Originally published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly 98, no. 2 (June 2010). By Paul K. Graham.
Proving familial relationships among Georgia’s Blue Ridge pioneers can be daunting. The mountain range, terminating at the Appalachians’ southern end, is known for weathered peaks often draped in blue haze. Largely unsettled by whites before 1820, the territory was opened by land lottery.1 Discovery of gold in 1829 brought diverse treasure-seekers who mixed with spirited pioneer residents.2 Against this historical backdrop, a Barker family moved from South Carolina into Jackson County, Georgia, before 1810. In the 1820s and 1830s the family spread into newly formed Habersham, Hall, and Lumpkin counties, just east of the Chestatee River.
From 1819 to his death in 1879 Alsaph B. Barker left a trail of documents through northeast Georgia counties. No known record states his relationship to anyone in a prior generation, but Alsaph’s connections to one northeast Georgia Barker family belie his genealogical anonymity. Evidence shows, indirectly, he was the eldest child of Isham Barker who settled in Jackson County and left his last known record in Lumpkin County. No known source, however, identifies Isham’s children directly.
ALSAPH B. BARKER
Alsaph was born about 1800 in South Carolina.3 Living in Jackson County, Georgia, he first appears on the public record as a winner in Georgia’s 1820 land lottery.4 He later moved thirty miles north to Habersham County, which opened for settlement through the same lottery. On 28 September 1826 A. B. Barker married “Siner Moore”—Elizabeth Messina Moore—in Habersham County, where he lived in 1830.5 In 1832, when Habersham’s western end was added to Lumpkin County, Alsaph became a resident of the new county.6 See figure 1.
Alsaph lived in eastern Lumpkin County for at least twenty years.7 After 1853 he moved a short distance to Hall County, settling near the Lumpkin boundary, where he lived until his death on 19 February 1879.8 Alsaph was buried in Yellow Creek Cemetery near Murrayville.9
LEWIS BARKER SR.
No Barkers lived in Jackson County before about 1808.10 In October 1808 Lewis Barker obtained a warrant for the survey of 950 acres in Jackson County. The land was surveyed on 12 November 1808, and Lewis received a grant on 19 November 1816.11 Georgia’s 1810 federal census is lost, but Lewis, Isham (“Isom”), and Lewis Barker Jr. appear in the Jackson County tax digest that year.12 Lewis Sr. and Isham also appear on the 1820 census in Jackson County.13 Lewis Barker Sr.’s will names ten children: Patsy, Isham, Sally, Gray, Elizabeth, Lewis Jr., Polly, Priscilla, Eldridge, and Erville.14
AUNTS AND UNCLES
Throughout his adult life Alsaph was in contact with children of Lewis Barker Sr., making Lewis a prime candidate for Alsaph’s grandfather.
Lewis Barker Jr.
After two major land scandals in the 1790s Georgia began distributing new public lands by lottery.15 The state held eight land lotteries from 1805 to 1833.16 The legislature authorized the 1820 lottery on 15 December 1818.17 Single males from age eighteen could register one draw; Alsaph was about nineteen during the registration period.18 “Asaph B. Barker” registered and won 250 acres in southwest Georgia.19 Lewis Barker Jr. won land in the same lottery.20 Both men registered in Dickson’s Battalion District in Jackson County.
Isham Barker
On 10 January 1826 Isham Barker and A. B. Barker witnessed the sale of land in Habersham County from David Allison to Hubbard Barker. Four years later Isham attested to his presence at the transaction.21 More closely than the 1820 land lottery, the deed links Alsaph to a child of Lewis Barker Sr.
Gray and Isham Barker
During the 1830s Alsaph lived near Isham and Gray Barker. Isham owned Lot 48 in Hall County’s District 11.22 On 4 February 1832 Gray purchased seventy acres in Hall County adjoining Isham’s land on the west.23 In December 1832, when Lumpkin County was created out of Cherokee Territory, Habersham County, and Hall County, Isham’s and Gray’s properties fell into the new county.24 In 1836 A. B. Barker paid taxes as a resident of Georgia Militia District (GMD) 838 in Lumpkin County.25 In 1840 Isham was enumerated there.26 That year Alsaph was enumerated in GMD 831, bordering GMD 838 to the south.27 Both districts lay on the east of Lumpkin County. See figure 1.
Sally Barker and Evan Polk
Alsaph’s name was not entered on Jackson County records from 1820 to 1840.28 On 13 July 1841 Evan Polk sold him one thousand acres “whereon the said Evan now lives” in Jackson County next to land formerly owned by Lewis Barker Sr.29 Evan had purchased the tract from James Hemphill in 1829.30 James had purchased most of it from Robert Hemphill in 1819.31 In the earlier deed, executed 23 March 1819, Robert Hemphill and wife Sabery sold 725 acres in Jackson County, identifying Lewis Barker as an adjoining land owner.32 In 1820 James Hemphill was enumerated just before Lewis Barker Sr. and Isham Barker.32 James Hemphill witnessed Lewis’s will.34
On 3 January 1848 Alsaph sold the tract to Moses Smith of Union County.35 A month later Moses Smith quitclaimed “one half acres [sic] of land lying in the County of Jackson . . . being the grave yard on the plantation that said Barker sold to said Smith where the said Smith now lives Known by a spanish oak, standing in the center of said half Acre of Land where the graveyard now is.”36 When he sold the property Alsaph apparently forgot to exempt the cemetery from transfer. The deed, demonstrating the cemetery’s significance to Alsaph, connects him to the Jackson County Barkers.
