942)
  Mary Ellen Barnett Black (1862 - 1949)
  
  Burial Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma
  
  Created by Sue Moore-Hardy Apr 20, 2012
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #88829890, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88829890
  -------------------------------------

Sources

• 1. Ancestry Trees
• 2. 1850 Federal Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi
  • 2 November, District 6, page 133 (scan 368), Hse #904, Fam #911
• 3. 1880 Federal Census, Young County, Texas
  • 13 June, Precinct 2, District 168, page 17, Hse #144, Fam #148
• 4. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 5. Ancestry Trees
  • Kay Harper, http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kattyu&id=I16762
• 6. 1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 11 June, PO Booneville, Township 6 Range 7, page 5 (scan 428), Hse/GFam #31
• 7. 1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory
  • 1 June, Township 7 South Range 2 East, Enumeration District 150, page 6A, Marietta, Hse #90, Fam #90
• 8. Email Sources
• 9. MyHeritage Trees
• 10. 1860 Federal Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi
  • 20 June, PO Gun Town, page 1 (scan 219), Hse/Fam #2
• 11. 1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory
  • 30 June, Township 6, District 157, page 6A, Hse #95, Fam #100
• 12. 1880 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 14 June, District 3, Enumerator District 172, page 14, Hse #124, Fam #131
• 13. 1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 14 June, PO Booneville, p 4, Hse/Fam #22
• 14. 1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 11 June, PO Booneville, Township 6 Range 7, page 5 (scan 428), Hse/Fam #31
• 15. 1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory
  • 21 June, Township 6, District 134, page 14A, Hse #224, Fam #230
• 16. 1880 Federal Census, Lee County, Mississippi
  • 7 June, Civil District 1, Enumeration District 86, page 9 (scan 31A), Hse/Fam #205
• 17. 1870 Federal Census, Lee County, Mississippi
  • [no date] August, PO Baldwyn, p 54, Hse/Fam #115
• 18. Ancestry Trees
  • The King's Meadow, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8804935/person/-891339588
• 19. 1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 11 June, PO Booneville, Township 6 Range 7, page  (scan 428), Hse/Fam #31
• 20. 1930 Federal Census, Riverside County, California
  • 11 April, Perris Township, District 31, page 4B, Hse #148, Fam #126
• 21. 1870 Federal Census, Prentiss County, Mississippi
  • 11 June, PO Booneville, Township 6 Range 7, page 6 (scan 428), Hse/Fam #31
• 22. 1900 Federal Census, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory
  • 13 June, Township 15, District 40, Page 6B,  Hse/Fam #126
• 23. Obituaries from California
• 24. Ancestry Trees
  • Kay Harper, http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=katty&id=I16947
• 25. 1910 Federal Census, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
  • 4 May, Antlers, District 268, page 15A, Hse #271, Fam #277
• 26. Ancestry Trees
  • Helms/Owens, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/11885055/person/-339163382?ssrc=&ftm=1
• 27. 1880 Federal Census, Yell County, Arkansas
  • 10 June, Spring Creek Township, District 231, page 16, Hse/Fam #63
• 28. Laverty Cemetery Register, Norge, Grady County, Oklahoma
  • Location: http://www.okcemeteries.net/grady/laverty/rlaverty.htm;
• 29. 1910 Federal Census, Armstrong County, Texas
  • 18 April, Goodnight, District 7, page 1A, Hse/Fam #4
• 30. 1900 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma Territory
  • 21 June, Elk Township, District 209, page 16A, Hse #306, Fam #320
• 31. Ancestry Trees
  • bighollytree991 added  this on 11 May 2011, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/149152/person/-2115228230/comments?pg=32768&pgpl=pid
• 32. Ancestry Trees
  • Anderson Family Tree, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/149152/photo/4474ae83-ad04-489f-8f30-cbab7ec09c78
• 33. 1930 Federal Census, Armstrong County, Texas
  • 10 April, Justice Precinct 3, District 4, page 4B, Hse #71, Fam #75
• 34. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
• 35. 1940 Federal Census, Armstrong County, Texas
  • 2 April, Goodnight, District 6-4, Page 1B, Hse #20, Owns $1500
• 36. 1920 Federal Census, Lipscomb County, Texas
  • 24 April, Ethel, District 167, page 2A, Hse #24, Fam #28