Barner vs Burner

From the two articles on Miss Pattie Barner of Smithland, you have probably guessed that I am very interested in her family. My interest in the family came about because I thought that one of my probable ancestors married into the family. What a lesson learned of the value of going to the original sources! Let me give you a bit of background to explain what happened.

The mother of my great grandfather, David Vaughn, was Julina Caroline Vaughn, who was born in July 1827, according to the 1900 Livingston County census. Working backward through the census records, I found Julina, who never married, with her children living with Rebecca Barner in 1860 Livingston County. In 1850, Julina and her children were also living with Rebecca, but Rebecca’s last name was Vaughn. Rebecca Barner appears on the 1840 Livingston County census. Various Vaughn researchers have said that Rebecca Vaughn, a widow, married John Jacob Barner in 1834, but a search through original Livingston County marriages records shows that his name was, in fact, John Jacob Burner and Rebecca is never listed as a widow.

Well, that put a whole new face on the problem! There were other clues that John Jacob was not related to the Barner family. While I still know little about John Jacob Burner, I do know the Barners lived in Smithland and the Vaughn family lived quite a distance away in a completely different part of the county. The Barners were merchants and business people and the John Jacob Burner and Vaughns were farmers. The Barners were Cumberland Presbyterian and as long as I can remember, the Vaughns have been Baptist. There were simply too many differences between the two families.

In a later blog, I’ll tell you what happened to John Jacob Burner and Rebecca Vaughn.

Published 13 September 2008, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/