Elimination
Alsaph’s ties to Lewis Barker Sr.’s children make the elder man a candidate for Alsaph’s grandfather, and Lewis’s four sons candidates for Alsaph’s father. Three of the sons can be eliminated:
- Eldridge Barker, born about 1791, and Lewis Jr., born about 1787, were too young to be the father of a man born in 1800.37
- Gray Barker, born about 1779, was old enough to be Alsaph’s father.38 In 1858, however, when he died in Cherokee County, only four daughters survived him. Sons-in-law received payments for shares of Gray’s estate—Davis Cothum, Thomas Garrison, Zebulon Williams, and Charles Wood.39
Only one candidate remains for A. B. Barker’s father: Isham Barker.
JESSE AND EPHRAIM BARKER
Two other Barkers passed through the area of Jackson, Hall and Gwinnett counties in the 1810s and 1820s:
- Jesse Barker, claiming eligibility as a Revolutionary War veteran, won two lots in the 1820 Georgia land lottery.40 His war service suggests he was in the same generation as Lewis Barker Sr. Jesse had witnessed a deed for land on the waters of Mulberry Fork of the Oconee River, southwest of the Walnut Fork of the Oconee River where Lewis Sr. lived, in 1812.41 He lived in Gwinnett County in 1820.42 Jesse died by January 1830, when Edward Pitman, administrator of Jesse’s estate, sold a lot won in 1820.43
- Ephraim Barker was born about 1772.44 He married Rachel Brown in Jackson County on 18 October 1810, when he was about thirty-eight.45 In 1817 he witnessed a deed for land on the Mulberry Fork of the Oconee River.46 In 1820 Ephraim lived in Hall County with a woman and a boy.47 He moved to Benton County, Alabama, by 1840.48 Ephraim apparently died before 1860, when Rachel was living in Calhoun County, Alabama, in Larkin Brown’s household.49 Ephraim left no estate in Benton or Calhoun County.50
While Jesse and Ephraim were probably related to Lewis Barker Sr., the links are tenuous. Jesse likely died in Gwinnett County, where a devastating courthouse fire destroyed early county records in 1871, including direct evidence of Jesse’s heirs.51 Ephraim was old enough to be Alsaph’s father, but no evidence supports the relationship. Despite their geographic proximity, neither Jesse nor Ephraim appears on a known record with a member of Lewis Barker Sr.’s family. Lewis’s ties to Alsaph eliminate Jesse and Ephraim as paternal candidates, find move out cleaning in phoenix az. Further evidence strengthens that conclusion.
ALSAPH’S SIBLINGS
Besides Alsaph’s associations with Barkers of his father’s generation, Alsaph was the eldest member of a cluster of Barkers born from 1800 to 1813 living at Wahoo Creek’s headwaters in the 1820s and 1830s. Four—Miriam, Hubbard, Rufus, and Obadiah Barker—have links to Isham Barker.
Witnesses
In 1823 Isham Barker purchased 123 acres of Lot 48, District 11, in Hall County.52 Hubbard Barker witnessed Isham’s sale of 65 acres of that land to Smith Crandall on 30 December 1825.53 Eleven days later, on 10 January 1826, Hubbard, “of Habersham County,” purchased land in that county.54 Both Isham and A. B. Barker witnessed the transaction. These early deeds show connections among A. B., Isham, and Hubbard. Hubbard had at least one further link to Jackson County—he was elected ensign of the Jackson Volunteers militia company and commissioned on 8 April 1830.55
Miriam Barker and the Barnes Family
Miriam Barker, about age twenty-two, married John Barnes on 15 March 1827 in Hall County.56 Barnes owned Lot 46 in Hal County’s District 11, less than a mile from Isham Barker’s Lot 48.57 In 1830 Alsaph was enumerated immediately before John and Solomon Barnes.58 Solomon owned Lot 111 in Habersham County’s District 1, about two miles northwest of Isham’s lot, across the county line.59 See figure 1. Isham resided in Hall County in 1830, consistent with his property’s location.60 In 1832 the sections of Habersham and Hall counties where Solomon and Isham lived became part of Lumpkin County.61
Second Seminole War
Of surviving antebellum Lumpkin County tax digests, the 1836 record is the most revealing. Taxed in GMD 838 along with Solomon and John Barnes, Alsaph registered for his own taxes and those of Obadiah Barker.62 Obadiah was born in Jackson County in 1814, where Lewis Sr.’s family lived.63 In 1836 Obadiah was serving in the Georgia militia in Florida.64 Family members often registered as agent for kin on tax digests, a role Alsaph appears to play here.
