Porch Swings, Fireflies, and Jelly Jars: Joseph Barber and the Moore Family

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Joseph Barber and the Moore Family

When George Washington Barber, son of Joseph and Arcenia Barber, died in Fannin County, Texas in 1920, his son George Washington Barber Jr., was the informant for George Sr.'s death certificate. The question has long been, how much did George Jr. get right? Under consideration today is the information about George Sr's mother. George Barber Jr. believed that she was Amelia Moor [sic]. Nothing indicates that her first name was Amelia, which would make looking for her easier. Instead, she was Arcenia - with many spelling variants - in all records about Joseph Barber's wife. Was she a Moore? It's very possible that George Sr. knew his mother's family and told his son about them, so the surname may have been reported accurately.

The problem has been connecting Joseph and Arcenia Barber to anyone named Moore. That is until the full-text search on Family Search provided a significant clue in Floyd County, Georgia, dated 1836.

In 1836, Samuel Barber, Mary Ann Barber, and Joseph Barber of Dooly County, Georgia, deeded 40 acres of land, lot no 860, located in Cherokee County, Georgia to Armstead Richardson. In this record, my best guess is that Joseph Barber is acting in right of his wife Arcenia Barber, and that Samuel and Mary Ann Barber are probably her siblings. On the next page, Abel Moore and Bryant Moore of Sumter County, Georgia deeded the same piece of land to Armstead Richardson. On the next page, Wiley Moore of Pulaski County, Georgia deeded the same piece of land to Armstead Richardson.

It appears that Samuel Moore, Mary Ann Moore, Arcenia Barber, Abel Moore, Bryant Moore, and Wiley Moore are all heirs to the same piece of property and are likely to be siblings. They have probably inherited from a bachelor brother, their father, or their grandfather. More needs to be discovered about this 40-acre piece of property.

More also needs to be uncovered about each of these Moore siblings.

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About Me:

My favorite memories from childhood include visits to my grandparents in East Texas. At dusk we'd run around my grandparent's yard, catching fireflies and putting them in jelly jars. When darkness descended, we'd return to the porch. It was a special treat to sit in the porch swing. Inevitably, the adults would launch into family stories of Pink Kelley's brush with Sherman's troops, of Great Uncle Hood Brown's tragic death, and of the Kelley family's wagon trip to Texas, among many others. The stars on those nights were magical.

I began my genealogy research in the summer of 1975, less than a month after my high school graduation. When I married in 1983, I started researching my husband's family as well. I was fortunate to start this hobby as a youngster because it gave me an opportunity to correspond with researchers who are long gone; to ask questions of family members -although not enough, never enough; and travel a bit. The result is a lot of information. I've come to the realization that I will probably never be able to afford to publish, so this is my publication.

This blog contains a mixture of information on my husband's family and mine. I've expanded into a second blog called Flimsies and Frippery with the intention of focusing on quilts and dolls, but I have several historical research entries there with more planned, which is why I don't get more quilting done.

Ultimately, genealogy is my passion. This is where I plan to record family stories, research adventures and misadventures, and those serendipitous moments that happen out of the blue. You should be warned that I have a bad habit of going back and adding information and links to individual entries, so it is beneficial to check back often if there is a family of particular interest to you. If you wander in and discover that you are a cousin, please contact me.

Since many younger family members who are new to genealogy are starting to contact me about their ancestors, I've started adding family trees to help them see how everyone is connected. The trees are divided between my family and my husband's. You will find them below under the label's Family Trees - My Husband's Side and Family Trees - My Family's Side.

For better or worse, this blog reflects the research, thinking, and writing of a human.