Joseph Barnes and Barbara Beck

---

---

Husband Joseph Barnes ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 3 Jun 1777 - Connecticut 1 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 1855 - Sharpsburg, Allegheny Co, PA 1 2
         Buried: 

---

         Father: Capt. Stephen Barnes (1736-      ) 1 2
         Mother: Ezudia Kellogg (      -      ) 1 2

---

       Marriage: 3 Apr 1801 1 2

---

   Other Spouse: Mrs. Elizabeth Leer (      -      ) 1 2 - 1840 1 2

---

   Other Spouse: Mrs. Clarissa Griswold (      -      ) 1 2

---

---

Wife Barbara Beck ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 15 Apr 1781 - Westmoreland Co, PA 1 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 1839 1 2
         Buried: 

---

         Father: Simon Beck (      -      ) 1 2
         Mother: 

---

---

Children

---

1 M Henry Barnes ^{2 3}

---

           Born: 1802 1 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Mary Chapman (      -      ) 2 3
           Marr: 1827 1

---

2 M William Barnes ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Bef 1880
         Buried: 

---

3 M Stephen Barnes ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Bef 1880
         Buried: 

---

4 M John B. Barnes ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

5 F Elizabeth Barnes ^{1 4}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: John Davis (      -Bef 1880) 1 4

---

6 M Simon P. Barnes ^{1 4}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Bef 1880
         Buried: 

---

7 M David M. Barnes ^{1 4}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: [Unk] Coleman (      -      ) 1

---

---

General Notes: Husband - Joseph Barnes

---

He was born on the farm on the Connecticut river. His father removed to Northampton County, Pennsylvania, when the son was ten years of age. He learned the millwright trade, and in 1799, when he was twenty-two years of age, he started for the Connecticut reservation in Ohio. He traveled on foot until he reached the Conemaugh river, at a point some two miles below where Blairsville now stands. He had crossed the mountains on a new road, called the Frankstown road. This was the direct route from the central and northeastern part of Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh and the West, and also from Connecticut to her reservation in Ohio. He had seen an immense amount of immigrant travel on this road, and when he came to the Conemaugh river and saw that the only way for all this travel to cross this river was to ford it, with thorough Yankee foresight, he concluded that there would be a fortune for the man who would start a ferry at this point. He secured the titles for tracts of land on both sides of the river, and extending for over half a mile both up and down the stream from the point where the road crossed the river. Having no money to pay for his land, he took a contract for erecting a mill, and secured the necessary funds. By the time the autumn rains set in and rendered it impossible for teams to ford the river, he had his mill built, a flat on the river, and a new road made to render it easy for teams to reach his ferry. His hopes were more than realized, and for months he had the pleasure of ferrying from twenty to forty teams per day, at the low price of $1 for each span of horses. During the first year of his sojourn in that section of the state he formed the acquaintance of Simon Beck, a native of Switzerland, a man of rare mechanical ingenuity, and of considerable literary attainments, and married his daughter. He continued running his ferry, keeping a hotel, opening up his farms, running a sawmill and a flouring mill that he had built for himself, as well as building flatboats and contracting for running iron, salt, &c., to Pittsburgh, and other points, for at that time all the iron and salt used west of the Allegheny mountains were hauled in wagons across the mountains to the Conemaugh river and from thence transported in boats to Pittsburgh and elsewhere. He was one of the managers of the "Dennistown and Conemaugh turnpike," and for some years was superintendent of a division. In 1816, he removed to the Indiana side and kept the "Conemaugh Inn and Ferry," which had hitherto been called "Williams' ford," or "Williamsport" or ferry. On the Westmoreland side, it was called Barnes' ford or ferry. He died at Sharpsburg, Allegheny County, at the age of seventy-eight.

1 Editor, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 530.

2 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Co., 1891), Pg 93.

3 Editor, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 530, 534.

4 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Co., 1891), Pg 94.