Obadiah, Rufus, and Hubbard Barker served in the Georgia militia during the second of three military campaigns to remove Seminole Indians from Florida. Hubbard led a company of mounted militia in Charles H. Nelson’s Battalion of Georgia Mounted Volunteers from November 1836 to September 1837.65 Obadiah served as a sergeant in Hubbard’s company.66 Two weeks after mustering out, Obadiah raised a company and joined the First Regiment, Georgia Mounted Volunteers, returning to Florida by 8 January 1838.67 Rufus Barker served with Obadiah during this second tour as the regiment’s assistant quartermaster.68
On 7 August 1838, after returning from Florida, Obadiah married Ruth Barnes in Lumpkin County.69 Rufus married Sophia Craven on 23 March 1843 in Walton County.70 In 1860 both couples were living in Barker’s District, Floyd County, and their names appear on the same census page.71 During the Civil War Rufus was Floyd County’s enrolling officer for the Georgia militia.72 Consequently, his name does not appear within the lists, which specify enlistees’ birthplaces. Obadiah died in Floyd County on 21 March 1885.73 Rufus died there on 30 August 1887.74
Saye Manuscript
In 1898 Asbury W. Saye wrote a history of his family.75 He was born in 1829, the son of William Saye and Elizabeth Barnes.76 Elizabeth was the daughter of Solomon Barnes and sister of John and Ruth Barnes.77 Although Asbury does not mention Alsaph B. or Isham Barker, he establishes that Obadiah, Rufus, and Miriam Barker were siblings.78
The manuscript clarifies certain historical facts. Say wrote “that part of Habersham where Grand Father [Solomon] Barnes lived was cut off to Lumpkin county [in] the year 1839.”79 The year he cites is the removal of the remaining Cherokee from North Georgia, not the 1832 law creating Lumpkin County.80 Saye also states that after “Uncle John” [Barnes] married Miriam Barker, he “settled near grandpa [Solomon], moved but once … only a little up the creek[,] but his first settlement remained a part of his farm for life.”81 This reinforces the census records showing John Barnes enumerated next to his father, Solomon, in 1830 and 1840.
When speaking of the marriage of Aunt Miriam [Barker] and Uncle John [Barnes] in the 1820s, Saye writes “they had been living, that is the Barker family, near grandfather [Solomon] Barnes for several years and was well acquainted with each other.”82 Later he says “Aunt [Ruth] married Captain Obadiah Barker[,] the Barker family lived in the neighborhood of my grandfather [Solomon] Barnes.”83 The only Barker family living near Solomon Barnes in the 1820s was Isham’s—see figure 1. They also lived near each other in 1840.84 Say’s aligning three Barker siblings with Isham corroborates public records.
Discussing the Barnes and Barker men’s service in the Second Seminole War, Saye’s account of Obadiah and Rufus augments compiled service records;
Uncle Barker went to Florida early in the year (I believe in 1836) but lost his health so he was sent home before the year was out. He recovered his health and in the fall of 1837 made a company of which he was to take command as Captain.85
Through Obadiah’s support of “Colonel Chastain” for the regimental command (by a vote of the men), Rufus was appointed regimental quartermaster. Details of the account vary slightly, but Say’s outline matches the service records.
That Barker and Barnes families helped found Lumpkin County’s Mount Gilead Baptist Church also indicates the families’ association. On 6 March 1835 Isham and Mary [Isham’s wife] Barker joined with several Barneses—Solomon, “Sarah,” John, Miriam, and Charles—and others to constitute the new congregation.86 Solomon Barnes obtained a letter of dismission from Wahoo Baptist Church to start Mount Gilead Baptist Church.87
Alsaph B. Barker has links to four other Barkers slightly younger than himself: Miriam, Hubbard, Rufus, and Obadiah. Evidence suggests they are Isham Barker’s children.
Births
Of the five likely siblings, only Rufus Barker’s military service led to a pension. In 1893 his second wife, Sarah Ann Hamby, applied for a window’s pension based on his Indian War service.88 Sarah’s application includes a family record listing the births of ten Barkers, including Alsaph, Miriam, Hubbard, Rufus, and Obadiah.89 See table 1.
Without specifying relationships, the family record identifies at least nine siblings of Alsaph. Their listing together, their birth pattern, and the documented associations among five of them make the relationship clear. The list also establishes Alsaph’s middle name as Briggs, a name absent from other known records. Nothing in the pension file, however, implies a relationship to Isham Barker.
ISHAM BARKER
The absence of Isham Barker’s estate records complicates identifying his children, who do not apply to administer the estate or convey Isham’s property under their names.90 Isham died owning real property, evidenced by a quitclaim deed on 27 October 1855 from Gray Barker, Isham’s brother, selling Isham’s Lot 48 in Hall County’s District 11. Gray, probably acting on behalf of Isham’s heirs, received three hundred dollars for the property.91
This was not the first time Isham’s legal affairs were neglected. In 1819 he obtained a grant for 311 acres in northwestern Jackson County on the waters of Allen’s Creek, a tributary of Walnut Fork of the Oconee River.92 No further record relating to his ownership of the tract appears in deed or tax records. A year later he won two lots by lottery.93 Abandoning his rights to the land, Isham allowed it to revert to the state for sale to someone else.94 Wining in a Georgia land lottery gave the winner first rights to a tract, but not instant title.95 Although Isham owned land in 1836, he does not appear in the 1836 Lumpkin County tax digest.96
Church records provide a possible explanation for Isham’s neglecting his legal rights and responsibilities. He joined Walnut Fork Baptist Church in Jackson County on 25 December 1813.97 On 24 March 1821 he voluntarily acknowledged “getting in a passion and acting and speaking improperly.”98 Two years later Isham again admitted “he was over Taken with Spirituous Liquors and Spoke and acted Improperly.” The church dismissed him and his wife Mary by letter the same day.99
Isham apparently died in the early 1840s. In 1841 Alsaph bought one thousand acres, which he sold in 1848, obtaining a quitclaim from Moses Smith for a half-acre cemetery.100 The purchase suggests that around the time of Isham’s death Alsaph acquired land containing a family cemetery, where his parents may be buried.
