Individual Details

1850 FEDERAL CENSUS
Choctaw County, Mississippi, page 73, Subdivision 23, October 22, 1850, household 450
Joseph Barns, 65, male, farmer, owns $2000.00 in real estate, born in South Carolina
Hannah, 56, female, born in Virginia
Thomas, 22, male, born in Alabama, farmer
Caleb, 20, male, born in Alabama, farmer
Elizabeth, 18, female, born in Alabama
Nathan, 15, male, born in Mississippi, farmer
Robert, 13, male, born in Mississippi.

Neighbors to the Barns family are:
1. Cardence Quillams
2. David Snow (husband of daughter Nancy)


LEGEND ON TOMBSTONE
The tombstone which now exists in the Sturgis Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, indicates that Joseph Barron died in 1851 at the age of 60 years. However, the 1850 U.S. Census for Mississippi lists the Joseph Barron Family in Choctaw Co., Mississippi under the name "Barnes" [page 73, #450].

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The following information was extracted from MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI, Vol 1, pps.347-349, by Dunbar Rowland:
Joseph and Hannah (McClanahan) Barron emigrated to Choctaw County, Mississippi about 1830 from the Palmetto State of South Carolina and bought land from an Indian named James Terreill. As one of the first emigrants, he selected one of the finest places in his section paying Terreill $600 for his claim and possessions here.

Joseph Barron had several occupations. While living, he made use of the rude utensils used by the aborigines, in constructing Terreill's remarkable and beaver-like log cabin, still standing, September, 1891. As one of the evidences of its substantial construction, about the year 1884, a cyclone swept over the premises, laying waste to all the buildings and timber, stripping from the house, every shingle (or board) leaving each rafter and log as perfect as at the hour of its completion. The hewing with the common pole ax on this remarkable structure would be hard to excel in this day with the improved broad ax.

Among other relics, such as stone hatchets and arrowheads, was a peculiar climbing or step ladder made of poplar, one step above another, so one could climb to the house top or run up a tree. Here, on Bogue Foliah, Joseph Barron built the first water mill among the Indians in Choctaw County. He also established a cotton gin there and packed the first bales of cotton with a crowbar; he also erected a blacksmith shop and manufactured extra fine rifle gun barrels and made bells for his large herds of horses and cattle and the wild deer which had also been domesticated and roamed over his fields and woodlands covered with fine grass and cane where the wild wolves howled their midnight revels after visiting the sheep pastures. He worked his farm at first with Indian and slave labor combined. Among the Indians thus hired were Yambee and We Yambee, who soon became insulted at the slaves and no compromise would satisfy the Indian laborers here.

Mr. Barron became quite wealthy, consisting of land, fine herds of cattle, horses and slaves or Negroes. His house was headquarters for all emigrants from the East. Among the first settlers were the McClanahans, the Fondrens, the Mimsos, the Snows and the Childers. Joseph Barron died in 1850 of Pneumonia, his widow survived him about six years; were of Baptist faith religiously, and were of Scottish and Irish descent.

One of the more unfortunate legacies that Joseph Barron left was a very difficult lawsuit involving his brother-in-law, Solomon McClanahan, brother to Joseph's wife, Hannah. The case was tried in 1852, and I (JPC) have included a summary of it herewith.

BARRON VERSUS McCLANAHAN LAWSUIT, circa 1852
The synopsis of the following lawsuit is that Joseph Barron died without a Last Will and Testament. His brother-in-law, Solomon McClanahan (brother of Joseph’s wife Hannah McClanahan), had possession of two town lots in the city of Louisville, Mississippi that were in dispute in this lawsuit. Evidently, Solomon had constructed several buildings on the lots and claimed title to the land and the improvements. In fact, for over six or seven years prior to the filing of this lawsuit, Solomon McClanahan had been renting out rooms in the "Louisville Hotel" that was built on the property. The plaintiffs in this case claimed that the land actually belonged to Joseph Barron, and since his death, to the heirs named below.

The lawsuit was filed in 1852 by the heirs of Joseph Barron, James being his eldest son. I will excerpt some of the more relevant dates in the following paragraphs. This lawsuit must have been a very contentious one, since it involved so many family members and was stretched out for such a long period of time. Some of the following data is likely out of order, but the essence of the matter should come through.

The following is the first hearing of the case, which was filed on August 31, 1852 by the heirs of Joseph Barron against Solomon R. McClanahan and his wife Rebecca.

James Barron et als, Vs Solomon R. McClanahan & Wife, Pleas and proceedings before the Honorable Robert C. Perry, Presiding Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of the State of Mississippi:

At a regular term of the circuit court of Winston County and State of Mississippi begun and held in the court house of Winston County in the Town of Louisville on the first Monday of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.

