Wesley and Lucinda Barnard

THE HARRIS LINEAGE

Based on a 1986 visit by siblings Robert and Patricia Harrison to the Warren County, Georgia area and from information gathered through contacts with other family members, the Harris side of this family evolved in the following manner.

The Harris’ extend from three children who were either full or half brothers and sister: Robert Lee Harris, Dock Harris and Ellen Harris. Robert Lee’s mother was named Nancy and Dock’s mother was named Mildred. The father of these two brothers was Dennis Harris. Except by verbal information, no records have yet been found to confirm Ellen’s parentage.

Robert Lee Harris was born in Camak (Warren County) Georgia in the mid 1860’s. Robert Lee later married Sylvia Ann (Sylvan) Burns of Warrenton and soon moved to Athens, GA in the late 1800’s. Here are his descendants. He and his first wife, Sylvia Ann, had four (4) children: one son named Samuel and 3 daughters – Sarah, Susie Mae and Inez. Some years thereafter, Sylvia Ann passed away.

Then, upon the sudden loss of his daughter Inez Harris, Robert Lee Harris and his second wife Alice, played the leading role in the rearing of his young grand-children born of Inez and Phillip Barnard: Alvin, Calvin (died at birth), Cornelia, John Wesley, and Robert and Roberta (fraternal twins).

Samuel married Mary Terrell (Athens) and had one known child, a son, Robert Lee Harris who, until his passing, resided in Buffalo, NY. Sarah Harris never married or had children. Inez Harris married Phillip Barnard of Athens (Clarke County) Georgia and had six children: John Wesley (JW), Alvin, Sylvia Cornelia, Robert and Roberta (fraternal twins) and Calvin. John Wesley, Alvin, Calvin (died young), and Robert are now deceased. Surviving are Sylvia Cornelia (Athens) and Roberta Barnard Echols (Atlanta).

Susie Mae Harris married Erskine Kendrick (Athens) and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. They, like Inez Harris and Phillip Barnard, also had six children: Evelyn, Roberta, Anita, Delores, Carol and Craig.

Ellen Harris, the sister of Robert Lee, married David Hill. Here are her descendants: They had three (3) known children, Bennie (a son), Hattie and Marie. Benny had one daughter named Marian. It is not known whether Benny was ever married nor the name of his daughter’s mother.

Hattie married a Mr. Sheffield and had six known children; 4 sons (David, Issac, Frank and Bennie) and 2 daughters: Emily Sheffield Barnes and Isalene Sheffield Jones. Of Hattie’s six children, Isalene and Clifford Jones had five children; Alice, Hanna, Rosemary, Dorothy (Tampa, Florida), and Issac Jones of Jacksonville, Florida.

Marie, the third child of Ellen Harris Hill, married Charles Owens and had one child, a daughter, Beatrice Owens Byrd Cooper who lived and eventually passed away in Athens, Georgia. Beatrice had one son, Murray (Murrell?) Farrell whose last known residence was in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Dock Harris, the brother of Robert Lee Harris, married Elizabeth Williams and had three (3) children ; 2 daughters (Annie Ruth and Amanda) and one son (James Franklin Harris).

Annie Ruth (marital status undetermined) had three children; Robert Lee Harris, Annie Pearl Harris and another daughter – name unknown. Amanda, Dock’s second daughter had no children but was twice married, first to a Freely Harris (both had the same last names) and then to Albert Downer.

James Franklin Harris, Dock’s son, married Janie McGruder and had four (4) children: 3 daughters (Elizabeth, Pollyanna and Janie) and one (1) son named Jessie. Elizabeth married Frank Robinson and had four children; Mary, Martha, Dora Bell and Buddy (a son). Pollyanna married Blue Jessie and had two daughter; Annie and Gloria. Janie had no children (marital status unknown). Jessie married Sallie Mae (maiden name unknown) and had four (4) children: Willie James (Athens), Arlena, Marie Driver (husband named Erskine), Jessie Jr. and Sandra Louise. No other information on the Harris Line is known at this time.

THE BARNARD LINEAGE

Wesley Barnard, father of Phillip, was the son of Judy Barnard (Wesley’s father’s first name is unknown). He was born in or around Bogart, Georgia (Clarke County). Wesley had two brothers, Dave and Keno; and three sisters, Frances (the oldest), Tankie (had a son named Willie), and Leah who had a daughter named Arrie.

According to Mrs. Effie Jackson Parrish, daughter of Flora Barnard ( Phillip’s sister) Wesley Barnard amassed a large amount of property in the Bogart area. She also stated that he was among the first Black men in the area to own an automobile. No record of his birth or death has yet been located. Upon his passing, the property he acquired was eventually lost through the hands of his children.

Records (death certificates) indicate his wife, Lucinda Jennings Barnard, once widowed, later moved in with one of her daughters; Pearl Barnard Daniels Birdsong who lived on Waddell Street in Athens. Lucinda died on April 3, 1931.   Here are the descendants of Wesley Barnard. Wesley and Lucinda Jennings had ten (10 children: 7 daughters ( Annie, Belle, Fannie, Flora and Hassie) and 3 sons (Robert, William “Crusoe” and Phillip).