CONCLUSION
Multiple indirect connections show Alsaph Briggs Barker was Isham Barker’s son. Alsaph had ties to children of Lewis Barker Sr. All but Isham can be ruled out as candidates for Alsaph’s father. An 1826 deed connects Alsaph and Isham, who lived near each other. An Indian War widow’s pension file identifies Alsaph’s siblings, four with connections to Isham. No direct evidence of the relationship exists, but the Blue Ridge Barkers’ unified movements and close associations help overcome their genealogical anonymity.
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
1. Lewis Barker Sr. died by 6 May 1822, naming ten children in his will:101
2 i. Patsy Barker, living 1818; married by 1818 [—?—] Parsons.102
+ 3 ii. Isham Barker, born about 1775, living in 1840.103
4 iii. Sally Barker, died between 1818 and likely 1850.104 She married on 14 February 1810 in Jackson County, Evan Polk.105
5 iv. Gray Barker, born about 1779 in North Carolina.106 He died by 1858 in Cherokee County, Georgia.107
6 v. Elizabeth Barker, living 1818; married by 1818 [—?&mdash] Chandler, probably Parks Chandler, executor of her father’s will.108
7 vi. Lewis Barker Jr., born about 1787 in North Carolina; died in May 1860 in Heard County, Georgia.109 He married on 8 March 1810 in Jackson County, Nancy Chandler.110
8 vii. Polly Barker, living 1818; married by 1818 [—?&mdash] Phillips.111
9 viii. Priscilla Barker, living 1818; married on 12 October 1809 in Jackson County, Hugh Polk.112 Not appearing on subsequent Georgia records, the couple may have moved to Tennessee.113
10 ix. Eldridge Barker, born about 1791, living in 1850 in Lafayette County, Mississippi.114 He married on 11 March 1810 in Jackson County, Matilda Polk.115
11 x. Erville Barker, married on 2 October 1823 in Jackson County, Isaac Whorton.116 She died before March 1838, when Whorton married Rebecca M. Julian in Forsyth County.117
3. Isham Barker had at least ten children:
12 i. Alsaph Briggs Barker, born 13 May 1800.118 He died 19 February 1879 in Hall County, Georgia.119 Alsaph married on 28 September 1826 in Habersham County, Georgia, Elizabeth Messina Moore.120
13 ii. Isabella Drusilla Barker, born 20 August 1801121 She married on 12 February 1822 in Jackson County, Henry Man.122
14 iii. Patsey Barker, born 25 March 1803.123
15 iv. Miriam Barker, born 10 December 1804.124 She died about 1856.125 Miriam married on 15 March 1827 in Hall County, John Barnes.126
16 v. Hubbard Barker, born 11 October 1807; living in 1880.127 He married on 11 February 1834 in Forsyth County, Georgia, Elizabeth Henderson.128
17 vi. Rufus Barker, born 23 March 1810;129 died 30 August 1887 in Floyd County.130 He married (1) on 23 March 1843 in Walton County, Sophia Craven.131 He married (2) on 10 March 1879 in Floyd County, Sarah Ann Hamby.132
18 vii. Obadiah Barker, born 12 March 1813; died 21 March 1885 in Floyd County.133 He married on 7 August 1838 in Lumpkin County, Ruth Barnes.134
19 viii. Betsey Barker, born 2 November 1815.135
20 ix. Eldridge Barker, born 1 July 1818.136 He was living in Elmore County, Alabama, in 1870.137 Eldridge married on 15 December 1842 in Troup County, Lucinda T. Mann.138
21 x. Julian Barker, born 2 July 1820.139
Paul K. Graham, CG; Post Office Box 1091; Decatur, GA 30031-1091; pkgraham@gmail.com; https://www.pkgraham.com. Mr. Graham, a recent graduate of Georgia State University’s Master of Heritage Preservation program, specializes in Georgia research and has published two books on the state’s first land lottery. The research this article reports was commissioned by Robert Barker, Virginia Beach, Virginia, who gives permission for its publication.
Barker Locations in Northeast Georgia
Notes: Map drawn by the author. Georgia Militia Districts (GMDs) are minor civil divisions. The lettered squares identify the following tracts:
- Isham Barker, 12 July 1823, part of Lot 48, District 11, Hall County. See Hall Co., Ga., Deed Book 4:466, Meers to Barker; Superior Court, Gainesville; Georgia Archives (GA) microfilm drawer 77, roll 61 (conventionally cited as “microfilm 77/61”).
- Solomon Barnes, 4 February 1824, all of Lot 111, District 1, Habersham County. See Habersham Co., Ga., Deed Book D:12, Cox to Barnes; Superior Court, Clarkesville; GA microfilm 179/3.
- John Barnes, 15 January 1823, all of Lot 46, District 11, Hall County. See Hall Co., Deed Book A:269–71, Hays to Barnes; GA microfilm 77/61.
- Gray Barker, 4 February 1832, part of Lot 49, District 11, Hall County. See Hall Co., Deed Book C:696, Head to Barker; GA microfilm 77/63.
- Alsaph B. Barker, 15 April 1836, all of Lot 52, District 1, Habersham County. See Lumpkin Co., Ga., Deed Book D:221, Blake to Barker; Superior Court, Dahlonega.
