Advertisement
Advertisement

Barnes Family History & Genealogy

77,143 biographies and 190 photos with the Barnes last name. Discover the family history, nationality, origin and common names of Barnes family members.

Barnes Last Name History & Origin

Add

Summary

My Father, Harry Elmer Edgar Lee Pete Barnes came from Indian descendants. His Father was Choctaw Indian, his Mother was Chickasaw Indian. I'm not sure, but there is also some Black Dutch and Irish in there as well. One of the Parents was pure indian.

History

My Dad was from Van Buren Arkansas. He had one Parent with Choctaw Indian, the other one with Chickasaw Indian. They were all reared in Arkansas. My Father, Harry Elmer Edgar Lee Pete Barnes came from Indian descendants. His Father was Choctaw Indian, his Mother was Chickasaw Indian. I'm not sure, but there is also some Black Dutch and Irish in there as well. One of the Parents was pure indian.

Name Origin

We don't have any information on the origins of the Barnes name. Have information to share?

Spellings & Pronunciations

We don't have any alternate spellings or pronunciation information on the Barnes name. Have information to share?

Nationality & Ethnicity

We don't have any information on the nationality / ethnicity of the Barnes name. Have information to share?

Famous People named Barnes

Are there famous people from the Barnes family? Share their story.

Early Barneses

These are the earliest records we have of the Barnes family.

Sir William William Barnes Sr. was born in 1568 at Woolwich, Kent, England, and died at age 50 years old on May 7, 1619 at Woolrich County, Kent, England. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Sir William Barnes, Sr..
Ann Or Anna Barnes was born in 1620 at England, and died at age 70 years old on April 5, 1691 at Hingham, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ann or Anna Barnes.
Mary (Barnes) Hoyt was born in 1638 in Salisbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Present USA), and died at age 89 years old on July 19, 1728 in Amesbury, Province Of Massachusetts. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary Barnes Hoyt.
Sarah (Barnes) Salmon
Sarah (Barnes) Salmon was born in 1662 in Southold, New York United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Sarah (Barnes) Salmon.
William Barnes Jr. was born in 1679 at Donn in Ireland, and died at age 52 years old in 1731 in Pennsylvania United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember William Barnes, Jr..
Hannah Barnes
Hannah Barnes was born on March 3, 1766. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Hannah Barnes.
Mary (Barnes) Manifold was born in 1772 in Bromborough, Cheshire County, England United Kingdom, and died at age 78 years old on January 31, 1851 in Kelso, West Tamar Council County, TAS Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary (Barnes) Manifold.
Richard Bygrove Barnes of Off Reid Street, in Rutherglen, Indigo Shire County, VIC Australia was born in 1803 in Sydney, NSW to Richard Barnes and Hannah (Collins) Barnes. He married Mary Ann (King) Barnes on April 13, 1840, and they were married until Richard's death on July 22, 1890. He had children John Bygrove Barnes, Samuel Barnes, Sarah Bygrove (Barnes) Gill, Francis Barnes, William Barnes, Hannah Barnes, Caroline Barnes, Robert Barnes, Margaret Rose Ann Matilda ( Barnes) La Pouple, and Richard Thomas Bygrove Barnes. Richard Barnes was buried in July 1890 at Carlyle cemetery in Wahgunyah.
Daughter of convict Mary King, who was transported from Edinburgh to Van Diemens Land in 1822.
Eliza (Barnes ) Bookout
Eliza is buried in Roberts Cemetery in Mammoth Spring, Fulton County, Arkansas
Luke Barnes of Moorabool Australia was born in March 1822 in England United Kingdom, and died at age 61 years old in March 1883.
Luke Barnes of Moorabool Australia was born in 1822, and died at age 61 years old in 1883 in Moorabool.

Barnes Family Members

Barnes Family Photos

Discover Barnes family photos shared by the community. These photos contain people and places related to the Barnes last name.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Barnes Family Tree

Discover the most common names, oldest records and life expectancy of people with the last name Barnes.

