Family:Benjamin Barnes and Melissa McMurry (1)

The following items were found in the Fort Scott Daily Monitor:

4 Apr 1895 - Melissa Barnes files divorce petition on the grounds of cruelty.

6 Apr 1895 - Melissa Barnes sues B. F. Barnes for custody of children.

16 May 1895 - Divorce hearing scheduled, Melissa Barnes vs. B. F. Barnes.

According to two family sources (Ben's nephew Charles L. Barnes and Ben's niece Mollie Barnes Gauld), in about 1895, Ben F. Barnes left his family and went to Texas to see his sister and mother and was never seen again after he left his sister Barb's. According to Melissa's 1929 obituary, it states that Ben was deceased, yet no evidence of this can be found in death records or cemetery records in Kansas. In the 1930's, Ben's son Clarence, as an heir of Ben, claimed Ben's share of the estate, Ben's share of his parents' old family farm in Meade County, Kentucky. This Meade County document stated that Ben F. Barnes, if alive, would be 102 yrs. old. This would appear to further indicate that neither this court record nor family members were aware of when or where Ben Barnes died. In addition, the court, and Ben's son Clarence, if he had any input, didn't have any accurate idea of when Ben was born, which according to family Bibles and family notes was August 3, 1855.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Find A Grave.

   Melissa Van Natten