Table 1
Barker Births
Alsaph Briggs Barker was Bornd May 13th 1800
Is.b Drusilla Barker was Bornd August 20th 1801
Patsey Barker was Bornd March 25th 1803
Miriam Barker was Bornd December 10th 1804
Hubbard Barker was Bornd October 11th 1807
Rufus Barker was bornd March 23th 1810
Obediah Barker was bornd March 12th 1813
Betsey Barker was bornd November 2th 1815
Eldridg Barker was bornd July 1th 1818
Julian Barker was bornd July 2th 1820
Source: Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, certificate no. 3051, for service of Rufus Barker (First Lieutenant and Assistant Quartermaster, Barker’s Company, First Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War); Case Files of Pension Applications, Indian Wars; Records of the Bureau of Pensions and its Predecessors, 1805–1935; Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15, NA–Washington, D.C. As if copied from another source, the list appears to have been written by one person at one sitting. The handwriting does not match any other document in the file, primarily evidenced by the writer’s distinctive capital letters “R” and “B.”
Notes
1. Farris W. Cadle, “The 1820 Land Lottery,” in Georgia Land Surveying History and Law (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991), 204–33. ↩
2. George White, Statistics of the State of Georgia (Savannah: W. Thorn Williams, 1849), 391. ↩
3. 1850 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., population schedule, Martin’s Ford Dist., p. 60, dwelling/family 30, Alsey B. Barker household; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm M432, roll 76.↩
4. Listing for Alsaph B. Barker, Jackson Co. vol. for 1820 land lottery; Georgia Surveyor General, Lists of Fortunate Drawers, 1807–1832, Record Group (RG) 3-5-23; Georgia Archives (GA), Morrow.↩
5. Habersham Co., Ga., Marriage Book A:114, Barker-Moore; Probate Court, Clarkesville; GA microfilm drawer 252, box 19 (conventionally cited as “microfilm 252/19”). Also, 1830 U.S. census, Habersham Co., Ga., p. 41/42, “Alsiph B.” Barker household; NARA microfilm M19, roll 18.↩
6. Lumpkin Co., Ga., 1836 Tax Digest, Capt. George Barnes’ Dist., entry 48, for A. B. Barker, GA microfilm 61/27. For Lumpkin County’s creation, see “An Act to Add Parts of the Counties of Habersham and Hall to the County of Cherokee, and to Divide Said County of Cherokee into Ten Counties and to Provide for the Organization of the Same,” in Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, Passed in Milledgeville at an Annual Session in November and December, 1832 (Milledgeville: Prince and Ragland, 1833), 56–62. ↩
7. 1850 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., pop. sch., Martin’s Ford Dist., p. 60, dwell./fam. 30, Alsey B. Barker household. ↩
8. Lumpkin Co., 1853 Tax Digest, Martin’s Ford Dist., entry for A. B. Barker; Tax Commissioner’s Office, Dahlonega. Alsaph does not appear on Lumpkin County tax digests after 1853. Also, 1860 U.S. census, Hall Co., Ga., pop. sch., 803rd Dist., p. 37, dwell. 279, fam. 245, A. B. Barker household; NARA microfilm M653, roll 126. Also, “Death of O. B. Barker [sic],” Mountain Signal, Dahlonega, Ga., 21 February 1879, page 3, col. 2. Also, Hall Co., Ga., Minute Book 8:191, A. B. Barker inventory; Probate Court, Gainesville; GA microfilm 152/76. ↩
9. “Death of O. B. Barker [sic],” Mountain Signal, 21 February 1879, page 3, col. 2. Neither Alsaph nor his wife Elizabeth appears on the membership rolls of Yellow Creek Baptist Church, but their son Martin was a member. See Yellow Creek Baptist Church (Hall Co., Ga.), Minutes and Membership Roll, 17 September 1853, entry for Martin Barker; GA microfilm 245/49. ↩
10. The author surveyed all clerk-indexed Jakson County pre-1810 records on microfilm at the Georgia Archives, published county records abstracted by Faye Stone Poss, and indexes to statewide sources, including tax digest abstracts and the 1805 land lottery registration list. ↩
11. For the survey, see Georgia Surveyor General, Headright Plat Book XX:175; GA microfilm 51/29. Lewis Barker’s warrant for survey dated 3 October 1808 is referenced on the plat. For the grant, see Georgia Surveyor General, Headright Grant Book KKKKK:86; GA microfilm 52/55. ↩
12. Jackson Co., Ga., 1810 Tax Digest, Capt. William’s Dist., folio 1 for Lewis Barker and folio 2 for Lewis Barker Jr. and Isom Barker; GA microfilm 166/5. ↩
13. 1820 U.S. census, Jackson Co., Ga., p. 284, Louis Barker and Isham Barker households; NARA microfilm M33, roll 8. ↩
14. Jackson Co., Will Book A:62, Lewis Barker will (dated 14 March 1818, proved 6 May 1822); Probate Court, Jefferson; GA microfilm 160/11. ↩
15. Cadle, Georgia Land Surveying History and Law, 169. ↩
16. Ibid., chaps. 4–8. ↩
