Barnfather Family Trees & Tree Problems

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BARNFATHER FAMILY TREES & TREE PROBLEMS

A NOTE ABOUT CONNECTIONS TO EARLY BARNFATHERS

I urge all Barnfather researchers to read the results of the Barnfather DNA study found on the Bulletin Board page of this website and to consider the implications of what is presented there.

I am (too) often contacted by Barnfather researchers who present their family trees that indicate that the Barnfathers were in Cumberland from time immemorial and include a link back to Hardhirst in Lanercost and from there back to Kirkoswald, both in Cumberland, despite the fact that their known Barnfather ancestors were born in Durham, Middlesex, Nothumberland, Yorkshire, etc. Much of this hinges on a supposed link between Gilbert Barnfather of Kirkoswald and George Barnfather who was, as far as we can tell, the second Barnfather tenant at Hardhirst Farm (the first being a Jenet Barnfather in 1671) and the belief that the sons of the Kirkoswald and/or Hardhirst Barnfathers migrated to places all over England.

There are several references to George being the son of Gilbert on the IGI - none of them quote a primary source as proof (parish record, etc.). Gilbert's will, although hard to read in parts, does not appear to mention a son, George - it does mention sons John, William and Thomas. If anyone has a reference to a Parish Record referring to George, son of Gilbert Barnfather of Kirkoswald, I would be very happy to see it!

Please remember that there were Barnfathers living in places other than Cumberland for centuries before Cumberland records found so far show them to be there. There are references to Barnfathers (sometimes with variant spellings) in, for example, York in the 13th century and in Nottingham in the 15th century.

Please do approach your Barnfather research with an open mind. There are a lot of trees to be found in various places on the Internet with the wrong information. Just because it is there in print, it is not necessarily true!

Various Barnfather Family Trees will be found by following the link below to Family Trees.

If you would like your family history included here, contact me at the email link below. Please note that it is my policy to not include information about living persons.

I am presently displaying the following family trees:

WILLIAM D. BARNFATHER, who emigrated from Lincolnshire to the US in the early 1800s, and his descendants. We would like to determine who was the father of William. If anyone recognizes this line, please contact me. If you are interested in Mary A. Barnfather of this line who married a Sedgewick, do visit
http://www.sedgwick.org/na/
for more information.

DAVID BARNFATHER, who died at Garthside, Cumberland, England, in 1789, and his descendants. Does anyone know who was the father of this David?

JOHN BARNFATHER, who married ELIZABETH BELL at Alston, Cumberland, in 1767. This is the family of David Cuff (david@cuff.org.uk), who is trying to determine the parents of John. As you will see, there are 5 possibilities in Cumberland and it is possible that they were actually from Northumberland. If anyone can help David, please contact him or me.

WILLIAM BARNFATHER of Leeds. This family is associated with Hunslet, Leeds, and it is possible that William was born in 1799 in Gargrave, Leeds. If you have information on this family, please contact me.

FAMILY TREES

Barnfather 2002 Research Morning

The Garthside Family Tree

In 2002, descendants of the Barnfathers who had lived at Garthside Farm in Lanercost, Cumberland, brought their family tree to share with other Barnfather researchers. The product of countless hours
of diligent work, it took up nearly one whole wall!

The wall chart in 2004

It has really grown in two years!
Photo courtesy of J. Troy

By 2006, we will need a taller wall!

Once again, the descendants of David Barnfather, who died at Garthside Farm in Brampton, Cumberland, in 1789, brought their proposed family tree to the Barnfather Reunion. Several of those who were there in 2004 were able to add new branches to this tree and 'fine tune' some of the existing ones. It is a work in progress and a treasure for all Barnfather Researchers.

David Cuff has launched a website entitled, BARNFATHER RESEARCHERS 2005.

David has come up with a facility to enable viewers to find a Barnfather (or Banfather or Bairnsfather)
researcher with interests in the same geographical location as his or her own. So far, 17 researchers
have listed their interests.

If you have any questions, I'm certain that David will be happy to assist you. He can be reached by
email at:
david@cuff.org.uk

Visit BARNFATHER RESEARCHERS 2005 Now

THE BARNFATHERS OF GEELONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Eliot Barnfather's Napkin Ring

On December 4, 1843, WILLIAM BARNFATHER and JANE BATY were married in Arthuret, Cumberland. In 1858, they and their children boarded the ship Empress Eugenie and headed for Australia where they settled in the vicinity of
Geelong, Victoria.

