Robert
Barnett
Born about in Kentucky, United States
Ancestors 
Son of Robert Barnett
and Nancy (Davis) Barnett
Husband of
Matilda (Conaway) Barnett
— married
3 Jun 1829 in Bourbon, Kentucky, United States
Husband of
Amanda Neal
— married
26 Aug 1832 in Vermilion, Illinois, United States
Father of
Amos Barnett
Died
at about age 87
in Vermilion, Illinois, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 25 Apr 2021
This page has been accessed 102 times.
Biography
Robert Barnett was born about 1807 in Kentucky.[1] His parents were Robert Barnett (1772-1852) and Nancy Davis. As described in the WikiTree profile for his father Robert Barnett, the family moved from Pennsylvania to Bourbon County, Kentucky about 1796.
Robert married Matilda Conaway on June 3, 1829 in Bourbon County, Kentucky.[2] She came from a large family in Bourbon County. Robert’s brothers James and Jesse had previously married sisters of Matilda.[2] Matilda’s parents and extended family moved from Bourbon County, Kentucky to Tazewell County, Illinois in the late 1820s (described in the profile for her father William Conaway.)[3] Robert and Matilda apparently joined them. At the time of the 1830 US census, Robert and Matilda were living in Tazewell County next to Matilda’s brother Amos Conaway.[4] That area became part of McLean County when McLean County was formed in December, 1830.
Robert and Matilda had a son Amos born March 6, 1830.[5] Matilda died in September, 1830.[6]
Robert married Amanda Neal on August 26, 1832 in Vermilion County, Illinois.[7] They were living in Vermilion County for the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 US censuses.[1]
The children with Robert and Amanda in the 1850 US census were: Amos age 20 from Robert’s first marriage, Martha age 15, Sarah A. age 14, Christiana age 11, Nancy age 9, Robert age 1. The children in the 1860 US census were: Christiana age 20, Nancy E. age 19, Robert age 11, Thompson age 8, Elbert age 6, and Elisha age 4. All children were born in Illinois. Robert and Amanda had 12 children. Five died before 1861.[6]
Robert applied for a pension in 1878 as a dependent of his son Amos who died in the Civil War.[6] Robert said he had health problems that made him unable to work. However, neighbors submitted affidavits that said Robert had sufficient land to provide for his family, but the Barnett men did not like to work. Also, Robert had sold land to two of his sons with a legal contract that they would take care of him and his wife for the rest of their lives. The pension was denied. In 1890 the pension application was renewed based on recent changes in pension law.[8] The second pension application was granted.
Robert apparently died in 1894. His last pension payment was in October, 1894.[8] The pension was stopped due to death. His place of burial is not known, but was probably either the Lebanon Cemetery or Woodlawn Cemetery where other family members were buried in Vermilion County, Illinois.
Research Notes
Correctly identifying Barnett family members in Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana in the 1800s is particularly challenging because most family members had children with the names James, Robert, Nancy, and William, and had siblings and uncles with these same names who gave these same names to their children. Cousins tended to marry and extended families often moved together. Casual genealogy based on names and ages is not applicable.
Robert’s pension application in 1878 stated that he had traded land with his niece Lenorah Barnett, and that his son Amos had sold land to Amos’s uncle James Barnett. These facts establish that James Barnett (1794-1866) was Robert’s brother. As described in the WikiTree profile for James Barnett (1794-1866), James was the brother of Jesse Barnett, who was clearly the son of Robert Barnett (1772-1852) and Nancy Davis.
A biographical summary about Robert Barnett (1772-1852) in a book stated that his sons James, Robert, and Jesse all died in Illinois.[9] As described in the WikiTree profiles for James Barnett (1794-1866) and Jesse Barnett, they died in Illinois, as did Robert (1807-1894).
Robert Barnett (1807-1894) lived next door to James (1794-1866) at the time of the 1850 and 1860 US censuses.[10] At that time, James was married to Rosanna Neal and Robert was married to Amanda Neal. James’s first wife Hannah Conaway was a sister of Robert’s first wife Matilda Conaway, and they were sisters of Jesse Barnett’s first wife Providence Conaway.[2] Robert, James, and Jesse all had sons named Robert and daughters named Nancy.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Birth for Robert Barnett: about 1807 from the 1850, 1860, and 1880 US censuses and about 1805 from the 1870 US census. All censuses have his birth in Kentucky.
“US census, 1850,” Robert Barnett, Vermilion Co., Illinois, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M857-GNX
“US census, 1860,” Robert Barnett, Vermilion Co., Illinois, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXH5-Q8K
“US census, 1870,” Robert Barnett, Vermilion Co., Illinois, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6W2-VMD
“US census, 1880,” Robert Barnett, Vermilion Co., Illinois, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXKP-SP8 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Marriage information at “Conaway Marriages in Bourbon County, Kentucky, 1795-1830” https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Conaway_Marriages_in_Bourbon_County%2C_Kentucky%2C_1795-1830
- ↑ William Conaway, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Conaway-202
- ↑ "United States Census, 1830," Robert Barnett, Tazewell, Illinois, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPY-KRH.
- ↑ Amos was in the 1830 US census record, and various later records for Amos Barnett. Notably, Amos was with his father Robert and Robert’s second wife Amanda in the 1850 US census.
"US Census, 1850," Amos Barnett in household of Robert Barnett, Vermilion County, Illinois, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M857-GNN - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Robert Barnett Pension Application, 1878,” https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/d/df/Barnett-12308.pdf
- ↑ "Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935", Robert Barnet and Amanda Neal, August 26, 1832, Vermilion County, Illinois, [register book]. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HS4N-R1ZM
“Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940,” Robert Barnet and Amanda Neal, August 26, 1832, Vermilion County, Illinois, [affidavit, license, certificate]. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BP-CSJ2 - ↑ 8.0 8.1 “Robert Barnett Pension Application, 1890,” https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/e/ed/Barnett-12305.pdf
- ↑ History of Cass County, Indiana, from its earliest settlement to the present time, 1913 by Jehu Z. Powell, page 573, https://archive.org/details/historycasscoun00unkngoog/page/n612/mode/2up
- ↑ James Barnett next to Robert Barnett in 1850 and 1860 US censuses for Vermilion County, IL
1850 census https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DHGR-X3
1860 census https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBT-6TN
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