My Gr-Gr-Grandfather, Granville Vanderpool (Vanderpool-618) was married to Mary Elizabeth Barbee (Barbee-1356). I have several sources (not primary) that give her parents' names as William Barbee (1822-23 Aug 1848) and Paulina Williams (1819 TN-22 Sep 1859 MO). I find only two "William Barbees in the WikiTree index that were born in that year, and neither one could be Mary's father. Find-A-Grave states that William was born in 1822 and died on 23 Aug 1848 at "Ft. Mann, Arkansas" - however, I find ONLY a "Fort Mann KANSAS", located about 8 miles west of Dodge City, on the Santa Fe Trail near the Arkansas river (now on private property). Ft. Mann was built in the spring of 1847 by teamsters of the US Army Quartermaster Corps, but only in use for about 18 months. A detachment of "Missouri Volunteers" arrived to man the Fort in October of 1847, but after many months of nearly constant attacks by Comanches - and several deaths of soldiers from both battle and sickness - the Fort was abandoned in the fall of 1848. I can find no roster of men assigned to this post, nor a complete list of those who died. The Kansas Historical Society states that archaeological work has found the graves of one officer and three enlisted men at the site. Since the Find-A-Grave entry states that William is buried in the Williams Cemetery in Bethany, Mo., perhaps his body was transported home for burial...or maybe simply a stone set as a memorial? The Find-A-Grave entry has no photo of William's gravestone, but does have one of his (supposed) daughter Mary Elizabeth. I am having difficulty in locating any burial records for that cemetery, as it has not been in use for nearly 50 years. Any help would be appreciated in making this connection.
