The Land Rush of 1893, also known as the Cherokee Outlet Opening, drew thousands of people to the area that would become part of Oklahoma in 1907. There had been land rushes in 1889, 1891 and 1893 and a final rush in 1895, but the Land Rush of 1893 was the largest. According to Wikipedia, the land Rush of 1893 opened up 12,726 square miles to settlement. The land had been purchased from the Cherokee Indians by the government.
One group from Carrsville, Livingston County, Kentucky, left with high hopes of establishing a homestead. The following article appeared in a newspaper in Marion, Kentucky.
“A party of Livingston county
boomers were in the city last night, leaving this morning by the Gus Fowler for
Cairo whence they will go by rail to the Cherokee strip, which is to be thrown
open Saturday. They came from Carrsville and vicinity and had a complete outfit
for camping, including dogs, guns and
other equipment considered necessary to out door life. The party was
composed of the following persons: Capt. J.C. Barnett, T.B. Barnett, Crocket
Bess, Carroll Bess and wife, Tom Bruce and A.C. Likens. They were guests of the
Dale House last night. They will reach the Strip in ample time to join in the
grand rush Saturday. – Paducah News [1]
Again, an area newspaper recorded the event. “Capt. J.C. Barnett has returned from the Cherokee Strip, where he and his son, Thomas, entered 160 acres apiece ... They made the run on the train of cars that entered the Strip. It only ran at the rate of 15 miles per hour, without stops, and when they reached land that suited them they leaped off and squatted on the ground they wanted. Tom remained out there and Capt. Barnett will return in a few days. – Elizabethtown, Ill. Independent [2]
Capt. Barnett returned to the West as when his father, P.C. Barnett, died in Crittenden County in 1896, his survivors included his son, James C. Barnett of Texas.[3] J.C. Barnett apparently returned home after his father’s death and stayed for some time. He appears on the 1900 census [4] and 1910 census.[5] By 1920, J.C. Barnett had moved to Noxubee County, Mississippi, where he was living with his son, Tom (T.B.) Barnett and wife, Jeanette.[6]
[1]
“Bound for Cherokee Strip,” Crittenden Press (Marion, Ky), 14 Sep 1893,
p. 3, reprinted from the Paducah News.
[2]“Personals,”
Crittenden Press (Marion, Ky), 12
Oct 1893, p. 4, reprinted from the Elizabethtown, Ill. Independent.
[3] Brenda Joyce Jerome. P.C. Barnett Dead,” Crittenden County,
Kentucky Newspaper Abstracts 1896-1900, (Evansville, IN: Evansville
Bindery, 1994) 25.
[4]
1900 Livingston County, Kentucky census, Carrsville, p. 8, E.D. 0057,
Ancestry.com
[5]
1910 Livingston County, Kentucky census, Panhandle, Roll T624_491, p. 4B, E.D.
0107, Ancestry.com
[6]
1920 Noxubee County, Mississippi census, Cliftonville, Roll T625_889, p. 8A,
E.D. 80. Ancestry.com
[7]
Find a Grave Memorial #118938307, James Curry Barnett; Memorial #118939360,
Jessie Carrie Barnett; Memorial #118861326, Thomas Bruce Barnett.
Published 5 Nov 2020, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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