One of William and Jane's descendants was ELIOT RALPH BARNFATHER who was born in 1915 to Thomas Stanley Barnfather and Ruby Alice Beatty. Eliot attended Geelong College, studied Law and became an attorney in 1939. At the beginning of the Second World War, he traveled to Canada, became an Empire Air trainee and received a commission as a Navigator Observer. He ferried bombers across the Atlantic to England and was posted to the Wellington Bomber Command. He was reported missing following a bombing raid over Germany on May 18th, 1942. His name is included on the Memorial at Esbjerg Cemetery, Denmark, and a street was named after him in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

While training in Canada, Eliot stayed with the Smith family in Montreal, who were so impressed with him that they named a son for him. After his death, the Barnfather family sent Eliot Smith the napkin ring Eliot Barnfather had used during his lifetime. That napkin ring is still in the Smith family and is depicted in the photo above. The initials are Eliot's and the date commemorates his entrance into the Geelong Grammar School. It is the school's crest that is depicted on the ring.

BARNFATHER IN LONGTOWN, CUMBERLAND

There has been a Barnfather presence in the Longtown/Arthuret area of Cumberland/Cumbria for several hundred years. At present, there are many descendants of the Longtown Barnfathers in the US and in Australia, especially in Victoria.

Bridget Casson maintains an excellent website for matters pertaining to Longtown that contains some important Barnfather data. Follow the link to 'LONGTOWN' on the right above.

You may also be interested in a book about Longtown that is full of wonderful photographs and references to several Barnfathers and gives some details about their lives. It is entitled, appropriately enough, 'LONGTOWN.' The author is Gordon L. Routledge and he ISBN number is 0951992118.

THE BARNFATHERS OF HARDHIRST

The view from Hardhirst

Mary Elizabeth Barnfather & her husband, Walter T. Nettleship
Photo courtesy of K. VanHoorelbeke

The photo above was taken at Hardhirst Farm, Lanercost, Cumbria, where GEORGE BARNFATHER and his wife, JANET, lived in 1684, and where their descendants lived until the mid 18th century.

During BARNFATHER 2000, the present owners were gracious enough to allow a coach full of Barnfathers, most of whom believe, as do I, that their roots trace back to that farm, to visit and have the chance to see the place where their ancestors lived and worked.

The view seen above is the same one that George and Janet would have seen from their bedroom over 300 years ago.

BARNFATHER FAMILY REUNIONS

THE FAMILY OF MARY ELIZABETH BARNFATHER OF LEEDS, YORKSHIRE

Mary Elizabeth Barnfather was born 25 January, 1865, in Meanwood, Yorkshire, England. Her eldest son, Lewis, born in 1887, retained her maiden name. She married Walter Turton Nettleship in 1893, and had six more children: Herbert, Lillian, Ina, Albert, Donald and Phyllis. By 1924, the family had relocated to Los Angeles, California, USA.

Many descendants of this Barnfather family presently live throughout the US. They have begun holding Family Reunions on an every-three-year basis, the first two having been held at the home of Barbara Marie Barnfather Harris in Bakersfield, California. Barbara is the youngest child of Lewis (son of Mary Elizabeth) and his wife, Hannah Ramsden.

The most recent of these get-togethers was held in June, 2004, and was attended by many of the descendants of Mary Elizabeth Barnfather.

For those of you researching Barnfathers in the Leeds, Yorkshire, area, you may be interested to know that Mary Elizabeth was one of the seven children of Lewis Barnfather, born ca. 1836 in Brampton, Cumberland, England, and his wife, Ann, who was born in Meanwood, Yorkshire. This family settled in Yorkshire and the other children were: John, born ca. 1861; Sarah Ann, born 1862; Joseph, born 1867; David, born 1870; Margaret Helen, born 1876; and William, born 1877.

ARE YOU RESEARCHING ANOTHER FORM OF THE NAME BARNFATHER?
It is believed that the various forms of the surname BARNFATHER will ultimately link together. If you are researching BAIRNSFATHER/BARNSFATHER, BANFATHER, BENFATHER, BARNFEATHER, BARNEFATHER, etc., please do contact me at the email link below. To see a listing of all the variants we have found, please see the BARNFATHER WILLS & MISCELLANEA page.

daycogs@earthlink.net

The Barnfather Database Yields A Connection