Armstead L. "A. L." Barnes was born on his parent's farm in Stith Valley located about 10 miles south of Brandenburg. Today (2010), the small, peaceful valley appears little changed. Brandenburg is an old port town on the Ohio River in Meade County, Kentucky, 40 miles southwest of Louisville. He was the 7th of 12 children born to native Kentuckians Armstead Barnes (1809-1854) and Elizabeth (Dowell) Barnes (1814-1896). In various documents and local newspapers Armstead L. Barnes was known as A. L. Barnes. A. L.'s brothers and sisters called him "Bud."

On August 14, 1862, at the age of 18, A. L. Barnes, along with a number of other locals that day, enlisted with the Confederacy in nearby Big Spring, Kentucky. A. L. was the second son of his family to join the South in the conflict of the Civil War. His oldest brother, Gideon R., died in January of 1862 at the age of 29 from a measles outbreak where he was stationed with his military unit in Paris, Lamar County, Texas. A number of others in his company died of measles at that time. Gideon and the others were buried next to each other, their names (two listed as unknown) shown on a single marker. Note that A. L.'s father, Armstead, had a twin brother named Gideon (1809-1864).

The following is a personal rememberance of A. L. Barnes;
"My grandfather was for the South and he told us that he got on his own horse and rode off to help them out and win. During that period of time they felt the President of the South was their President, not the President of the North. They were from Brandenburg, Kentucky," said A. L.'s granddaughter, 104 year old Marguerite (Barnes) Dow (1897-2003) in a May 2002 conversation with Larry E. Barnes, assisted by Marguerite's daughter-in-law Betty Dow, at the Mount Hope Nursing Home in Mount Hope, Kansas.

A. L. Barnes (1843-1923) served with Co. F, 1st Kentucky Cavalry in the Confederacy during the Civil War. In September 1863, A. L. was captured and held as a prisoner of war for a short period of time at Broadway Prison in Louisville, Kentucky. It became common for captured soldiers to be released in prisoner exchanges to ease the terrible overcrowding and suffering in these prisoner of war camps. However, sometime in 1863 this exchange was stopped when the Confederacy announced they would not treat black prisoners the same as whites.

From a letter written by Charles L. Barnes (1892-1980), son of A. L. Barnes, "My father fought at the Battle of Murfreesboro in the Civil War. He was a 1st Lieut. with General John Hunt Morgan."

Also from the letters of A. L.'s son, Charles L. Barnes, "My father said Union forces had them backed up against the rising Ohio River. General Morgan (Gen. John Hunt Morgan) said most of his men did not want to try to swim the river on their horses and he (Morgan) would stay with them. Morgan asked my father to escort the men who did want to swim the river. My father escorted some 300 across the river and they escaped to Kentucky. A few were killed by gunboats on the river." Note that this A. L. Barnes story repeated by his son Charles, is very similar to an event depicted in many books as the last part of what is known as "Morgan's 3rd Raid" as stated in the following; "On July 19, 1863 the raid ended when Morgan, attempting to re-cross the swollen Ohio River, was forced into battle with his pursuers near Pomeroy, Ohio, and lost 800 of his men. Morgan and the remainder of his men fled up the river, and several hundred succeeded, despite Union gunboats, in escaping. Morgan was not so successful, as a few days later he was forced to surrender." (William B. Hesseltine, The South in American History, Prentice, 1943.) (Charles L. Barnes papers, as well as family photos, are courtesy of his great niece, Thelma Hickok Queen of Wichita, Kansas. Thelma is a great granddaughter of A. L. Barnes.)
Here's an amazing coincidence. Thelma Hickok Queen was a classmate (Wichita North High, class of 1947) and fellow class reunion committee member of Gene H. Barnes, a great grandson of A. L.'s next younger brother, Elijah Hicks "E. H." Barnes (1845-1933).

No family history has survived that reveals the origin of A. L. Barnes' middle name, Lovelace. However, since no family connections have been claimed or found with a person named Lovelace, an obvious possibility would be the popular and local Meade County, Kentucky Baptist minister of that time, Colmore Lovelace (1795-1864), who was a minister at Hill Grove Baptist Church, the church attended by the family of Armstead Barnes, Sr. One of those who ordained Colmore into the ministry was Simeon Buchanan (1789-1863), the minister who married A. L.'s parents there in 1830. During Reverend Lovelace's ministry of more than 40 years, he was in such demand that he was the minister of as many as 15 churches, all which were within about 30 miles from his home. Though living less than 40 miles from Louisville, he never traveled there. Reverend Lovelace, the most popular preacher in his Association, was said to have retained his popularity for the rest of his career, marrying over 575 couples and baptizing more than 1,200 people. A brother of A. L. Barnes, Elijah Hicks Barnes, certainly could have received his middle name from Reverend George H. Hicks (1814-1873), who was in fact, ordained by Colmore Lovelace, and was minister of the same Hill Grove Baptist Church for 30 years. (Parts from J. H. Spencer's, History of Kentucky Baptists, Vols. 1 & 2.)

