Barnes

The last will and testament of Martha Simms Barnes (1856).

In her 1856 will, among other bequests, Martha Simms Barnes left her son James Reddick Barnes her “interest in negro woman Clary and her children.” We can infer that Martha Barnes jointly owned Clary and her children with unnamed others.

In the 1860 slave schedule, James R. Barnes reported enslaving 41 people (and controlling another 32 as trustee for unnamed minors. In June 1856, two people he jointly owned with others, Cate and Sherard, were sold at auction at a toll house on White Oak Swamp. Barnes was high bidder.

The obituary of James D. Barnes.

Wilson Daily Times, 26 March 1948.

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In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: John A. Barnes, 65, garden worker; wife Sarah J., 71; son John A., Jr., 39, works at Hackney Bus Bodies; daughter-in-law Emma, 35; son Wade, 36; and grandchildren James D. Barnes, 17;  George, 15, Odell, 13, and Margaret McAllister, 10, and Inez Tart, 9.

 

The Coleman farmstead.

Mattie Barnes Robinson recently led me on a tour of her extended family’s current and former lands on Airport Boulevard. Mrs. Robinson attended Barnes School, which was just down the road and across the street from the farmstead on which she grew up. The house is gone, but traces remain on the land.

This tumbled chimney is all that remains of the house.

Remnants of the outbuildings. The pecan was already a mature tree during Mrs. Robinson’s childhood.

The well.

The pump in front of the Barnes School site.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2025.

The last will and testament of Harry Barnes.

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In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farm laborer Sherod Barnes, 67, and children Rosa A., 22, Shepard, 17, Harry, 15, Warren, 13, Harriet, 10, Haywood, 6, and Hec Barnes, 19.

On 11 August 1879, Harry Barnes, 21, married Mary A. Dawson, 19, in Wilson County.

On 2 February 1898, Harry Barnes, 40, of Gardners township, son of Sherrod and Penny Barnes, married Cora Woodard, 24, of Gardners township, daughter of Mentus and Sarah Woodard at Harry Barnes’ residence. Haywood Barnes applied for the license.

In the 1900 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Harry Barnes, 46; wife Cora, 28; son Lewis, 2; and sisters [Lewis’ sisters?] Ella, 17, and Penny, 16.

In the 1910 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Harry Barnes, 53; wife Cora, 35; and children Lewis, 13, Paul, 8, Rose, 3, and Estell, 4 months.

In the 1920 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Harry Barnes, 66; wife Cora, 40; and children Paul, 17, Rosa, 14, Stella, 13, and Adell, 12; nieces Mary, 14, and Ary, 5; nephew Robert, 15; and lodger Julie Bone (?), 60.

On 15 February 1923, Harry Barnes, 60, of Gardners township, married Salinda Battle, 40, of Gardners township, at Haywood Barnes’ residence. Primitive Baptist preacher John R. Barnes performed the ceremony in the presence of H.S. Stanback, Richard Gest, and George Battle.

Harry Barnes died 29 September 1928 in Gardners township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 68 years old; was born in Wilson County to Sherrod Barnes and Pennie Bullock; was married to Adinger Barnes; and worked as a farmer.

Will of Harry Barnes (1927), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

Edward M. Barnes, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated. Let me know what you think about them.

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Edward M. Barnes (1905-2002), high school principal.

Engagement of teachers Howard and Miller announced.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 3 December 1938.

Marian A. Howard and John M. Miller Jr. were teachers at Darden High School.

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Marian Adeline Howard was born 31 December 1916 in Albemarle County, Virginia, to Eli A. Howard, janitor, and Mary Elizabeth Brown, seamstress, 411 Dice Street, Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the 1920 census of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia: at 411 Dice Street, Eli Howard, 45, and children Elizabeth, 12, Augustus, 7, and Marian, 3.

In the 1930 census of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia: at 411 Dice Street, owned and valued at $1500, widow Eli Howard, 55, and children Agustus, 16, printing office porter, and Marian, 13.

On 28 December 1938, John Maxwell Miller Jr., 28, teacher, resident of 307 Pender Street, Wilson; born in Chesterfield, S.C., to John Maxwell Miller and Elizabeth Orr, married Marian Adeleane Howard, 21; born in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Eli A. Howard and Elizabeth Brown, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 307 Pender, owned and valued at $8000, widow Hattie Tate, 54, servant; daughter Helen T. Huggins, 33, elementary school teacher; son Andrew Tate, 31, hotel bellboy; lodgers John M. Miller, 29, and wife Marian H., 23, both high school teachers; Walter Mitchell, 22, insurance collector; and Ruth Hagans, 29, servant.

In 1940, John Maxwell Miller Jr. registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 22 June 1910 in Chesterfield, South Carolina; lived at 613 East Green, Wilson; his contact was wife Marian Howard Miller; and he was employed by the City Board of Education.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 704 Green Street, John M. Miller Jr., 39, elementary school teacher; wife Marian H., 34, high school English and French teacher; and daughter Sylvia M. Chappell, 4.