The complete listing of the parties to the law suit were the following relatives of the deceased principal, Joseph Barron (1791-1851): James Barron (son, 1812-1853 and husband of Elizabeth Childress), Ezekiel Barron (son, 1816-1865), Solomon Barron (son, 1824-1902 and husband of Tabitha Childress, who was first cousin to Elizabeth, above), Thomas Barron (son, 1828-1857), David Snow (son-in-law, 1817-1877) and his wife Nancy Snow (daughter of Joseph Barron, 1817-1907), William J. Barron (son, 1834-1909), minor, Robert P. Barron (son, 1837-1857) minor by their next friend Hannah Barron (1795-1855) and who was the sister of Solomon McClanahan, wife of Joseph Barron and grandmother to the following: James (1837-), Mary (1842-), Nancy (1846-) and Levi M. Crawford (1850-), minor children of David T. Crawford (son-in-law, 1817-1852) and Mary Crawford (daughter, 1821-1852) his wife both deceased, by their next friend Hannah Barron, plaintiffs against Solomon R. McClanahan and Rebecca McClanahan his wife, defendants.

Evidently, Solomon Barron died intestate in 1851 and two years prior to the filing of this lawsuit, and the "rightful heirs" then moved into court, citing the fact that the defendants, Solomon R. McClanahan and his wife Rebecca unlawful took possession of the property, being located in Louisville, Winston County, Mississippi. The property consisted of two lots at the intersection of Main and Cross Streets, plus improvements. The improvements were buildings which brought in some $300 per annum in rent moneys, thus their claim for damages consisted of $1,800, plus return of the property, plus attorney fees.

The defendants (McClanahans) responded that the action against which the plaintiffs (Barrons) brought their suit occurred outside the statute of limitations, that is, seven years, and prayed that the judge would dismiss the law suit. This motion was denied by the court.

The plaintiffs filed a motion saying that the defendants, if they held the title to the property, had gained in a deceitful and fraudulent manner.

A jury was impaneled by the Court and heard testimony from both sides. Since all testimony was not heard, the jury was sent home for the night. After several days of testimony, the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, and found total damages at one cent. The title to the property was to be immediately forfeited over by the defendants to the plaintiffs.

The defendants filed a motion asking the Court to set aside the verdict due to "improper and illegal" evidence being allowed before the jury; because the Court gave "improper charges" to the jury and because the jury found "contrary to law…and contrary to evidence." Also, the defendants cited "newly discovered" testimony.

The defendant Solomon R. McClanahan claimed that a person by the name of Samuel Welch would swear that Solomon R. McClanahan had offered to sell him the property, but that Mr. McClanahan had told him (Mr. Welch) that the property was his, but the title was in the name of Joseph Barron, deceased. Further, Mr. Welch would swear that he saw Joseph Barron on the property, who told him that McClanahan could sell him the property, and that he (Joseph Barron) would make him the title for the property. Further, one Thomas Hudson would swear that Joseph Barron told him that the property belonged to Solomon McClanahan, and that he (Joseph Barron) intended to make Solomon McClanahan a title for the property.

This motion was "then and there" overruled by the Court, as well as the motion for a new trial as set forth by the McClanahans.

At the same session of court, the plaintiffs introduced a line of titles which demonstrated the conveyance of title of the property in question, first transferred from one Jesse Dodson to the City of Louisville Board of Police in about 1837. (I, JPC, am unsure what this meant, but I believe the property was either being seized by Jesse Dodson for the Police Board of the City so that the city could subsequently sell it to settle an outstanding judgment.)

It was shown that the title to the land was sold to Joseph Barron by the city of Louisville Board of Police for a total of $262 in the year of 1840.

Plaintiffs then introduced James Edwards, who being duly sworn, testified that Joseph Barron died in November, 1851 and that plaintiffs are the children and grand children, the heirs, and only heirs at law of Joseph Barron.

For the defendants, William T. Lewis was then introduced who being duly sworn testified that the land sued for in this action are a part of the land mentioned in the deed from Jesse Dodson to the Police Court and of the Police Court to Joseph Barron and that Solomon R. McClanahan was in possession of said land and residing thereon at the time this suit was commenced. Further, Mr. Lewis swore that Rebecca McClanahan was the wife of Solomon R. McClanahan and was living on the land with her husband when the suit was commenced; that S. R. McClanahan went into possession of the premises about 1837 or 1838; that he built the house and improvements thereon and had exercised acts of ownership over them ever since and that Rebecca McClanahan had lived with him from the time he first went into possession of the premises.