A. L. Barnes was married to Inez G. Dickerson by Preston L. Williams in Meade County, Kentucky on Dec. 25, 1866. Inez, born in New York State, had traveled to this small rural community to live with her sister.

On August 10, 1869, Edwin B. Barnes, first child of A. L. and Inez Barnes, died at the age of 16 months, cause of death unknown at this time. His marker is located just a few feet from his grandfather's, Armstead Barnes (1809-1854), at Meadville Cemetery, situated about 1/2 mile north of the old Armstead and Elizabeth (Dowell) Barnes farm where their 12 children were born and raised there in Meade County, Kentucky. A. L. and Inez Barnes would eventually become the parents of nine children.

In the spring of 1873, A. L.'s sister, Jemima (Barnes) Wimp, her husband James and their children, along with the Joseph B. Fulton and Blant D. Shacklett families, traveled 700 miles, mostly by train, from Meade County, Kentucky to Lake Township located in southwest Harvey County, Kansas. Joseph and Blant's wives, Margaret and Ann, were sisters of James Wimp. In 1873 this area of Kansas was still very much a wilderness. The Wimp children would later write, "We shot buffalo, deer, antelope, turkey, ducks, geese, quail and other game for meat, which were plentiful....We could see buffalos going through the country ever few days and indians.... and trains of covered wagons with ox teams hitched to them going west hunting land."
It would appear that settling here influenced other family members to travel here as well, such as George R. Barnes and his brother William, who, starting in 1900, lived for a period of time just 4 miles south in Mount Hope, Kansas. George and William were nephews of Jemima and A. L.

In the spring of 1874, A. L. and his family moved from Kentucky to a farm located in northern Sedgwick County, Kansas near his sister Jemima Wimp and her family. Newspaper articles reveal that on July 1, 1874 the Ellsworth County, Kansas area was attacked by an enormous cloud of grasshoppers from the west. The insects moved steadily, hitting Harvey County, Kansas on the afternoon of August 7th. Children of the Jemima Wimp family wrote that by next morning only the stalks remained of their corn crop. All the crops in that region were gone as well. Different types of aid, mostly in the form of food, was sent, but those that remained suffered great hardships for several months. Due to these problems, A. L. Barnes and family to returned to Meade County, Kentucky in the fall of that same year.

In 1884, A. L. and family returned to Kansas and farmed near the town of Sedgwick, located near where they had lived previously, which is along the Sedgwick County/Harvey County border, in Kansas. They remained there until 1886.

In August of 1886, A. L. Barnes, wife Inez and children can be found farming in nearby southern Harvey County, Kansas near the farm of A. L.'s sister, Jemima (Barnes) Wimp, her husband and family. A. L. and Inez purchased this 80 acre farm for $950.00 on August 23, 1886 from William A. and Martha H. Daily. This 80 acres is listed as; All of the north half (1/2) of the southwest quarter (1/4) of section 27 in township 24 south of range 3 west of 6th principal meridian, containing according to United States survey 80 acres, the same more or less. (Harvey County Deed Book 2, pg. 400) A 1902 Kansas land plat book shows a house on the west side of this property, but no sign of that house exists today (2008). There is no mention of a house on the deed, so they may have built the house or had one built. Son Charles Barnes describes it as, "a small house with two rooms on the first floor and two rooms in the half story above." Their farm was located exactly 1 mile east of where his sister Jemima, her husband James Wimp and their children lived on an 80 acre farm located along the east edge of what is today Burmac Road.

On January 30, 1888, A. L. Barnes and wife Inez authorize "right of way," allowing the Midland Railroad Company to lay railroad track across their farm and agree to a price of $250.00 as compensation. (Harvey County Deed Book 8, pg. 172.)

On March 27, 1892, Inez Barnes gave birth to twins, Hallie and Charles. Dr. Thomas S. Hunt, staying all night, delivered the twins, charging $7.00. To have a country doctor living nearby was certainly a very good thing, however, Dr. Hunt (1830-1900), who moved to this area in 1875, was not simply a country doctor, he had a doctorate degree in medicine. Though Dr. Hunt also served this rural community as school teacher, church leader and founder of the small (now extinct) town of Patterson, Kansas. While these duties were important, they seem to pale in comparison to his value as a doctor, someone who could heal the sick, ease the suffering of the dying, and help bring new life into the world. Of course in another sense, the doctor actually "treats" the whole family, since it is such a comfort to everyone when they hear the doctor is on their way. One could easily ponder how many lives Dr. Hunt saved, and how many people are alive today because he pulled their ancestor through a serious illness?
In July of 1904, and about 6 miles to the north, Laura (Bellfield) Stone was about to give birth at her parent's farm. Her brother rode horsback in a thunderstorm to get William "Doc" Burriss. In the early moring hours Doc Burris successfully delivered a baby boy named Milburn Stone. Many years later, Milburn's 20-year portrayal of frontier doctor "Doc" Adams on television's longest running western, "Gunsmoke," would bring appreciation and notoriety to the country doctors of the Old West who simply did the best with what they had and what they knew to try to save lives. Milburn would attend school in Burrton through high school, the same period of time when the A. L. Barnes family lived in Burrton beginning in 1909.