Most Common First Names

Updated Barnes Biographies

Tracy Lynn Barnes was born on July 27, 1969 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States to Dana Charles Barnes and Carol Patricia Barnes, and has a brother Ronald Edward Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Tracy Lynn Barnes.
Ronald Edward Barnes was born on August 23, 1967 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States to Dana Charles Barnes and Carol Patricia Barnes, and has a sister Tracy Barnes. Ronald Barnes married Megan Rose Barnes in 1994 in Portland, Cumberland County, and has a child Kara Della Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ronald Edward Barnes.
Dana Charles Barnes was born on May 5, 1941 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States. Dana Barnes got married to Carol Patricia Barnes in 1966 in Portland, Cumberland County, and has children Ronald Edward Barnes and Tracy Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Dana Charles Barnes.
Carol Patricia Barnes was born on November 13, 1945 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States. Carol Barnes got married to Dana Charles Barnes in 1966 in Portland, Cumberland County, and has children Ronald Edward Barnes and Tracy Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Carol Patricia Barnes.
Kara Della Barnes was born on April 23, 1996 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States to Megan Rose Barnes and Ronald Edward Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Kara Della Barnes.
Megan Rose (Murchison) Barnes was born on January 20, 1973 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine United States to Jeffrey Henry Murchison and Judith Jane Murchison, and has siblings Bryony Elizabeth Roux and Justis Jeffrey Murchison. Megan Barnes married Ronald Edward Barnes in 1994 in Portland, Cumberland County, and has a child Kara Della Barnes. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Megan Rose Barnes.
Bernice Barnes of Chicago, Cook County, IL was born on May 23, 1914, and died at age 87 years old on November 9, 2001.
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ralph Terry Barnes.
Shelby Johnson
Shelby Lynn (Barnes) Johnson was born on January 24, 1991 to Amy Marie (Waldrop). Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Shelby Johnson.
Floyd Barnes Jr of Bexar County, TX was born circa 1965. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Floyd Barnes Jr.
Daisy Mae Barnes of Mount Vernon, Westchester County, NY was born on August 26, 1943, and died at age 64 years old on July 16, 2008 in Mount Vernon.
Janie Ruth (Essary) Barnes of Missouri United States was born in TN, and died in MO.
Mary L Barnes of Marion, Grant County, IN was born on August 19, 1931, and died at age 61 years old on November 11, 1992.
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Edward Aussie Barnes .
Judy Marie (Hepfer) Barnes was born on November 3, 1975 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan United States. Judy Hepfer was married to Joseph Cecil Barnes SR on October 21, 2023 at Caro Church of the Nazarene 1494 Purdy Road, in Caro, Tuscola County. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Judith Barnes (Hepfer).
Judith Marie (Hepfer) Barnes was born on November 3, 1975 in Cass City, Michigan United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Judith Barnes .
Joseph Cecil Barnes SR was born on March 7, 1967. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joseph Cecil Barnes SR.
Ora Barnes was born to Herman Jordan and Ann Williams, and has siblings Betty Jordan, Bobbie Jordan Morgan Butler, Juanita Jordan, and Herman Jordan Jr. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ora Mae Jordan Barnes.
Phyllis I Barnes of Pomona, Los Angeles County, CA was born on April 13, 1916, and died at age 83 years old on May 31, 1999.