17. Oliver H. Price, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Georgia (Athens, Ga.: Oliver H. Prince, 1837), 547. ↩
18. Cadle, Georgia Land Surveying History and Law, 209. ↩
19. Listing for Asaph B. Barker, Jackson Co. vol. for 1820 land lottery, Lists of Fortunate Drawers, 1807–1832, RG 3-5-23, GA. ↩
20. Listing for Lewis Barker Jr., Jackson Co. vol. for 1820 land lottery, RG 3-5-23, GA. ↩
21. Habersham Co., Deed Book H:32, Allison to Barker; Superior Court, Clarkesville; GA microfilm 179/4. ↩
22. Hall Co., Deed Book A:446, Meers to Barker; Superior Court, Gainesville; GA microfilm 77/61. ↩
23. Ibid., C:696, Head to Barker; GA microfilm 77/63. ↩
24. “An Act to Add Parts of the Counties of Habersham and Hall to the County of Cherokee,” 56–62. ↩
25. Lumpkin Co., 1836 Tax Digest, Capt. George Barnes’s Dist., entry 48, A. B. Barker. Georgia Militia Districts are civil divisions of Georgia counties. ↩
26. 1840 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., p. 263, Isham Barker household; NARA microfilm M704, roll 45. ↩
27. Ibid., p. 269, A. B. Barker household. ↩
28. This statement refers to clerk-indexed county records on microfilm at the Georgia Archives. ↩
29. Jackson Co., Deed Book L:341, Polk to Barker; Superior Court, Jefferson; GA microfilm 161/3. ↩
30. Ibid., L:150, Hemphill to Polk. ↩
31. Ibid., G:318, Hemphill to Hemphill; GA microfilm 161/1. ↩
32. Ibid. ↩
33. 1820 U.S. census, Jackson Co., Ga., p. 284, James Hemphill household. ↩
34. Jackson Co., Will Book A:62, Lewis Barker will. ↩
35. Jackson Co., Deed Book N:259, Barker to Smith; GA microfilm 161/4. ↩
36. Jackson Co., Deed Book N:291, Smith to Barker. ↩
37. For Lewis, see 1850 U.S. census, Heard Co., Ga., pop. sch., 41st Dist., p. 149, dwell. 195, fam. 205, Lewis Barker household; NARA microfilm M432, roll 73. For Eldridge, see 1850 U.S. census, Lafayette Co., Miss., pop. sch., p. 265, dwell./fam. 561, Eldridge Barker household; NARA microfilm M432, roll 375. ↩
38. 1850 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., pop. sch., New Dist., p. 86, dwell./fam. 4, Gray Barker household. ↩
39. Cherokee Co., Ga., Annual Returns, Vouchers, and Sale Bills, Book F:18–19; Probate Court, Canton; GA microfilm 165/41. ↩
40. Listing for Jesse Barker, Jackson Co. vol. for 1820 land lottery, RG 3-5-23, GA. ↩
41. Jackson Co., Deed Book G:7, Hampton to Pharr. ↩
42. 1820 U.S. census, Gwinnett Co., Ga., p. 274, Jesse Barker household; NARA microfilm M33, roll 8. ↩
43. Hall Co., Miscellaneous Estates Records A:199, order to make title; Probate Court, Gainesville; GA microfilm 152/71. ↩
44. 1850 U.S. census, Benton Co., Ala., pop. sch., Dist. 28, p. 275, dwell./fam. 169, E. Barker household; NARA microfilm M432, roll 1. ↩
45. Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:66, Barker-Brown; Probate Court, Jefferson; GA microfilm 162/45. ↩
46. Jackson Co., Deed Book G:158, Clements to Clements. ↩
47. 1820 U.S. census, Hall Co., Ga., Capt. Elias Miller’s Dist., p. 147, Ephm. Barker household; NARA Microfilm 33, roll 6. ↩
48. 1840 U.S. census, Benton Co., Ala., p. 11, Ephraim Barker household; NARA Microfilm M704, roll 3. ↩
49. 1860 U.S. census, Calhoun Co., Ala., pop. sch., p. 469, dwell./fam. 292, Larkin Brown household; NARA Microfilm M653, roll 4. Benton County was renamed Calhoun County in 1858. ↩
50. Calhoun Co., Ala., Index to Wills, 1828–1947, and Index to Estate Records, 1832–1947; both at Probate Court, Anniston; FHL microfilms 2,209,816 and 2,209,692 respectively.↩
51. “Destructive Conflagration,” Atlanta Constitution, 12 September 1871, page 1, col. 1. ↩
52. Hall Co., Deed Book A:446, Meers to Barker. ↩
53. Ibid., Deed Book C:164, Barker to Crandall; GA microfilm 77/63. ↩
54. Habersham Co., Deed Book H:32, Allison to Barker; GA microfilm 179/4. ↩
55. Georgia Adjutant General, Military Commissions Book 1830–1834:315; GA microfilm 40/8. ↩
56. Hall Co., Marriage Book A:56, Barnes-Barker; Probate Court, Gainesville; GA microfilm 186/66. For her age, see 1850 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., pop. sch., Shoal Creek Dist., p. 42, dwell./fam. 28, Miram Barnes. ↩
57. Hall Co., Deed Book A:269–71, Hays to Barnes. ↩
58. 1830 U.S. census, Habersham Co., Ga., p. 41, Alsaph Barker, John Barnes, and Solomon Barnes households. ↩
59. Habersham Co., Deed Book D:12, Cox to Barnes; GA microfilm 179/3. ↩
60. 1830 U.S. census, Hall Co., Ga., p. 119, Isham Barker household; NARA microfilm M19, roll 18. ↩
61. “An Act to Add Parts of the Counties of Habersham and Hall to the County of Cherokee,” 56–62. ↩
62. Lumpkin Co., 1836 Tax Digest, Capt. George Barnes’s Dist., entry 48, for A. B. Barker; entry 45, for John Barnes; entry 46, for Solomon Barnes; and entry 50, for Obediah Barker. ↩
