Leonard Barnett (bef. 1767 - 1838)

Born before 1767 in St. Paul Parish, Province of Georgia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy (Statham) Barnett — married before 1793 in Elbert County, Georgia, United States [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1838 after age 71 in Coweta County, Georgia, USA

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Biography

Leonard was born about 1773 to Nathan and Lucy Webb Barnett. He died about 1828^[1]

Research Notes

Evidence?

If someone has actual evidence that Leonard and Nancy Barnett were the parents of Lucy Webb Barnett, ancestor of Lyndon B. Johnson, I sincerely wish they would produce it. A Millennium File does not constitute evidence and the above record contains data for Leonard that is refuted by the evidence below, e.g., his father's name, his birth and death years and his place of death.

Leonard's parentage: Nathaniel Barnett was not Leonard's father or the husband of Lucy Webb. In the 1790s he sold land in Greene County with wife Susannah (née Crawford according to George Gilmer) and his 1824 Elbert County will names his children as David Barnett, William Barnett, Joel Barnett and Ann Crawford and also names the heirs of his daughter Elizabeth Spires and son [blank] Barnett (will has been uploaded).

Leonard's father was Nathan Barnett. Nathan and Lucy Barnett were grantors in Elbert County in Jan 1791 (Deed Book A, pp. 115 and 135), and Leonard was the Administrator of Nathan's estate when he died in Clarke County in about 1822. Leonard's link to Lucy (Webb) Barnett is found in the Elbert County will of William Webb, which among others names the children of his sisters Lucy Barnett, Mary Bellamy, Sucky Barnett and Salley Colley. Leonard acknowledged receipt of his legacy from this estate on 6 Mar 1824 (this has been uploaded).

As far as the place of birth given for Leonard above, St. Paul's Parish, this is at least supportable. Nathan Barnett received a Crown grant for 200 acres there on 2 Apr 1771. There were no grantees named Nathaniel Barnett, but there were three grants made to a William Barnett: 33 acres on 26 Oct 1758, 200 acres on 2 Apr 1771 and 50 acres on 7 Jul 1772.

Biography

Leonard was on a Greene County list of Revolutionary War soldiers eligible for an extra draw in the forthcoming 1827 land lottery (uploaded), so he was was born no later than 1767 to be at least 16 by the war's end in 1783.

He also appeared as an independent tithable on the 1790 tax list for Wilkes County and though he owned no land he would need to have been 21 to be subject to a head tax. He was in Wilkes County as early as 18 Dec 1786, serving as a chain carrier on a slew of surveys done that date for David Creswell (a John Slaton was the other chain carrier on many of these but whether this might have been a misidentification of John Statham Sr. or Jr.isn't known).

Marriage: Leonard and Nancy Statham likely married in Elbert County between 1791 and 1793, when he was on the jury lists there as it would have been usual for the time for Nancy to marry from her parents' home.

Greene County: In 1793 Leonard was on the Greene County tax list with 60 acres on the Oconee adjoining N. Bar (Nathan Barnett), and he was found in Greene County records through Jan 1830 when he gave power of attorney to his brother-in-law Nathaniel Statham to settle with the Executors of John Statham's estate (uploaded). This power of attorney was executed in Oglethorpe County, probably for the convenience of all the parties — Leonard Barnett in Greene County, Jesse Harris in DeKalb and Nathaniel Statham in Irwin. It was recorded in Elbert County since John Statham's estate was being administered there.

In Feb 1830 in Coweta County, Leonard made a deed gift to his son Thomas Barnett. This deed does not give a county of residence for either party but Leonard had probably moved there by this time as this is where he was living, in Capt. Ware's district, when he registered for the 1832 land lottery. He drew two 40-acres ("gold") lots, both in Section 3 of what was then Cherokee County and is now Paulding: Lot 100 (or 1000) in the 20th District; and Lot 1240 in the 21st District.

Children of Leonard Barnett and Nancy Statham: Since the first three federal censuses for Georgia have not survived, it's difficult to identify all of Leonard and Nancy's children, many of whom were likely on their own by the time the 1820 census was enumerated. There were Barnetts other than Leonard in Greene County and more in-depth research will be required to determine which of the Barnetts named in marriage, tax and land records as they came of age there were the children of Leonard and Nancy. It is known that in 1798 Leonard's Greene County household consisted of 6 white occupants, presumably Leonard, Nancy and four children (Nancy's brother Pleasant Statham was on the same census, the sole occupant of his household).

