The following post was originally published on the 20th of Sep 2018.
For
several years I have been researching the Barner family, along with
the house they lived in, on Charlotte Street in Smithland. Benjamin Barner was
the first of the family to live in this house and, about 1841, his brother and
sister in law, Sterling M. and Sarah Jane (West) Barner, moved from Nashville,
Tennessee to live with Benjamin. Also living in the household were Sterling and
Sarah Jane's children, Mary E., Joseph, and Martha "Miss Pattie"
Barner.
Unfortunately,
all members of the family were deceased by 1870 with the exception of Sarah
Jane. She and her grandson, Sterling Barner Taylor, child of Miss Pattie's
unfortunate marriage to B. Waller Taylor, moved to Russellville,
Kentucky to live with her sister, Elizabeth Saffrans. In 1873, Sarah
Jane married George Blakey and then died in 9 January 1879 in Bowling Green,
Kentucky. Through the years the Barner house in Smithland
was rented out to various tenants, including J.W. Bush,[1] Mrs. Nannie
(Haydock) Ferguson,[2] and E.G. Leeper.[3] Leeper agreed to pay
rent of $125 per year.
Nannie Ferguson died in 1901 and the Charlotte Street house and two extra lots were inherited by her children, Hamlet, Nettie and Maude Ferguson. Hamlet was living in Kansas City, Missouri when he conveyed his interest in the property to his sisters, Nettie and Maude.[5] By 1919, Nettie and Maude had moved to San Diego, California and sold the house to J.E. Massey.[6] Massey and his family lived in the property for a number of years and then it sat empty for some time. On 1 December 2009, the house was destroyed by fire. Today the lot on which the house stood is vacant with no remnant of the old house remaining. It was said that the oldest part of the house was an original log cabin in the center portion of the house. This appeared to be true from what remained of the house after the fire. Very likely the house was enlarged to accommodate the larger number of people when Sterling moved his family to Smithland.
There
are various rumors about the house on Charlotte Street. A local tradition says
it was the oldest house in Smithland, but no one, to my knowledge, has offered
proof. Some people believe that slaves escaped to free territory via an
underground tunnel leading from the house to the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers,
just a half block from the house. Whether this is true or not, I
cannot say, but I do know that on the 1850 Livingston County Slave Schedule,
Sterling Barner had four slaves listed as his property. In 1860, Sterling had
four slaves and his brother, Benjamin, had two slaves. It is interesting that
the 1870 Livingston County census does not show any black or mulatto persons
with the surname of Barner. Did they move away from Livingston County when they
were freed or did they change their surnames?
[1] Rental agreement dated
1 Jul 1865 between J.W.Bush and Mrs. Sarah J. Barner to rent part of her
residence until 28 Dec 1865; copy of letter in compiler's files.
[2] Letter dated 6 Feb 1866
from Pattie Barner to her mother, Sarah Jane Barner, stating "I suppose by
this time Miss Nannie has become fully installed in her new [house?]. Give my
love to Mrs. Haydock and Miss Nannie also ..." Transcription of
letter in compiler's files.
[3] Rental agreement dated
7 Jan 1870 between E.G. Leeper and Sarah J. Barner to rent her dwelling
house
[4] Livingston County Deed
Book 19:155-156, Sterling B. Taylor to Mrs. Nannie Ferguson, 12 May 1890;
recorded 7 Dec 1892.
[5] Livingston County Deed
Book 29:445-447, Hamlet Ferguson and wife Mathilde to Nettie and Maude
Ferguson, 14 Sep 1903; recorded 20 Oct 1904.
[6] Livingston County Deed
Book 45:472-473, Maude and Nettie Ferguson to J.E. Massey, 31 Jul 1919;
recorded 27 Mar 1920.
A repeat publication on 5 Oct 2023 Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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