Publication: Decatur Daily Democrat March 20, 1972
Title: Mary Stoneburner dies this morning

Mrs. Mary (Manie) Stoneburner, 100, widow of John E. Stoneburner, died at 9:15 a.m. this morning at the Lakeview nursing home. Mrs. Stoneburner had resided at the nursing home since October 2, 1970.
Mrs. Stoneburner would have been 101 years of age this March 30.
Manie Stoneburner was born March 30, 1870 into a family of twelve; her parents were James and Lydia Barnett. Mr. Barnett moved to Adams County in 1849 and settled on a farm near Elmtree Crossroads where he became a well-known schoolmaster.
Manie and her husband, John E. Stoneburner, after their marriage in 1891, began the local motion picture industry in the area and only the second one in the entire state.
Later on, the Stoneburners entered the musical instrument sales business and travelled to Wyoming, where Mr. Stoneburner was employed by an oil company. John Stoneburner died in 1955.
In addition to his business side, Mr. Stoneburner was a Democratic trustee for two terms and both he and his wife were active in community affairs.
The Stoneburners had one child, Louva, who died while still a young woman. A niece Glatice Robinson, died August 1, 1970; she lived with Manie Stoneburner since 1953.
Other surviving nieces and nephews are as follows: Mrs. Delota Engle, Decatur; Mrs. Everett Kennard, Marshalltown, Iowa; Mrs. Beulah Darr, Boxholm, Iowa; Mrs. Rex Downs, also of Boxholm, Iowa; Mrs. Ralph Kerschner, Coney, Kansas; William Barnett, Bakersfield, California; and Albert Beery, Decatur.
Mrs. Stoneburner was the oldest member of the Monroe Methodist Church and she also belonged to the Women's Society for Christian Service, the Eastern Star, the Past Patrons Club, and the Profit and Pleasure Home Demonstration Club, of which she was a charter member.
Until her 98th birthday, Mrs. Stoneburner voted regularly by absentee ballot.
The body was removed to the Zwick funeral home, where funeral arrangements will be made.

Decatur Public Library (Adams Co, IN) online obit abstracts
Title: Stoneburner, Mary (Manie)
Publication: Decatur Daily Democrat; Date: 22 MAR 1971

Abstract: Age: 100; Died: March 20, 1971; Born: March 30, 1870; Daughter of: James & Lydia Barnett; Married: John E. Stoneburner

Subjects: Obituaries -- S -- 1970-1979
Margie Roop Pearce
Louisiana

1979 History of Adams County, Indiana; Vol. I

MANIE STONEBURNER

Mary Elizabeth Stoneburner, called Mannie by family and friends, lived over a full century of life. She was one of ten childen of James and Lydia Andrews Barnett, born on March 30, 1870, and was the last survivor of her family at her death on March 20, 1971.
Her father, James Barnett, came to Adams County in 1849, settling on a farm near Elmtree Crossroads in Washington Township. He was well-known in the county as a schoolteacher. She often related the story of how her father blazed the trees through the woods to the log school so that the children would not get lost in the dense forest. She told how the entire area was thick with trees, and her father used an ax to clear the ground for farming. He also employed the use of a team of oxen to plow. The family lived in the log house which her father built.
Mary Elizabeth Barnett was married to John Stoneburner on April 17, 1890. During their early married life, the couple ventured to Wyoming and Kansas to work in the oil fields. The train only went so far and they had to walk in to the area of the oil fields.
John Stoneburner opened the first movie theatre in Decatur in 1906, in a 20 by 40 foot room south of the courthouse. He also sold musical instruments. During his life he also served as Washington Township trustee.
John and Manie were the parents of only one child, Louva, who married Rollin Waltz. She had no children so there are no descendants to carry on the heritage of this pioneer couple.
- By Peggy Dick