Popular Barnes Biographies

Nita Talley
Nita Pearl Talley Barnes was born to George Edgar Talley (1871-1937) and while her death certificate lists "Bertha Talley" as the mother, her siblings mother is identified as Elizabeth Hill (Jones) Talley. She had a number of siblings including Lytt Gardener Talley where all siblings are listed. In the 1950s census it shows that Nita was living with her aunt and uncle Annie & Louraine Nance in North Carolina. She married Richard Pearson Barnes (1894-1969) and had two children Ottis H. Barnes (1916-1917) and Nancy Barnes (1931-1931) who both died as infants.
Lowell E Barnes
Lowell E Barnes Dr. of Hiram, Oxford County, ME was born on June 1, 1924 to C. Lowell Barnes and Rose Barnes. He was the father of Lowell E Barnes Jr. Lowell Barnes died at age 70 years old on May 23, 1995.
Nancy Cavender Barnes
Nancy Cavender Barnes of Murrayville, Hall County, Georgia United States was born in 1823 in Murrayville. She married John Millard Barnes. She would also marry John Millard Barnes. Nancy Barnes died at age 88 years old on June 19, 1912 in Murrayville, and was buried at Cavender Barnes Family Cemetary in Murrayville.
James Dale  Barnes
James Dale Barnes was born on November 7, 1938. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Dale Barnes.
Daughter of convict Mary King, who was transported from Edinburgh to Van Diemens Land in 1822.
Lindsey R Barnes
Lindsey R Barnes was born to Karen F Bates. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lindsey R Barnes .
Richard Bygrove Barnes of Off Reid Street, in Rutherglen, Indigo Shire County, VIC Australia was born in 1803 in Sydney, NSW to Richard Barnes and Hannah (Collins) Barnes. He married Mary Ann (King) Barnes on April 13, 1840, and they were married until Richard's death on July 22, 1890. He had children John Bygrove Barnes, Samuel Barnes, Sarah Bygrove (Barnes) Gill, Francis Barnes, William Barnes, Hannah Barnes, Caroline Barnes, Robert Barnes, Margaret Rose Ann Matilda ( Barnes) La Pouple, and Richard Thomas Bygrove Barnes. Richard Barnes was buried in July 1890 at Carlyle cemetery in Wahgunyah.
Scarlet Leigh Barnes
Scarlet Leigh Barnes was born on July 28. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Scarlet Leigh Barnes.
Lucille Barnes
Lucille Barnes of Raleigh, Smith County, MS was born on December 20, 1914, and died at age 90 years old on September 29, 2005.
Marie (Barnes) Brewer
Marie (Barnes) Brewer was born to Mary Edna (Barnes-Barry) Porterfield and Harold B. Barnes, and is the mother of Jamie J. White and Rene Archibald White. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Marie (Barnes) Brewer.
Dianne Barnes
BARNES, DIANNE was born 15 April 1949, received Social Security number (indicating New York) and, Death Master File says, died September 11, 1974 Dianne Barnes was a very beautiful young woman who lived out on Long Island. She had a baby boy who inherited his musical talent from his mother. They both played guitar. His father had no interest in him and gave up his parental rights. By the time she was out of High School, Dianne was heavily addicted to heroin, and raising a child was not really her calling in life, so she was easily persuaded to give her son up for adoption to a couple that was anxious to raise him along with their adopted daughter. Within a few years, Dianne died of an overdose of heroin in New York City. Her son played guitar and was graduated from college. He married a female chiropractor and had two children, a boy, and a girl, and settled in Arizona. Dianne Barnes died on Sep 11, 1974. Buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in 3442 Route 112, Coram, NY 11727.
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Charles E Barnes.
Frances Cornelia (Barnes) Brooks
Frances Cornelia (Barnes) Brooks was born on August 24, 1898. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Frances Cornelia (Barnes) Brooks.
Mary Alice (Rowson) Barnes
Mary Alice (Rowson) Barnes was born on June 21, 1903. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary Alice (Rowson) Barnes.
David Lee Barnes
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember David Lee Barnes.
Edith Henrietta Barnes was born on December 19, 1891 to John Ella (Barnes) Williams and Bailum Williams, and had siblings Mamie Ruth (Barnes) Glover, Louisa Barnes, Robert Barnes, Joshua Barnes, Edward Barnes, Theodore Tobias Barnes, and Fannie Barnes. Edith Barnes died at age 47 years old on October 9, 1939. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Edith Henrietta Barnes.
Clara Ellen Mierke- Barnes was born on August 9, 1887 in Oak Harbor, Ottawa County, Ohio United States. She was married to Walter Knapp Barnes, and they were together until Walter's death in 1943 in San Bruno, San Mateo County, California. She had children Evangeline Elizabeth Barnes and Walter Knapp Barnes II. Clara Mierke- Barnes died at age 93 years old in 1980 in San Jose, Santa Clara County. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Clara Ellen Mierke- Barnes Mrs.
Mamie Ruth (Barnes) Glover
Mamie Ruth (Barnes) Glover of Highway 222, in Falkland, Pitt County, North Carolina United States was born on November 17, 1919 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County to John Ella (Barnes) Williams and Bailum Williams. She had siblings Louisa Barnes, Edith Henrietta Barnes, Robert Barnes, Joshua Barnes, Edward Barnes, Theodore Tobias Barnes, and Fannie Barnes. Mamie Glover died at age 77 years old on January 11, 1997 at Vidant Medical Center 2100 Stantonsburg Rd, in Greenville, Pitt County, and was buried on January 14, 1997 at Anderson Chapel Baptist Church 4352 Anderson Chapel Rd, in Macclesfield.
Adelbert B. Barnes was born in 1870 in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas United States, and died in Gloversville, Fulton County, NY. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Adelbert B. Barnes Mr..
Zola Marie (Gipson) Barnes-Gipson of Griggsville, Pike County, Illinois was born on November 20, 1918, and died at age 66 years old circa May 18, 1985 in Louisiana, Missouri United States.