However, there is some indirect evidence to support the conclusion that the following were their children (with the exception of Thomas, for whom the deed provides direct evidence):

1 - Pleasant S. Barnett (Barnett-2976): he was in the same Capt's district as Leonard when they registered for the 1820 land lottery (Capt. Ragins', Greene County) and for the 1832 land lottery (Capt. Ware's, Coweta County); and Pleasant provided security on Leonard's promissory note in Greene County on 6 Apr 1829 (Deed Book KK, p. 42). His given name also suggests he was named for Nancy Barnett's brother Pleasant Statham.

2 - Nathaniel Barnett: he was living in Elbert County when he registered for the 1820 land lottery but the later deed for one of his draws, Lot 156 in District 1, Irwin County, is what suggests a connection with Nancy Barnett in particular.

By the 1830 census Nathaniel Barnett had relocated to Pike County, Alabama and in 1838 he sold the Irwin County tract to Samuel Brown. The deed was executed in Pike County on 20 Apr 1838 and witnessed by Nathaniel Statham, Nancy (Statham) Barnett's brother. Nathaniel Statham apparently took custody of the deed at this point and carried it with him to Stewart County, Georgia, where he proved it on 20 May 1839; he then presumably took it to Irwin County where it was recorded on 7 Aug 1839. His appearance in Pike County is not necessarily surprising if Nathaniel Barnett was indeed his nephew (and namesake?) — Nathaniel Statham's son Pleasant moved to Barbour County, Alabama around this time and Pike County abuts it to the west. Nathaniel Statham and his son Nat were on the census in Stewart County in 1840 and Nat is known to have served with the Mounted Stewart Rangers in 1836.

3 - Thomas Barnett: as previously stated, Leonard made a deed gift to him in Coweta in Feb 1830 that identifies him as Leonard's son.

4 - Lucy Barnett: she married William Cole in Coweta County on 29 Dec 1837 and as noted above, William provided securities on Nancy Barnett's Administrator bond and was subsequently appointed Administrator himself.

Sources

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 2 Jul 2019), "Record of Nathan Barnett", Ancestor # A006476.

• 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Capt Awtreys District, Greene, Georgia; Page: 237; NARA Roll: M33_8; Image: 174 Ancestry Record 7734 #1457015
• Militia District Number: 147 Ancestry Record 1729 #3534279
• Militia District Number: 147 Ancestry Record 1729 #3440656

• Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Coweta County); Probate Place: Coweta, Georgia Ancestry Record 8635 #126196
• Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Coweta County); Probate Place: Coweta, Georgia Ancestry Record 8635 #126202

See also:

• Brogan, Hugh and Charles Mosley, American Presidential Families, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company (1993), 692, 695

• Millennium File

Name: Leonard Barnett Gender: Male Birth Date: 1773 Birth Place: St Paul's Parish, Georgia, USA Death Date: 1828 Death Place: Greene, Georgia, USA Father: Nathaniel Barnett Mother: Lucy Webb Spouse: Nancy Statham Children: Lucy Webb Barnett Spouse Father: John Statham

Sources added by Donna Newman:

Frank Parker Hudson, Wilkes County, Georgia Tax Records, 1785-1805, pp. vii, 253

Census records

Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992, Ancestry.com

The Reconstructed 1790 Census of Georgia, Ancestry.com

Georgia Archives: Virtual Vault, County Tax Digests, Greene County

Elbert County, Georgia Deed Book V, p. 131 (power of attorney)

Frank Parker Hudson, "1798 Census of First Battalion Greene County, Georgia," Georgia Genealogical Society Quarterly 4, no. 2, p. 650

Daniel Nathan Crumpton, Wilkes County, Georgia Land Records: Boundaries as of 1777 (and later plats)

Georgia Genealogical Society Quarterly 8, no. 3, p. 206

Coweta County, Georgia Deed Book A, p. 387

Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978, Ancestry.com

Silas Emmett Lucas Jr., The Third or 1820 Land Lottery of Georgia

Silas Emmett Lucas Jr., 1832 Gold Land Lottery of Georgia

Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr., Some Georgia County Records, Vol. 2, p. 222

"The Barnetts" (Nat Barnett), in George R. Gilmer, Sketches of Some of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia, of the Cherokees, and the Author

Marion R. Hemperley, English Crown Grants in St. Paul Parish in Georgia, 1755-1775, pp. 10-11 (the books in the English Crown Grants series are public domain and available for download at FamilySearch.org)