Thomas H. Barnes (1820 - 1912)

Born 13 Jan 1820 in West Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 5 May 1912 at age 92 in Fairmont, Marion, West Virginia, United States

Biography

Thomas was born in 1820. He was the son of Abraham Barnes and Mary Hall. He passed away in 1912.

"The Barnes Family in West Virginia" (1920) says "THOMAS H. BARNES, son·of Abraham Barnes, was born Jan. 13, 1820, married Eliza J. Dorsey, daughter of John Dorsey of Morgantown, W. Va., April 13, 1862. His marriage was the culmination of a romance, commonly known as love at sight. Thomas Barnes, then a bachelor of 42, was on a business trip to Morgantown, when he was invited by a friend, to attend a social gathering of young people. At this gathering was a very pretty black-eyed girl with beautiful curly hair. When Mr. Barnes saw her he inquired of his friend who she was, and being told that she was Eliza Dorsey, he said, "'I am going to marry that girl if I can get her." After Miss Dorsey had met the tall, handsome Fairmonter, she said to a girlfriend, "I am going to get that handsome big fellow for my husband." In a short time they were married and began housekeeping at Palatine, now in the first ward Fairmont. Thomas H. Barnes was the oldest member of the family in this section of the country, being in his 92nd year at the time of his death May 5, 19ll. In personal appearance he was a man to attract attention, being more than six feet high, broad shouldered and straight as an Indian, with a dignity of bearing that gave him a distinguished appearance, and the stranger would look at him the second time. Thomas H. Barnes began business as a farmer, which he followed until 1845, when he engaged in the timber and lumber business. In 1854 he entered the mercantile business, having a general store in the building on Water Street now known as the Jenkins Hotel, doing an extensive business until 1876, when be opened up a coal mine on the forty acre farm that he had purchased on the edge of town. He was one of the first men in Marion County to sympathize with the spirit of North Western Virginia and joined in the movement to form the new state and was one of the delegates to the Constitutional Conventions at Wheeling, that organized the state of W. Va. He was a life long member of the First Presbyterian Church of Fairmont, and a prominent member of Fairmont Lodge F.A.M. The family of Thomas H. and Eliza Dorsey Barnes consisted of one son and four daughters. One daughter Eliza, Jr., died in infancy."

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90015337/thomas-h_-barnes

• http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/The_Barnes_Family_in_West_Virginia.pdf