Pearl Barnard Daniels Birdsong, a sister of Phillip Barnard, had two sons, Frank “Hot Papa” Daniels (now deceased and buried the Brooklyn Cemetery in Athens) and James Daniel, Sr. (lived and is buried in Sunnyvale, California). In a letter to Cornelia Barnard Harrison, (daughter of Phillip), James Daniels,Jr. noted that he himself resides in Sunnyvale and is interested in rediscovering the Barnard family.

Information on Flora Barnard, a second  sister of Phillip, came Mrs. Nina Jones Smith, her granddaughter and daughter, Effie Jackson Jones Parrish of Athens. Flora’s marriage to Samuel Jackson bore eleven (11) children: four (4) daughters ( Effie, Queen, Willie Mae and Nina) and seven (7) sons ( Harry, Bennie, Issac, Clarence, Curtis, Wesley and Matthew).

A third sister of Phillip was Hassie Barnard who married Samuel Turner of Athens and had six (6) children: two daughters (Claudia and Ethel) and four sons (Clinton, Rufus and Lamar of Atlanta, and Mack Henry of Indianapolis).

A fourth sister of Phillip was Annie Barnard. Annie and Henry McCoy had seven (7) children: four daughters (Estelle, Matilda, Lucy and Annie) and three sons (Luther, Grady and Caldwell). There is no information available on the McCoy family at this time.

A fifth sister of Phillip was Fannie Barnard who married Mid Richardson. As can be best determined, they had one child, a son also named Mid. No other information is available at this time.

A sixth sister of Phillip was Belle Barnard, who never married or had children, spent most of her life in Atlanta, GA. The seventh known sister of Phillip was Lizzie Barnard who married Comer Williams. No other information is available at this time.

Of the three (3) sons born to Wesley and Lucinda Jennings Barnard, (Phillip, Robert and William) there is no information available on the life of Robert.

Phillip Barnard married Inez Harris (Robert Lee’s daughter of Athens (Clarke County) Georgia and had six children: John Wesley “JW”, Alvin, Sylvia Cornelia, Robert and Roberta (fraternal twins) and Calvin. John Wesley, Alvin, Calvin (died young), and Robert are now deceased. Surviving are Sylvia Cornelia (Athens) and Roberta Barnard Echols (Atlanta).

Robert, one of Philip’s sons,  married Annie Ruth and had two daughters, Veronica Brown and Katrina Jawneh, both of Atlanta. Alvin, a second son,  married     and had two sons, James and Aridell both of Atlanta. John Wesley, a third son, married and    had one son, Weldon Barnard who also resides in Atlanta.

Roberta married Willie George Echols of Alabama and had six (6) children; Janet, Roberta, George, James Randolph, Alvin (now deceased) and Elaine, all of Atlanta.

Cornelia married James Marion Harrison, Sr.(Athens) and had four children; Marion (James, Jr.) of Atlanta; Robert Edward, Jacquelyn Christine Harrison Mack and Patricia Ann all of Athens. Phillip Barnard’s surviving children are Mrs. Cornelia Barnard Harrison and Mrs. Roberta Barnard Echols.

Indianapolis: The first update on William Barnard’s family came through a telephone conversation (Monday, August 13, 1990) between Patricia Harrison (Cornelia Barnard Harrison’s daughter) and William’s son, Henry “Boobie” Barnard. According to Henry, age 68 at this time and now deceased, his father moved the family to Indiana in the early 1920’s. William married Annie Lou Hudson of Athens and had six children; Mary, Blanche, William Jr.”Dash”, Henry and Arthur D. Barnard, all of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Virginia who currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. William “Crusoe” Barnard’s surviving children are Arthur and Virginia Barnard Richardson.

In summary, the origins of both the Harris and Barnard families can be traced back to the mid 1800’s when both Patriarchs, Robert Lee Harris of Camak ( Warren County) and Wesley Barnard of Bogart (Clarke County) were born. The Harris-Barnard family union occurred through the marriage of Robert Lee’s daughter, Inez, to Phillip Barnard, Wesley’s youngest son.  Upon the loss of his daughter Inez Harris, Robert Lee Harris played a major role in the rearing of five young grand-children born of Inez and Phillip Barnard of Athens ,Georgia: Alvin, Calvin (died at birth), Cornelia, John Wesley, and Robert and Roberta (Twins).

Robert Lee Harris lived at 493 Third Street in Athens for over 60 years of his life. Despite losing his sight in his later years, Mr. Harris managed his affairs very well; with special attention from his granddaughter Cornelia Barnard Harrison and her family who provided meals, did shopping and cleaning until his passing on February 15,1956 at the age of 88. The original family house was then occupied and maintained by Cornelia Barnard Harrison’s family, remodeled in 19769 and finally replaced in 1985. The property remains to this day in the Harris-Barnard family.

Our Reunion: Since 1978, the descendants of Robert Lee and Sylvia Ann Burns Harris and Wesley and Lucinda Jennings Barnard have continued to celebrate family. We truly understand that,  from the moment we enter and leave this world, it is the family that sustains us all. It is the group with which we share our sorrows and joys. The Family is the real link we have with the past. When each of us grasps an understanding and knowledge of our past, then we are more certain of what we're about and where we're going.

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