Another witness for the plaintiffs, Mr. Robert L. Hudson, swore that he and two of the plaintiffs (James and Ezekiel Barron) had visited Solomon McClanahan "in a bar" and that Solomon McClanahan told them that he had taken possession of the subject land lots after making an agreement with Joseph Barron to give consideration of $2,200 for the land, such consideration being in part due to the fact that he, Solomon McClanahan, had paid $1,600 toward a judgment against Joseph Barron for the default of a note issued by Joseph Barron for some other land in Choctaw County. Mr. McClanahan told Mr. Hudson, the witness, that there had been no bond or documentation regarding the sale of the subject property by Joseph Barron to himself. Further, the witnessed swore that Mr. McClanahan admitted that said payment of $1,600 was really against a separate legal issue and really could not be used as claim of payment against the subject property, since he and Joseph Barron were equal partners in the purchase of the second property for which a judgment had been rendered.

The plaintiff’s witness Hudson stated that Solomon McClanahan then admitted that he really did not have a valid claim on the subject property, but he felt he should at least be paid some amount of money for the improvements he had made on the real estate.

The next witness, John H. Handy (or Hardy) swore that he had visited with Solomon McClanahan and Joseph Barron at the same time and that they both claimed to be partners in the purchase of the secondary (and, seemingly irrelevant (JPC)) property that was purchased jointly in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The witness further testified that Solomon McClanahan built the large tavern house on the subject property in Louisville, but that he, John H. Handy, as Sheriff, had sold the property and improvements at auction to a James McClanahan (son of Joseph, I (JPC) think) for a sum of $100, when in fact the property was worth $5,000 to $8,000 at the time. Solomon McClanahan was declared insolvent.

The next witness for the plaintiffs was Van L. Bell, who testified that he knew Joseph Barron had objected to the sale at auction of the said property. (What I (JPC) believe happened here is that in order to satisfy the outstanding settlement against Solomon McClanahan, the Police Board sold all the property, real and improvements at auction, over the objections of Joseph Barron, who was claiming that they had no right to sell the real estate, only the improvements that Solomon Barron had made vis-à-vis the hotel and its furnishings.)

Witness William B. Hudson testified that he had rented space for a blacksmith shop on the subject property, and had paid Solomon McClanahan a rent of $25 per annum for several years, until Joseph Barron notified him not to pay any more rent to McClanahan. He further testified that he knew that "Barron was after McClanahan for the rent and could not get it out of him." He also knew that Barron and McClanahan were brothers-in-law.

The defendants then introduced two more witnesses for them, evidently relatives by the names of J.H. McClanahan and Peter R. McClanahan. The defendants’ lawyers submitted questions, or interrogatories, to these two gentlemen, I (JPC) assume in writing. Their replies were then read in court. Basically, it appears that the two McClanahans perhaps were not as solid witnesses for the defendants (Solomon McClanahan and wife) and had been hoped. Generally, the two witnesses stated they never knew the property in Louisville was not owned by Solomon McClanahan, but they offered no actual witness to the conveyance of any title.

Defendants then introduced William Wood who testified that he lived with S. R. McClanahan in 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1842, and that Mr. McClanahan had possession of the tavern house, on the lots in the lawsuit. He stated that Solomon McClanahan exercised acts of ownership over them openly and spoke of them as his own and that Joseph Barron was frequently there and he never heard him set up any claim or title to the lots in dispute. Further, Mr. Wood stated that he was present at the Sheriff sale in 1840 and was near Joseph Barron, who was present at the time and he did not hear Mr. Barron object to the sale. Mr. Woods stated that James McClanahan purchased the property for about $800, but he did not recollect the amount positively, so it might have been more or not so much.

Witness Wood further testified that in 1842 he lived with James McClanahan. Mr. Wood said that sometime during 1842 Joseph Barron went home with James McClanahan from Louisville. Joseph Barron was drinking and intoxicated that night. Mr. Wood said that James McClanahan told Joseph Barron that night that he (James McClanahan) owned the property sued for under the sheriff sale and had put Rebecca McClanahan in possession of the property. Furthermore, he intended her a deed to the property. Mr. Wood said that Joseph Barron was still drunk.

The next morning Mr. Barron was more sober than the previous night, but was still under the influence of liquor. Mr. Wood testified that James McClanahan stated the same thing to him at the breakfast table that he had the night before. Evidently, Joseph Barron had no objection to it and said that if Solomon R. McClanahan had it he would squander it. Mr. Wood, the witness, then stated that Joseph Barron had been drunk for the last fifteen years whenever he could get liquor and that he had a bottle of liquor with him at James McClanahans at the time of said conversations.

The next defendant witness, Mr. Andrew Webb, testified that he was present at the Sheriff sale and did not hear the sale objected to by anyone and that he was in a situation to have heard it, if it had been done. He testified that James McClanahan and Joseph Barron were standing together at the time of the sale and that there were a good many persons present. Mr. Webb also testified that he was tax-collected in 1848 and 1849 and that the lots were assessed in the name of S. R. McClanahan and he paid the taxes.

