The Barnes Family - a new chapter in our research

There are a lot of the descendants of John Sanders Barnes and Sarah Ann Owens running around, but there aren't that many of us researching. A few years ago, Galahad one of the cousins researching found and shared the pictures of the Barnes family bible. In January I received a message from Georgette that gave us a whole new chapter in our research for John Sanders Barnes.

John Sanders Barnes was born in Gates county, North Carolina. He was an illegitimate child of Mary "Polly" Sanders (some records show Saunders for this area) and John Barnes. In 1819 he was apprenticed to William Summers Barnes and in 1824 to Robert Smith. There are no bonds for these apprenticeships, just a line in the court minutes. There are though records for him in the Bastardy bond files from 1811-1819.

I believe that Mary "Polly" Sanders is the daughter of Henry Saunders. Thomas Barnes was the executor for the estates of both Henry and his brother Joseph. Joseph had only one child, also a Mary but she was married by 1811 to Elijah Cross. The other Sanders/Saunders of the area, including Laurence a neighbor, are descendants of a Jesse Sanders who leaves a will. I can find no Mary in this family that seems of an age to fit. Thomas Barnes was also the guardians of all of the Saunder children and he was a neighbor to his brothers Richard and Benjamin, and to a James Barnes who I can't connect but is surely a relative.

Benjamin Barnes died in 1809 and he has a son named John. Richard Barnes died in 1814 and he has a son named John. From estate records we know that the son of Richard named John died by 1819-1820. Which is why I think his John is the father of our John Sanders Barnes. It is important to note however, that both Benjamin and Richard married sisters, daughters of Isaac Pipkin and Charity Goodman. The James Barnes who was a neighbor to Thomas, Benjamin and Richard (named in their father's will, also a Thomas Barnes), had a son John who also was married in 1811,

Henry Sanders and his brother Joseph Sanders are the sons of Sarah King Sanders, who in her will names lands she received of her father Henry King. We know that Henry King is the son of William King who was a son of Michael King and Elizabeth Hiry (Hare most likely given the other records). The records for all of these folks, are mainly in Chowan, Nansemond and Gates county.