Barnes Death Records & Life Expectancy

The average age of a Barnes family member is 71.0 years old according to our database of 76,634 people with the last name Barnes that have a birth and death date listed.

Life Expectancy

71.0 years

Oldest Barneses

These are the longest-lived members of the Barnes family on AncientFaces.

Florence E Barnes of Nashville, Davidson County, TN was born on May 11, 1896, and died at age 110 years old on March 5, 2007.
110 years
Lilly Barnes of Lumberton, Robeson County, North Carolina was born on November 5, 1875, and died at age 110 years old in May 1986.
110 years
Daisy E Barnes of New Haven, New Haven County, CT was born on August 8, 1893, and died at age 110 years old on August 30, 2003.
110 years
Helen Barnes of Concord, Contra Costa County, California was born on August 4, 1899, and died at age 109 years old on March 13, 2009.
109 years
Lucy V Barnes of Fort Washington, Montgomery County, PA was born on June 14, 1896, and died at age 108 years old on March 21, 2005.
108 years
Emma S Barnes of Cherry Hill, Camden County, NJ was born on October 11, 1882, and died at age 108 years old on April 9, 1991.
108 years
Ina Barnes of Mount Olive, Covington County, Mississippi was born on July 2, 1870, and died at age 108 years old in July 1978.
107 years
Gilbert Barnes of Berkeley, Alameda County, CA was born on February 18, 1891, and died at age 108 years old on November 4, 1999.
108 years
Hattie B (Barnes) Burgess was born on February 1st, 1889 in Fort Valley, Georgia to Tellis Barnes and Victoria Barnes. She grew up on an Indian reservation. Hattie Barnes married John Hicks. After John died, she married Alvin Burgess Sr. (1897 - 1947), also outliving Al. She had five children and was survived by a son, Dudley Hicks and two daughters, Annie Gibson and Fannie McDaniel. Hattie died on April 7th, 1997 in Cincinnati. Ohio at the age of 108. She is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. See Hattie B Burgess: Obituary.
108 years
Charles E Barnes of Vineland, Cumberland County, NJ was born on July 7, 1881, and died at age 108 years old on December 13, 1989.
108 years
Katherine E Barnes of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, MA was born on July 14, 1883, and died at age 107 years old on November 14, 1990.
107 years
Mary Barnes of Boston, Suffolk County, MA was born on November 23, 1876, and died at age 106 years old in February 1983.
106 years
Advertisement
Advertisement

Other Barnes Records

Share memories about your Barnes family

Leave comments and ask questions related to the Barnes family.

Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
I have a Euncie Barnes living in New York. She married a Barnes fellow. Her Maiden name might be Thompson. They then moved to Michigan. She was living with William E Thompson and his wife Cinthia Sheldon..( in New York ) There is a George W Thompson married to Louisa Nodine. A Loomis Thompson. A few other Thompson 's . All these Thompson people are moving over to Michigan. A guy named Perry Thompson too.
Reply
My Barnes were living in NY. Don't know where they are coming from? With the Thompson line.
Reply
My Paternal father is James Timoteo Barnes, He was born Feb,25,1928 in Sta I Sur, Philippines. He was an Army Vet. and is Burried in Ft. Snelling National Cemetary, Minneapolis, Mn. My daughter & I are now trying to track down any family members that we may have in the Philippines or elsewhere. The Best Memories are all the things that Other People had told me about my father...How kind & generous he was, He Played a steel guitar & played with other Fillipenos in a band. He was a hard working man & dependable. I am saddened, Because I Didn't grow up with this wonderful Human Being. But I have hope that I may one day connect with more of our family.
Do you have any information where his parents and grandparents were from? Were they born in the USA?
Good luck in your search.
they were married in nolan county tx
I am searching for family names related to Kenneth Lee Barnes born abt 1958 married Ramona Ruth Clayton. Their son is my half brother Kenneth Lee Barnes Jr. Im trying to aDD names to his family tree but we know nothing of the barnes....he has never met his dad.
"Four Barnes brothers arrived in Baltimore, scattered, and we are from one of them." This story is vague, but it has a history. It was told by Mollie (Barnes) Gauld. She said her father, Elijah Hicks Barnes (1845-1933), told her the story. It is confirmed in a Bedford County, Pennsylvania history which says that Elijah's great grandfather, James Barnes, was from England and first settled in Baltimore. James Barnes died in Nelson County, Kentucky in 1795. His sons who came to Kentucky were Samuel, Elijah and Archibald. His daughter was Jemima, or Jemina, who married James Hamilton. Samuel and Elijah marry Willcocks sisters, living in Nelson County. A document says that Samuel died in Illinois before 1859. At that point aged, Samuel possibly traveled to Illinois with one of his children. Archibald married Sarah Atherton and lived in nearby Larue County, Kentucky. Elijah's son, Armstead, moved to Meade County, Kentucky, married Elizabeth Dowell and had 12 children. I have been compiling information on this family for a book. Information, clues, or leads appreciated. Thank you. [contact link]
MY GRANDPA WAS FROM SOME PART OF KENTUCKY...DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT PART BUT I CAN FIND OUT AND RELAY THE MESSAGE TI YOU AT A LATER TIME.. HIS NAME IS GERALD BARNES, HIS OLDEST SON GERALD BARNES WICH IS MY DAD IS STILL ALIVE IN TOLEDO OHIO!! I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT OUT OF ALL THE STORIES I'VE READ ON HERE I THINK THERE'S A POSSIBLE MISSING LINK I AM TRACI BARNES
You know it is always great to have company and do worthwhile things together. Well back in the late 70's we had such a meaningful gathering at dad's house. Fourth of July, Independence day, a day to celebrate our freedom with a feast!
So with temperatures in the low 100 degree range, dad and Lucky started talking about the ole days when company got together you would butcher a hog and have a feast. Well damn, dad had plenty of hogs and lots of time, hey why not! Welllllllllll, there is reason you butcher hogs, deer and the such in the fall. One is called it is just too hot in July, another is called flies.
But not to be deterred we went on with the celebration out to the hog pen with 22 rifle and a butcher knife. The idea is to shoot the hog dead, then cut the throat to bleed it. Remember that is the idea. Well as I remember the hog didn't just fall over dead like it was supposed to. It played possum, until dad got in there to cut its throat. He sure was fast back then. Good thing for having the butcher knife to finish off the hog and ready the feast. Dad always was good with a butcher knife.
Sometimes things just don't go as expected with dad and his brothers when it comes to doing things they did as kids. Oh yea we had the 55 gallon barrel, we had the water and memories of building the fire under it to get just the right temperature so the hair would just fall off that pig. But you know if you get the water to hot….and we did, it sets the hair. By that I mean the hair is sort of petrified into the skin. Makes kind of a butch hair cut in stone. Well of course that is what we did, otherwise this story wouldn't have much hair in it if you follow my drift. So with the hair set solid in that pig what could we do?
It did not take but a second for someone, you know how sharp us Barnes's can be, I don't remember who to suggest…SHAVING the hair off. Say that could work! We got the soap and lots of razors and began to give that hog a trim. But it was like trimming steel wool. By now we were all laughing and sweating like ….pigs, out of razors and still lots of hair to cut. Someone quickly suggested we should just burn off that ole hair. Yea that sounded like a good idea. So out comes the butane torches, we had two, to get this hog closer to the table. Have you ever smelled hair burning in 100 degree bright summer sunshine on a pig? We didn't stay with that technique very long. It just wasn't working with the silky smoothness we were looking for, plus the added heat wasn't needed. Ok, who has an answer on what to do next? Well dang lets just hang it up from the hickory tree and SKIN that hog like a deer. And so we did. Along with thousands of flies, guiding our every cut, not your ordinary little ole house flies. No, we had that great green blow fly variety, fresh from the cow...dung. Those flies were celebrating the holiday from the pig to our sweating bodies, back and forth. I am not sure which they liked the most. Don't you know everyone was really getting hungry for some of that barbeque pig right about then. Well that stubborn hairy hog, nor the heat, nor those big green flies, kept us from getting that meat from the hickory tree to the kitchen.
Now this is where you do the final and delicate cutting and trimming to get those meat portions just right. So dad got the ax and our big hatchet and we began to trim. It did not take long before we had that beast all divided up, bone chips and all slipped into pretty white packages wrapped and in the freezer.
I think we had sandwiches and chips that Fourth of July, oh but what a great day.
SOUTHERN FUNERALS AND OTHER SOCIAL EVENTS


I hate to miss a Barnes' funeral. They are every emotion a person can imagine rolled up into a celebration of the person's life and the family experience. I came from a close, loving family who dealt with all of life, including funerals, with a sense of humor, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself at eighteen in a family who did the same. Through the years I have missed a few of these sad and glorious Barnes occasions, but always with a personal feeling of loss.