The next plaintiff witness, Mr. William B. Hudson testified that S. R. McClanahan told him both before and since this suit that he contracted with Barron for the purchase of the lots in suit and was to pay him $2200. Further, Hudson said that McClanahan went into possession under Barron and that there never was any writing between them about the purchase of said lots in any way. S. R. McClanahan had stated to him that he had taken the benefit of the Bankruptcy law in 1842, that he never paid for said lots, and that he had paid $1600 on a judgment against Joseph Barron in Choctaw County and he thought it ought to go on said lots.

Mr. Hudson testified that Solomon McClanahan admitted the title of the lots to be in the name of Joseph Barron and that James McClanahan told him since the Sheriff sale of said property that he did not claim title to the lots in dispute, that he had purchased the house on said lots, and only claimed the house on said lots. Mr. Hudson then said that he has lived in Louisville some fifteen years that he knows the general impression in Louisville as to the character of the possession of said property and that the general impression, as well as his own, has always been that McClanahan was in possession of the property under Joseph Barron and that he, Solomon McClanahan, had admitted the title of Joseph Barron.

The Defendants then entered a document for to the court which demonstrated that Solomon McClanahan had been declared insolvent and had given up all his assets to the Sheriff for sale at auction. I (JPC) believe this included the subject land, which was sold at auction for a small amount to his relative (perhaps son) James McClanahan. The total realized value of all his assets was in excess of $4,000.

The Sheriff’s Auction for McClanahan went something like this:

Levied on the following property of S. R. McClanahan viz; the NW 1/4 of W 1/2 of NE 1/4 of Sec 28 , also NE 1/4 of Sec 21 , also SE 1/4 of Sec 28, T 15, R. 12 also two acre lot lying north side of main street and west of cross street known as McClanahan Old Tavern lot (this was the lot of land in question in the law suit - JPC), also the large new tavern and three lots where S. R. McClanahan now lives, one yolk of oxen, one carriage, one dun horse, one blind horse, two bay horses, 1 road wagon, 1 lot of wagon wheels, 17 feather beds and bedsteads, 30 chairs, 1 dining table, 9 sets of five dogs, one Negro man by the name of Jerry, one man by the name of Charles, one woman by the name of Lucinda, one woman named Harriet, one girl by the name of Nancy, one boy the name of Lewis, the 27th day of January, 1840.
J. H. Handy, Sheriff

The above named property sold on the 2nd of March for the sum of $4,295.75

I (JPC) assume the above document was the defendants’ attempt to prove that title to the land had actually been passed from Solomon McClanahan to James McClanahan at auction.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the court to consider "charging" the jury with some thirty-odd statements, all of which were unfavorable to the defendants. Most of the charges were granted by the judge in this case.

Attorneys for the defendants then asked the court to "charge" the jury with ten statements, all of which were favorable to their cause. The judge refused most all of the defendants’ charges. (About this time, it would seem that the defendants would have "seen the light," and given up, but you know how the legal system works.)

(While I (JPC) could not find the actual ruling, it appears that the jury found again for the plaintiffs.) This having been done, the defendants, Solomon McClanahan and his wife Rebecca filed for a Writ of Error, citing numerous causes. They received from the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Winston county a Writ to the High Court of Errors and Appeal at Jackson, Mississippi for the next term of session which was to be on the third Monday of October, 1853. The defendants had to post a $200 bond for the Writ to be recognized.

It is unknown by this author if the case was retried in the Court in Jackson, Mississippi. If it was not, then the property and all improvements would have been turned back over to the plaintiffs for subsequent distribution to the heirs of Joseph Barron, deceased.

Birth	Abt 1791	South Carolina, United States
Marriage	1811	Greenville, South Carolina, United States - Hannah R McClanahan
Residence	1840	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1841	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1845	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1850	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Burial	1851	Sturgis, Oktibbeha, Mississippi, United States
Death	9 Nov 1851	Pneumonia - Choctaw, Mississippi, United States

Spouse	Hannah R McClanahan (1795 - 1855)
Child	Ezekiel Barron (1816 - 1863)

Father	James Barron (1752 - 1848)
Mother	Gemima Hicks?/Harrison? (1755 - 1855)
Sibling	Samuel Barron (1785 - )
Sibling	Millie Barron (1791 - 1819)
Sibling	Ezekiel Barron (1792 - 1860)
Sibling	Isaac Barron (1793 - 1880)
Sibling	Caleb Barron (1797 - 1864)
Sibling	Elijah James Barron (1799 - 1864)
Sibling	Gabriel M Barron (1799 - 1864)
Sibling	Nancy Barron (1800 - )
Sibling	Dicey Barron (1802 - 1863)