63. Georgia Adjutant and Inspector General, Milita Enrollment Lists, Floyd Co., [G.]M.D. 924, entry 36, for Obadiah Barker; Militia Enrollment Lists Compiled as Required by the Act of December 14, 1863, for Re-organizing the Militia of the State of Georgia, RG 22-1-3, GA; GA microfilm 245/6. ↩
64. Compiled service record, Obidiah Barker, Sergeant, Barker’s Co., Nelson’s Battalion, Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, “Indian Wars,” 1817–58; Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780s–1917, RG 94; National Archives (NA), Washington, D.C. ↩
65. Compiled service record, Hubbard Barker, Captain, Barker’s Company, Nelson’s Battalion, Georgia Mounted Militia, Florida War, RG 94, NA–Washington. ↩
66. Compiled service record, Obidiah Barker, Sergeant, Barker’s Co., Nelson’s Battalion, Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War, RG 94, NA–Washington. ↩
67. Compiled service record, O. Barker, Captain, Barker’s Co., 1st Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War, RG 94, NA–-Washington. ↩
68. Compiled service record, Rufus Barker, First Lieutenant and Assistant Quartermaster, Field and Staff Company, 1st Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War, RG 94, NA–Washington. ↩
69. Lumpkin Co., Marriage Book 1838–1849:6, Barker-Barnes; Probate Court, Dahlonega; GA microfilm 151/52. ↩
70. Barker-Craven marriage license, Walton Co., Ga. Probate Court, Marriage Licenses and Applications, 1820–1937 (Unbound), alphabetically arranged by groom’s surname; Walton County, Probate Court, Marriage Records, 1820–1937, RG 247-2-11, GA; GA microfilm 314/93. ↩
71. 1860 U.S. census, Floyd Co., Ga., pop. sch., Barker’s Dist., p. 248, dwells./fams. 790 and 792, Rufus Barker and Obediah Barker households; NARA microfilm M653, roll 121. ↩
72. Georgia Adjutant and Inspector General, Militia Enrollment Lists, Floyd Co.; GA microfilm 245/6. ↩
73. Floyd Co., Ga., Minute Book E:401, petition to probate will of Obadiah Barker (4 May 1885); Probate Court, Rome; GA microfilm 166/10. ↩
74. Floyd Co., Will Book C:372, petition to probate will of Rufus Barker (6 September 1887); Probate Court, Rome; GA microfilm 163/41. ↩
75. Edwin Paul Aposhian, transcription dated 1 November 1993 of Asbury W. Saye, “Family History,” written 16 September 1898, Ricks Family Home Page (http://www.catkillers.org/donrix/sayemanu1.htm: accessed 20 April 2010). ↩
76. For the date, see 1900 U.S. census, Palo Pinto Co., Tex., pop. sch., Justice Precinct 8, Enumeration District (ED) 125, sheet 1A, dwell. 2, fam. 3, Asbury W. Saye household; NARA microfilm T623, roll 1663. For his parents, see Aposhian, transcription of Saye, “Family History,” pt. 1, p. 2. ↩
77. Aposhian, transcription of Saye, “Family History,” p. 1, pp. 22–23. ↩
78. Ibid., p. 1, p. 30. ↩
79. Ibid., p. 1, p. 14. ↩
80. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green, eds., The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents (Boston: Bedford, 1995). ↩
81. Aposhian, transcription of Saye, “Family History,” pt. 1, p. 23. ↩
82. Ibid., p. 1, p. 30. ↩
83. Ibid., p. 2, p. 28. ↩
84. 1840 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., p. 263, Solomon Barnes and Isham Barker households. ↩
85. Aposhian, transcription of Saye, “Family History,” p. 1, p. 30. ↩
86. Mount Gilead Baptist Church (Lumpkin Co., Ga.), Minutes, 6 March 1835; Mount Gilead Baptist Church, Dahlonega. For Mary’s identification as Isham’s wife, see Walnut Fork Baptist Church (Jackson Co., Ga.), Minutes, 25 January 1823, Isham Barker; microfilm 528, Special Collections, Jack Tarver Library, Mercer University, Macon, Ga. ↩
87. Wahoo Baptist Church (Lumpkin Co., Ga.), Minutes 1:26–27, Solomon Barnes; GA microfilm 187/42. ↩
88. Floyd Co., Marriage Book 1876–1884:555, Barker-Hamby; Probate Court, Rome; GA microfilm 162/26. Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, certificate no. 3051, for service of Rufus Barker (First Lieutenant and Assistant Quartermaster, Barker’s Company, First Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Florida War); Case Files of Pension Applications, Indian Wars; Records of the Bureau of Pensions and its Predecessors, 1805–1935; Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
89. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
90. Lumpkin County probate records are not complete and are mostly unindexed. Ending each search in 1860 the author read Wills from 1833 (GA microfilm 68/78); Minutes from 1835 (GA microfilm 152/4); Letters of Administration from 1856 (GA microfilm 166/34); Administrators and Guardians Bonds from 1856 (GA microfilm 68/78); and Inventories, Sales, and Annual Returns from 1844 (GA microfilms 166/30 and 166/31). ↩
