Thomas Barber, 1832 Estate Sale

  ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

In searching newspapers, you have to be aware that items are not always found in a straightforward manner. For example, this reference to Thomas Barber had not come up before. That might be because I had not used Dooly County as part of my search for him. As you can see, this ominous little clipping, regarding Thomas Barber, turned up just minutes ago in a search for John Bowen in Dooly County. 

The plot thickens.

By 1832, John Bowen and Thomas Barber's widow Elizabeth would have probably been married. We know from the documents in Thomas Mashburn's estate records that they were married by 1833. 

This clipping suggests that John Bowen has taken over the administration of Thomas Barber's estate, probably from Elizabeth. Remember that in 1830, she was a single head of household with six children, which would have been a lot of mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. Note that this sale of Thomas Barber's estate is for the "benefit of the heirs and creditors."

Now, I am thinking that this is when John Bowen acquired Thomas Barber's land. If he acquired the land at this time, I'm not sure whether this purchase was meant to protect the property of Thomas Barber's heirs or to seize control of it for himself. Certainly, by the time he died a few years later, it was regarded as the property of his Bowen heirs. The Barber children would not have been his heirs. 

This clipping does state that Thomas Barber was "late of said county," meaning Dooly County. There might have been other records for Thomas Barber in Dooly County, but, of course, they burned.