Let me add that it is a prime occasion to hug a Barnes man. Now there is not a Barnes man that I have ever met who is not the cutest thing around. It is like going to some magical place where it looks like my husband is present in every age available. They are all just adorable.


To give a snap-shot picture of one of these emotional roller-coaster southern Barnes family events, I would have to go back a few years…keep in mind this is just how I remember it.


We received the sad call in the morning from David's Uncle Lucky. We were told that Uncle Tommy Dee had passed away. Tommy Dee and his wife Jo lived out of state from us, and David was asked to go to the family that lived around us to tell them the sad news. We heard family from other states were rounding up to drive to the area where Jo lived.


Now Tommy Dee was David's father's brother-in-law. He had been married to Aunt Jo for a long time. He was more like a brother than a brother-in-law to Bill, David's father. David hated it, but he went to each home and relayed the news. It was a couple of hours later, after David had returned home and we were planning our own trip to see Aunt Jo, that it dawned on us that we really should go ahead and order flowers. It also occurred to us that we did not know where to send the flowers. A family member gathered up her courage and tried to call Aunt Jo.


It was immediately apparent that we had a problem. Aunt Jo did not pick up the phone, but one of Tommy Dee's daughters did. The conversation went something like this.


“We are really sorry to bother you so soon, but we really need to know where Tommy Dee is.”


The daughter said, “Well, he's somewhere upstairs, and we can't get him to change pants.”


Yes, there was a problem. We found out that it was not Tommy Dee but Tommy Lee, one of Bill's brothers. Besides David's having to grieve all over again, David had to go back to everyone's house with the good/bad news. And we worried about where the family that had already left their homes.


The next hour David related to me how much he loved and would miss his Uncle Tommy Lee. I heard wonderful stories of Tommy Lee taking David hunting when David was about seven, not realizing that David had stole some booze from him and gotten drunk, stepped through the ice, gotten wet, and Tommy Lee building a fire to keep him warm. David found this experience bonding and remembered it with love. I once again heard about David being the designated driver when he was 13 during late night fishing and frog-gigging trips with all his uncles (guess why!).


But in the back of my mind I was worried. Had I gotten the names mixed up and caused double grief for some of our family? Yes, I had always been treated like a daughter, but a could see myself plummeting down to the level of a piranha; avoided and shunned by mankind. It was with a great sense of relief that Uncle Lucky called within a short period of time and mentioned that he had given me the wrong name. I am not often pleased when I find others make mistakes, but I will admit that I was exceptionally pleased this time that it was not me. Whew!


The funeral itself epitomized southern manners and courtesy. There were three older women, one who had taken a nitroglycerin tablet, who would not sit at the gravesite. MaryAnn had helped her mother, Aunt Virginia to the graveside and tried to her to sit down. Aunt Virginia shook her head no and said, “someone really might need to use the seats”.


David and I also got to meet Tommy Lee's current girlfriend. I had always heard her referred to as the girlfriend, but I was now hearing her introduce herself as his fiancée as she, a little inebriated, hung into everyone's car door and said she would always love him. This probably would not have struck me as being funny if I had not known that Tommy Lee's very wise daughters had already gone to Tommy Lee's home to change the locks.


No decent Southern funeral is ever without a “spread” after the services. On this particular day, everyone was headed over to Uncle Kit and Aunt Pat's house out in the country. The family usually heads that way for gatherings (As it does every year for the Main family re-union). The food there would put a millionaire to shame. We had all the usual fancy foods, but some wise friends and family had provided some of our southern staples such as fried bologna, greens, cornbread, and biscuits. Granny was finally able to eat a bite, and after a few trips to the stove to sop some green juice was able to pronounce herself “bloated”. Of course, we all snickered a bit. Besides being a great Granny, she has made this saying a little famous when she has eaten enough of something wonderful to just about pass out.


And as we missed Tommy Lee, we also rejoiced in the family. A family he was such an intricate big piece of. We visited, we laughed, and we ate. It was starting to get late, and a few decided they needed to get on the road and not start out too late. We were all feeling sad and a little mellow. But before we could get too maudlin, Murle started to the door, stopped, and addressed the crowd.


“See you all next time. Hope it ain't me”


God, you gotta love em and try not to miss a Barnes' gathering

Followers & Sources

Loading records
Back to Top