[p. 556] was born at Grey Abbey, County Down, Ireland, March 6, 1830. At eighteen years of age he became an American citizen, and since then has been a most loyal subject of his adopted country. His long life of genuine integrity and his sincere devotion to our American institutions entitle him to a place in this biographical history of Lawrence County.
The parents of Mr. Barnes were of good old Irish stock. The early ancestors had come to Ireland from England at the time of Cromwell's invasion. Thomas Barnes, father of William, was a man of a high standard of life, and of exalted character. Nor did his honesty and uprightness of purpose detract in any way from his popularity; for there were few men who were so popular and well liked in his neighborhood. To the poor and needy and to all who were in distress he was an ever-present friend—comforting, solacing and relieving. His untimely death was mourned by all who knew him. He died in the year 1839, at the age of forty-one. Mr. Barnes was trying to act as peacemaker between two parties to a feud. The knife that was intended by one combatant for his opponent, entered a vital spot in Mr. Barnes, killing him instantly. He was married to Jane Boyd, daughter of James Boyd, of County Down, Ireland. To this marriage were born six children: James, who married Annie Annesley of County Down; William, the subject of this sketch; John; Annie; Isabel, and Margaret, who married Henry Wolfe, of Sewickley, Pa.
William Barnes came to America in the year 1848, and settling near Pittsburg, Pa., where he worked at the construction of telegraph lines—an industry then in its infancy. When the Civil War began he entered the employ of the United States Government, building telegraph under Generals Schenck and Fremont in Maryland and West Virginia. But this sort of life was not congenial to one in whom all the home instincts were so strong. So in 1861 Mr. Barnes purchased the farm, which he still owns, situated one mile north of New Castle, in Hickory Township. On August 2, 1857, he was married to Martha (Stuart) Macklin daughter of John Stuart, of County Antrim, Ireland, and widow of Thomas Macklin, by whom she had two children—Margaret J., who married Robert Patton, and Thomas J., who died in infancy. On this above-mentioned farm, in a log house in the midst of partly cleared fields, Mr. and Mrs. Barnes established their home. To them have come seven children: John, deceased; Jane, deceased; Anna, who married Thomas Matthews; Mary Orr, who married G. P. Bell, of Lone Oak, Tex.; Martha, widow of Hosea Porter, of Brownwood, Tex.; William T., who married Maude Fenton, of Lowellville, Ohio; and Isabel, deceased. Because of the severe climate of this section, and looking for a location where the winters would be milder, the family moved to Lone Oak, Tex., in the year 1883. But they soon found that place unhealthy to them and after a few years returned. Mr. Barnes was educated in the Belfast College, Ireland, receiving a classical training that would fit him to enter any of the professions. He has chosen the farm as the sphere in which his life should be used, bringing to the pursuit of agriculture a trained and cultured mind. In the community he has always taken an humble place. Not ambitious for positions of honor, or petty places in politics, but ambitious for those things which make true greatness—purity of heart and life, honesty and integrity. The family are members of the Park Christian Church, New Castle.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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Updated: 6 Nov 2001