Person:Myron Barnes (1)

From "A History of Ingham County, Michigan" Early Settlements (Durant), page 278

Myron W. Barnes was born in Columbia Co., NY, in 1811. About 1835 he removed to Genesee County [LeRoy] and from thence to his present residence on the southwest quarter of section 33, in 1842, arriving October 2d. On the 8th of October in the same year he entered at the government land office forty acres, to which he has since added forty acres. [The governmental land records shows a purchase of 40 acres June 1, 1848 - a copy of this land patent is included in these records.] His land was densely timbered, and he built the first log house between Okemos and the county farm the same fall. From the time he arrived until he had his house ready for occupation, his family were domiciled in the dwelling of Freeman Bray, at Okemos, then called Hamilton. His family then consisted of a wife and three small children. Mr. Barnes was a cabinet- and chair-maker by trade, and had never cut down a primeval forest-tree in his life when he sat down upon his land in Michigan. When his cabin was ready to "raise" he traveled two days to find men enough to help put it up.

Previous to coming West he had worked at his trade in New York and New England. His ancestors were originally from Connecticut.

The county was almost entirely a dense wilderness in 1842, and wild animals were plenty, particularly deer, bears, and wolves. Mr. Barnes said "the bears carried off, first and last, more than fifty hogs in the neighborhood." There were no roads, and traveling was among the lost arts. In front of Mr. Barnes' residence is a fine row of locust-trees, which he raised from the seed. He has also a large fruit-orchard and good improvements. He remembers his old trade, and still keeps a shop for doing his own repairing.

Excerpts from "How Okemos Began: A Short History" by Ruth Stillman, sponsored by the Friends of the Okemos Library

In 1842 Mr. Bray made one of his horse and wagon trips to Detroit and brought back with him the Myron W. Barnes family. Finding a suitable location on a hill about a mile south of Marsh's home (3716 Okemos Road) Mr. Barnes built a log house, the only home between Hamilton village and the present Holt Road... But to return to the Barneses -- they had brought with them locust tree seeds which they planted along the trail side and which produced a row of fine trees. Some of the bushy growth of this row may still be seen as one travels along Okemos Road.

There was only a rough, stump-strewn trail through the dense woods between the Marsh and Barnes homes, and wild deer, bears and wolves were a common sight by day and sound at night, oft-times a real nuisance as well. The story is told that Mrs. Barnes started out to go to the Marsh's to spend the day sewing. A short distance from their house she saw wolves slinking along side the path behind the undergrowth. She began to run and ran all the way over the rough trail with the wolves keeping pace beside her. One can imagine her relief on reaching the neighbor's house.

Mr. Barnes was a cabinet and chair maker by trade and did custom work for the new families as well as clearing off a good sized farm.

From History of Ingham and Eaton Counties, Michigan by Samuel W. Durant Published 1880 by D.W. Ensign & Co., Philadelphia

Ingham County Schools 1880 Meridian Township Among the early inspectors of the schools were W.T. Rigby, A.W. Bennett, Thomas Humphrey, Merit Harmon, Elijah Richardson, William N. Lewis,, M.W. Barnes, John H. Mullett, Seely Bloomer, M.D. Matthews, William W. Gibson, Cyrus Alsdorf, F.A. Jeffers, and M.D. Chatterton.

The resident taxpayers in the township of Meridian in 1844 [included] M.W. Barnes.

The township of Meridian was organized by an act of the Legislature approved Feb. 16, 1842. It had formed a part of the old township of Alaiedon since March 15, 1838. The first township-meeting was appointed at the house of George Matthews, where it was probably held in the spring of 1842. The old record covering the years 1842-44 has been destroyed by fire, and we have only the recollections of early settlers to aid us in furnishing the names of the earliest township officers. According to the statements of Joseph H. Kilbourne, Freeman Bray, M.W. Barnes, and others, though somewhat contradictory, we make out the following list: [names deleted except Myron] 1843 Treasurer 1853/54 1856 Clerk 1859 Supervisor 1846 Myron tied with Alanson Calkins for Justice of the Peace.

         The race was decided by lot - Calkins won

A steam saw-mill was erected at the station by Uriah Moore and Asbury Long about 1871. It has since been the property of William Gibson and Morris Brown; Enos Woodworth and Gibson; Woodworth and Henry Coller; Coller and M.B. Barnes

The "Barnes House" in Okemos, an old inn, was not owned by the Myron W. Barnes family at any time. I have not been able to find any genealogy on this other Barnes family to check for a connection.

From "Historic Michigan" VOL. III, Ingham County", page 318 by Dr. Frank Neal Turner

"... Another cabinet-maker and farmer was Mr. Barnes, who lived south of the village. In early times he made ox yokes. Farmers came from every part of the county to get his ox yokes. When Mr. Barnes was over eighty years old he made a bureau for one of his relatives that, from a combination of different kinds of colored woods was artistic as well as useful..."

(Charles (Chuck) Driver has furniture made by Myron.)

His land was 40 acres, the southwest half of section 33 in Meridian Twp (Township 4 North Range 1 West), purchased October 8, 1842. Myron paid cash for the acreage.

Tax Assessment Book - Meridian Twp.

    1879 M.W. Barnes         42 acres  Sec. 33
    1886 M.W. Barnes         42 acres  Sec. 33

From The Ingham Democrat newspaper May 18, 1846 (hand copied and paraphrased)

No, 5 Vol. II Whole no. is 57 so paper had been founded slightly more than 1 year. Its publication antedates the building of the 1st road between Mason and what is now Lansing... It's contemporary was the Ingham Herald. The paper 1st came into the possession of Myron W. Barnes, grandfather of Archie Barnes, present owner..."

From news clipping dated May 14, 1959 about Archie Barnes

... The 81 year old Barnes tells of how his grandparents came to Okemos in 1842 from Le Roy, NY.

They did it the hard way, relates Barnes. They took a mule drawn boat part of the way and a sail boat across Lake Erie.

"The Brays, (Freeman Bray was the first white settler of Okemos) drove to Detroit with a team of horses to meet them," tells Barnes.

The Barnes lived two years with their old friends the Brays while their homestead was going up on the Okemos-Mason Rd.

From Michigan Weather

1845: Second mildest of the nineteenth century in Detroit.

The town of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York was founded in 1782 from the existing town of Claverack. Hillsdale (T) Clerk - Ruth Dodds PO Box 305

         Hillsdale, NY 12529
         518-325-5073
         518-325-6917 (fax)
         (Hrs: M-F 8:30-4 PM)

Historian - Camille Cognac

         PO Box 23
         Hillsdale, NY 12529
         518-325-4502

Columbia County Historical Society, Sharon Palmer, Executive Director

         PO Box 311, Kinderhook 12106
         phone: 518-758-9265 - FAX: 518-758-2499

apoplexy -- stroke, affliction, disability, handicap, infirmity, weakness; hemorrhage of a blood vessel in the brain

1. ↑ Vital Records - Miscellaneous Sources.

   Son Charles Wesley's Death Certificate;
   Myron's Death Certificate from Ingham Co, MI # 2774. An error was made by another family member - Myron Barnes' middle name was Walter not Wesley. His son was Charles Westley Barnes. Archie Barnes named his only son after his grandfather Myron Walter Barnes.