William Byron Barnes (1906 - 1957)

Born 12 Aug 1906 in Lapel, Madison, Indiana

Ancestors

Husband of Marcia Neta Belle (Million) Tuttle — married 21 Mar 1933 in Lapel, Indiana

Died 29 Oct 1957 at age 51 in Pocahontas, Randolph, Arkansas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Charles Barnes [send private message]

Biography

William Byron Barnes was born near Lapel, Indiana on August 12, 1906.[5,6]. For awhile his family lived with William's grandparents in nearby Stoney Creek, Indiana.[1] His father died when he was 16 years old.

On August 10, 1927, William married Edna Stum in Madison County, Indiana.[11] The 1930 census[2] shows him working as a chauffer for a taxi cab company. It also shows that he is married, but his wife is not shown in the home with William, his mother and his step-father.[2] Hence he and Edna may have separated by this time.

Madison County Indiana records[8] show that William married Neta B. Million on March 31, 1933. But curiously, another Madison County marriage record shows that he (again?) married "Marcia N. B. Million" on September 8, 1943.[8] Anderson, Indiana City Directories of 1933, 1939 and 1945 show William B and Marcia Neta Barnes living together in Anderson.[4] These directories show him working as a bus operator in 1933, and a security guard for Guide Lamp, a division of General Motors, in 1939 and 1945. The 1940 census of Anderson, Indiana shows William and what FamilySearch deciphers as "Mariah M" Barnes; but the handwriting is not clear and her date and place of birth agree those of Marcia Neta.[10] The 1940 census shows William working as a policeman for an auto parts company, consistent with being a security guard for Guide Lamp.

In 1945 or 1946 William and Neta moved to Arkansas, where Neta was originally from, and William lived there the rest of his life.[6] He died in Pocahontas, Arkansas in 1957.[5,6]

Sources

1. US Census, Stoney Creek, Madison County, Indiana, 1910.

2. US Census, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana, 1930.

3. US Census, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana, 1940.

4. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; Anderson, Indiana, 1933, 1939, 1945.

5. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=69789019.

6. Obituary for William B Barnes, Anderson Daily Bulletin, October 30, 1957, p. 9, column 2.

7. Anderson (Indiana) Public Library, Madison County Marriages, 1921-1951 (online) http://www.and.lib.in.us/index.php?xsearch%5B0%5D=&xsearch%5B1%5D=Barnes&xsearch_id=MCM_search1&src=directory&srctype=MCM_lister&view=MCM, [County Clerk's Office Book 52, p. 270].

8. Anderson (Indiana) Public Library, Madison County Marriages, 1921-1951 (online); http://www.and.lib.in.us/index.php?src=directory&view=MCM&srctype=MCM_lister&query=%28misc0.like.Barnes.or.misc2.like.Barnes.or.misc4.like.Barnes%29&xsearch_id=MCM_search1&xsearch[0]=&xsearch[1]=Barnes&query=%28misc0.like.Barnes.or.misc2.like.Barnes.or.misc4.like.Barnes%29&pos=25,25,98, [County Clerk's Office Book 68, p. 268].

9. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V1Y3-YZD : accessed 8 December 2016), William B Barnes, Ward 1, Anderson, Anderson Township, Madison, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 48-6, sheet 5B, line 74, family 91, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1072.

10. Thus with city directories of 1933 and 1939, and the census of 1940 all showing William and Neta living together, their "re-marriage" of 1943 is a mystery. Perhaps - and this is just a guess - the 1933 record is their marriage license application and reflect when they actually were married, but the "marriage license return" part of the form was neglected to be completed or returned until 1943.

11. Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019, database with images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:87WR-T6W2, showing marriage of William B Barnes and Edna Stum.