Person:Benjamin Barnes (25)

It is thought that Floyd attended school to about the eighth grade, but that's only the half of it. Floyd often spoke of attending grade school with future world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (1895-1983). Floyd remembered Jack in school as a bully.

In 1920, he worked as a cabinetmaker in a furniture store. Floyd's other occupations included farming, truck driver, manager of a service station, and also worked at a natural gas transfer station in Minneola, Kansas for 15-20 years.

Floyd's son, Ben, said that his father was about 5'7" tall and had really large hands. Ben went on to say that his father was an unusually tough person. For instance, when Floyd broke his arm (in two places) while running a combine during harvest time, he had his son pour some water over his arm, then rested his arm on his leg and continued working because they had acres left to harvest before the job was done. Floyd did not like the cast that was soon placed on his broken arm and soon used wire cutters to trim it until it was very small. Floyd also liked to fight, including a fistfight at the age of eighty, which was a dispute with a neighbor over water rights. Two of Floyd's sons always tried to see if they could whip their dad in a fight. One son last attempted to do so when Floyd was in his eighties, but the sons were never successful. Ben, though standing inches taller and heavier than his dad, said he never wanted any part of tangling with his dad in a fight.

Floyd had an old, muzzle loading, cap and ball rifle, manufactured about 1862. No manufacturer's name was found on the gun, even when it was disassembled for repair. The gun was handed down to Floyd from his father, George, and was said to have been given to George from his father, Elijah Hicks Barnes.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Find A Grave.

   Benjamin Floyd Barnes