Originally published 5 Nov 2020 and republished 12 Apr 2023.
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]
James C. Barnett and his wife, Jessie Carrie, and
their son, T.B. Barnett, all died in 1929, Jesse Carrie died 4 March 1929.
James C. and his son, T.B. both died of double pneumonia on 26 October 1929.
All three are buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Mason, Noxubee County,
Mississippi. [7]
[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.