91. Lumpkin Co., Deed Book N:521, Barker to Abiecrombie [sic] and Blackwell; Superior Court, Dahlonega. ↩
92. Georgia Surveyor General, Headright Plat Book YY:218 and Headright Grant Book MMMMM:53; Surveyor General, Colonial and Headright Grant Books, 1755–1909, RG 3-4-12, GA; GA microfilm 52/56. ↩
93. Listing for Isham Barker, Hal Co. vol. for 1820 land lottery, Lists of Fortunate Drawers 1807–1832, RG 3-5-23; GA. ↩
94. Georgia Surveyor General, Grant Book, Irwin County Reverted Lots, Act of 1840:160 and Irwin County Reverted Lots C:146; Surveyor General, Land Lottery Grant Books, 1805–1859, RG 3-5-29, GA; GA microfilm 285/80. ↩
95. Cadle, Georgia Land Surveying History and Law, 209. ↩
96. Lumpkin Co., 1836 Tax Digest. ↩
97. Walnut Fork Baptist Church, Minutes, 25 December 1813, entry for Isham Barker. ↩
98. Ibid., 24 March 1821, entry for Isham Barker. ↩
99. Ibid., 25 January 1823, entry for Isham Barker. ↩
100. Jackson Co., Deed Book L:341, Polk to Barker, and N:291, Smith to Barker. ↩
101. Jackson Co., Will Book A:62, Lewis Barker will. ↩
102. Ibid. ↩
103. For his birth date, see 1800 U.S. census, Chesterfield Dist., S.C., p. 352, Isham Barker, and p. 355, line 25, Isham Barker; NARA microfilm M32, roll 47. Also, 1820 U.S. census, Jackson Co., Ga., p. 284, Isham Barker; NARA microfilm M33, roll 8. Also, 1830 U.S. census, Hall Co., Ga., p. 119, Isham Barker, Also, 1840 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., p. 263, Isham Barker. The 1840 census is his last known record. ↩
104. 1850 U.S. census, Jackson Co., Ga., pop. sch., Subdivision No. 45, p. 78, dwell./fam. 1151, Evan Polk household; NARA microfilm 432, roll 74. ↩
105. Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:63, Polk-Barker. ↩
106. 1850 U.S. census, Lumpkin Co., Ga., pop. sch., New Dist., p. 86, dwell./fam. 4, Gray Barker household. ↩
107. Cherokee Co., Wills and Bonds, Book B:288, administrator’s bond, estate of Gray Barker, Probate Court, Canton; GA microfilm 13/17. ↩
108. Jackson Co., Will Book A:62, Lewis Barker will. ↩
109. For his birth date, see 1850 U.S. census, Heard Co., Ga., pop. sch., 41st Dist., p. 149, dwell. 195, fam. 205, Lewis Barker household. For his death, see 1860 U.S. census, Heard Co., Ga., mortality sch., p. 359, line 24, Lewis Barker; NARA microfilm T655, roll 8. ↩
110. Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:59, Barker-Chandler. ↩
111. Jackson Co., Will Book A:62, Lewis Barker will. ↩
112. For 1818, see ibid. For her marriage, see Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:63, Polk-Barker. ↩
113. 1830 U.S. census, Marion Co., Tenn., p. 66, line 7, Hugh Polk household; NARA microfilm M19, roll 175. ↩
114. 1850 U.S. census, Lafayette Co., Miss., pop. sch., p. 265, dwell./fam. 561, Eldridge Barker household. ↩
115. Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:62, Barker-Polk. ↩
116. Ibid., ABC:146, Horton-Barker. ↩
117. Forsyth Co., Ga., Marriage Book A:77, Whorton-Julian; Probate Court, Cumming; GA microfilm 172/24. ↩
118. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
119. “Death of O. B. Barker [sic],” Mountain Signal, Dahlonega, Ga., 21 February 1879, page 3, col. 2. ↩
120. Habersham Co., Marriage Book A:114, Barker-Moore; GA microfilm 252/19. ↩
121. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
122. Jackson Co., Marriage Book ABC:126, Man-Barker. ↩
123. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
124. Ibid. ↩
125. Aposhian, transcription of Saye, “Family History,” pt. 1, p. 23. ↩
126. Hall Co., Marriage Book A:56, Barnes-Barker. ↩
127. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. Also, 1880 U.S. census, Etowah Co., Ala., pop. sch., Gadsden, ED 70, p. 372A, dwell. 135, fam. 144, Hubbard Barker household; NARA microfilm T9, roll 13. ↩
128. Forsyth Co., Marriage Book A:3, Barker-Henderson. ↩
129. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
130. Floyd Co., Will Book C:372, petition to probate will of Rufus Barker. ↩
131. Walton Co., Marriages and Applications (Unbound), Barker-Craven. ↩
132. Floyd Co., Marriage Book 1876–1884:555, Barker-Hamby. ↩
133. For his birth, see “Births,” Sarah A. Barker widow’s pension. For his death, see Floyd Co., Minute Book E:401, petition to probate will of Obadiah Barker. ↩
134. Lumpkin Co., Marriage Book 1838–1849:6, Barker-Barnes. ↩
135. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩
136. Ibid. ↩
137. 1870 U.S. census, Elmore Co., Ala., pop. sch., City of Wetumpka, p. 171, dwell. 1476, fam. 1500, Eldridge Barker household; NARA microfilm M593, roll 15. ↩
138. Troup Co., Ga., Marriage Book B:200, Barker-Mann; Probate Court, La Grange; GA microfilm 148/52. ↩
139. “Births,” Sarah A. Barker, widow’s pension application no. 4371, Indian Wars, RG 15, NA–Washington. ↩