In September of 1896, A. L. and Inez Barnes sold their share, 1/11 of the estate of Armistead Barnes and wife Elizabeth Barnes, both deceased, land described as being near Hill Grove, Meade County, Kentucky, part of 261 acres more or less, A. L. and Inez Barnes being a child of and heir at law to Armistead and Elizabeth. They sold their share for $75.00 to A. L.'s brother, William "Billy" Barnes, who farmed the property for a number of years and built a fine home there.

The 1905 Kansas State Census shows that A. L. Barnes, age 61, wife Inez G., age 54, children Flora, age 32, Hallie and Charlie, both age 13, were farming a total of 188 acres on their property in Harvey County, Kansas. Ten acres were planted in alfalfa, twenty-five acres in winter wheat, twenty-five acres in corn, and 118 acres in pasture. They had three horses, one milk cow, thirty-two other cattle, ten swine and one dog.

In 1906, a Burrton area newspaper states; "A Happy Meeting - Mr. and Mrs. Barnes of Belle Plaine, Kansas came in last week for a visit with his brother and sister Mr. A. L. Barnes and Mrs. J. A. Wimp. It was certainly a happy meeting for they had not seen each other for over 42 years. The family formerly lived in Kentucky and in 1864 Mr. Barnes left the rest of the family and located in Missouri where he lived until about three years ago when he moved to his present location, hence the meeting."
Note that the 1905 Kansas State Census shows that A. L. Barnes and Jemima (Barnes) Wimp's brother, E. H. Barnes, his wife Sophia and their daughter Mollie were farming near Belle Plaine, Sumner County, Kansas. They had previously been residents of Missouri since first appearing there in the 1870 Federal Census in Livingston County, Missouri.

In December of 1909 the A. L. Barnes family, while maintaining ownership of their farm, moved their residence to the town of Burrton, Kansas located 6 miles to the north.

On the 8th of February of 1910, A. L. Barnes and his attorney, W. L. Daily, appeared in Harvey County court in Newton, Kansas. Their case consisted of the claim that A. L. Barnes was the owner of land that Samuel E. Austin asserted was sold to Austin in November of 1888 by George Sellers. According to law, A. L. Barnes served notice to Mr. Austin in the Burrton newspaper dated December 30, 1909. For reasons unknown, Mr. Austin did not appear in court. Jury waived, the court examined the evidence and ruled that the deed for the sale of land between George Sellers and Samuel E. Austin was null and void and cancelled, and ruled that A. L. Barnes was the legal owner of the land described as the south half of the northwest quarter of section number 27, township 24, situated in Harvey County, Kansas. This would equal 80 acres. (Appearance Docket, Book 1, case no. 6551, A. L. Barnes vs. Samuel E. Austin, Harvey County, Kansas.)

"A. L. Barnes returned last week from Kingsdown Kansas where he threshed a fine crop of wheat which tested 62 lbs. to the bushel." (The Burrton Graphic, Sept. 12, 1912, page 5.)

In 1916, A. L. Barnes entered as a contestant in a Burrton, Kansas fiddle playing contest called "The Fiddler's Roundup," but no article has been found mentioning the results. In the February 15, 1917 issue of their newspaper, "The Burrton Graphic," A. L. Barnes [then age 73] was listed as winning 2nd place in the Fiddler's Roundup, with a Mr. Wimp of S. E. of Burrton taking 1st place. Note that A. L.'s nephew, Coulson Wimp, a known fiddle player, is apparently the "Mr. Wimp" mentioned. It was not stated how many participated in these violin competitions in Burrton, however it does mention that it drew contestants not just from the surrounding area, but also from the towns of Hutchinson, Newton, and as far away as Medicine Lodge. The only requirement of these competitions was that sheet music was not allowed. Family notes reveal that A. L.'s brother, Billy, was also a fiddle player.

In the January 6, 1921 issue of their Burrton newspaper it mentioned that A. L. Barnes was a noted authority on storm predictions and that he was forecasting a winter storm to arrive between January 5th and the 10th. On this occasion however, the storm never arrived and A. L. was quoted in the next issue, "The storm tried to get here, but couldn't get over the sand hills." In another issue it stated A. L. Barnes was a strong Democrat and followed political affairs closely.

A. L. Barnes died at the age of 79 in Burrton, Harvey County, Kansas at 9 o'clock on the morning of September 6, 1923. He was survived by his wife Inez, 8 children and 22 grandchildren. A. L. was laid to rest on September 9th at Star Cemetery located south of Burrton, and 2 miles west of their farm. In 2000, a government issued military marker was installed by Larry Barnes and his mother, Vada, next to the headstone for A. L., Inez and their daughter Flora. It is probably only fitting that A. L.'s place of burial is within mere feet of his sister, Jemima (Barnes) Wimp (1841-1909), a person that he had lived near most of his life.