Just this morning I discovered not one but two distant cousins that connect to me through the BARRETT family. One is my 5th Cousin, 2 times removed and her daughter, my 6th Cousin, 1 time removed. My 6th Great Grandparents Johnathan A BARRETT and Elizabeth Betsy HENDERSON. I descend through their son Johnathan David BARRETT & wife Margaret GILPIN, their daughter Mary Polly BARRETT married my 4th Great Grandfather Ezekiel EADES, at this point in time I am uncertain who Ezekiel`s parents were, I am sure that I will get those names eventually though. My matches descend through Johnathan BARRETT and Elizabeth HENDERSON`s Daughter Jerusha Eliza BARRETT who married John KELLER.
It appears as thought Grandfather Johnathan A BARRETT may have been married twice. There is a story shared on Ancestry by one with the username: SesterHamby that states the following:
"According to one story, Jonathan Barret (Baroth) was a native of Wales.Another story says, without any definite proof, that he was born in Virginia.
Jonathan married and had two daughters, Bathsheba and perhaps Elizabeth. They
were Quakers as evidenced by their biblical names. Some records say that his
wife was a German or Jarman (which is Welsh). She died in Virginia. Jonathan
moved into North Carolina as an early pioneer in what was Wilkes County, but is
now Alexander County. He sent for his daughters after he had established a
home there.
Bishop Spangenburg's Journal in 1752 mentions Jonathan as a pioneer who lived
in Wittenberg Township. A mountain which is partly in Wittenberg and partly in
Ellendale, North Carolina is named Barrett's Mountain. He opened up a road
leading from a point on the mountain and along the crest of the bank of the
North Canyon of the Catawba River to the Little River. He entered a large
tract of land lying in Wittenberg, bounded by the Catawba River on the south,
Middle Little River on the west and Mountain or Mill Creek on the north.
Jonathan's daughter of the first marriage, Bathsheba, married Samuel Oxford in
1765. Bathsheba's and Samuel's first child was born in 1766. Jonathan lived
on the mountain which still bears his name and Samuel Oxford lived at the foot
of the mountain on the Catawba River at Oxford Ford. So Samuel must have
climbed the mountain to go a' courtin' Bathsheba Barrett. The mountain is not
a high mountain, more like a hill. There is a lake called Oxford Lake nearby
and the Duke Power Company has a power plant on the Catawba River called the
Oxford Dam.
After Jonathan came to North Carolina, he married, according to the papers of
Virginia Alice Meek and a Keller family record in the Genealogy Division of the
Indiana State Library, Elizabeth Henderson from the New England States. By her
he had several childred: Jonathan, Jr. and another son, Gerusha, and several
other daughters. Gerusha was born March 4, 1761 and on her eighteenth
birthday married John Keller. Jonathan Keller, Jr. was a sailor in the
Revolutionary War. He was born in 1757.
Jonathan Barrett, Sr. was a member of the Granville County, NC, Colonial
Militia in 1755.
A history of Alexander County says, "In 1788 the General Assembly passed an act
to encourage the building of iron works in the state of North Caroline. Any
person fulfilling the conditions could obtain land and be exempt from taxes for
10 years. So an Andrew Baird obtained 18,000 acres, beginning in Lower Little
River to Samuel Oxford's line, etc., etc., thence north around the end of
Barrett's Mountain to the beginning". Apparently Andrew Baird sold tracts of
land to several persons, among whom were Martin and Christine Keller.
In Frederick County, Virginia there was a family of Quaker Barretts.
A will of Benjamin Barrett, August 5, 1777 showed the following:
Wife was Elenor; sons: Thomas, Benjamin, Richard and Jonathan. Sons John and
David were infants. Duaghters: Phoebe and Lydia. Benjamin was the son of Arthur Barrett."
(c) 9 Sept, 2011 Ancestry User: SesterHamby
According to the above information it appears that grandfather Johnathan BARRETT may have been married twice. There are two possible wives showing up in prelimenary research: Elizabeth Betsy HENDERSON and Jarmin "Jar-Fly" HAGLER. Further research is warranted by this researcher in order to ascertain if both of these women were indeed his wife. I will update this post with my findings.
Johnathan's Parents, my 7th Great Grandparents were Johnathan BARRET and Sarah STEVENS.
A Compilation that may be of interest to other researchers who have connection to this BARRETT family line is: Genealogy of some of the Descendants of Thomas BARRETT of Braintree, Massachusetts This is a book that Google has archived in the Open Library. I have yet to read through it but did want to share it here for others who are interested in researching our BARRETT line.
I'm awaiting my 23 & Me spit kit results. I've traced my Barrett line TO Jonathan so am anxious to compare. Never know WHAT might have gone on thru the centuries.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the Pond crossing Barrett connected to Jonathan? Port of entry? Anything?
How will I be able to compare my DNA results to the writer here???
I have done my dna with Ancestry. I am trying to find a document that says David Barrett b. about 1785 was married to Elizabeth Henderson. What proof show her name was Henderson.
ReplyDeleteI found a family book writer had our Massey line wrong. We have Margaret Massey born in North Carolina early 1780s, who married James Rankin probably in East Tennessee early 1800s. An Autobiography by my 3rd G Uncle, Rev Thomas J Bryant helped me to realize Jonathan Barrett is my Margaret Massey’s Grandfather. So far I don’t know anything about Margaret’s mother, but she may have been a Nancy Barrett, daughter of Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteThomas Bryant wrote that he had worked for a distant half cousin, Isaac Nelson Edwards. Isaac’s father was Griffith Edwards. Griffith Edwards’ parent’s were Griffith Edwards, Sr born abt 1750 Wales; and Mary Ann Barrett born about 1750 Rowan, NC. I found this reference: “ Mary Ann Barrett, called Polly, was a certain daughter of Jonathon Barrett. He gave consent, identified as her father, to her marriage to Griffith Edwards in Rowan County, North Carolina on 19 October 1774.” from this website: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/edwards/2997/
I did find the image of that marriage record at ancestry where Jonathan Barrett signed or gave his mark allowing his daughter to marry, and his name is written as gonathan barrett.
Also, I’ve found DNA matches for myself and 9 cousins who share my ancestry, and shared matches point to a connection to Jonathan Barrett, and some of those matches work back to Jonathan Barrett from the Oxford line.
Here’s what Thomas Bryant wrote: “Grandfather Rankin married Margaret Massey. On her Mother’s side she was a Barrett. Her Grandfather Barrett was a powerful man, physically his teeth were all double, and his chest was apparently on solid bone.” Family lore, but this could be an accurate description of Jonathan Barrett.
The death record for Margaret’s sister, Susan Massey who married James Bradshaw indicated Susan’s mother was given name Nancy. It showed her father’s given name as Jonathan, but I think it may have been William from names James and Margaret used for children. I think it’s possible the informant mistook the name of Susan and Margaret’s father for her Grandfather, Jonathan Barrett.
Tom McMillan
My name is Ronald Anthony Barrett Jr I am also a descendent of Jonathan and jarfly barrett I have a full time line and tree from myself to date of sir Edward barrett est1249
ReplyDelete