The prominence of the subject of this sketch in connection with the
professional and civic affairs of Marion county is such that he is regarded
as one of its representative citizens, having for a number of years been one
of the leading business men of the thriving city of Centralia, and ever
showing by his fealty to high principles and his activity in promoting the
affairs of the county that he merits the confidence of all.
A. C.
Barnes was born at Richview, Illinois, ten miles south of Centralia,
February 13, 1853, the son of J. W. and Nancy (Johnson) Barnes, the former
having been born in Gallatin, Tennessee, July 2, 1818. He was left an orphan
at the age of five years and when twelve years of age he was bound out to a
saddle maker for a period of four years, at the end of which time he
purchased a horse, saddle and bridle and rode to Mt. Vernon, this state,
where he called upon William Thorne, the first saddle maker in Mt. Vernon,
who refused to give him a job because he was too young, his age then being
eighteen years. But nothing daunted, he purchased the material with which to
make a saddle which he accordingly did and presented it to Mr. Thorne, who
hired the boy for three years. This was in 1836.
Two years later J.
W. Barnes was married to Nancy Johnson. He soon thereafter moved to a farm
near old Shiloh, later moving to Washington county, where he farmed and
lived comfortably until 1888 when he moved to Centralia, where he passed to
his rest September 17, 1905, after a successful business career in
Centralia, having purchased the L. C. Demmick harness shop in this city in
1888, having stood just south of the old National Bank. His son, A. C., our
subject, bought his business. He was living with his son when he died. Nancy
Johnson was born in 1813 in Kentucky. Her father was an itinerant Methodist
Episcopal preacher, who came to Illinois in 1818 and settled on a farm at
Shiloh church, where he farmed and preached and where both he and his good
wife passed to the silent land. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. J.
W. Barns, as follows: L. R., who married Laura Robinson, daughter of Elder
J. A. and Eliza Robinson, and they became the parents of six children, one
of whom is living. L. R. Barnes was in the famous One Hundred and Eleventh
Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the war between the states, under the
late Gen. James S. Martin, of Salem, having gone out in 1862 and was
discharged at the close of the war, having been in the grand review at
Washington City. Louise, the second child of the parents of our subject,
married a Mr. Underwood and is now living in Oklahoma, being the mother of
four living children, one child deceased. John T., the third child of Mr.
and Mrs. J. W. Barnes, enlisted in the Sixtieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry
under Colonel Anderson, at Mt. Vernon, and he re-enlisted in 1863. He came
home on a furlough. Rejoining his regiment, he remained at the front until
the close of the war when he was mustered out. He married and in 1885
removed to Wichita county, Kansas, where he located on three hundred and
twenty acres of land. He has a family of four girls and one boy. He now
lives at Leota, Kansas.
Our subject, A. C. Barnes, came to Centralia
in 1891 with his father. He had received a good education in the district
schools of Washington county, Illinois, having left school at the age of
sixteen years and went to work for himself. Being a loyal Republican and
having taken an interest in political affairs from early manhood, his
friends elected him Sheriff of Marion county in 1904 and he served with much
credit. When his term had expired he returned to business. In 1902 he was
elected Treasurer of the city of Centralia for two years and served in a
most acceptable manner in this capacity. Mr. Barnes has an excellent
business in the harness and repair trade, his shop being well equipped and
he has become widely known throughout the county.
Mr. Barnes married
Susan M. Gunn, daughter of J. C. and Caroline Gunn, of Richview, the
ceremony that made them one having been performed at Kinmundy, this county,
July 20, 1880. He was first married in 1873 to Sarah Anderson, a native of
Ohio, and she died at the birth of James, their only son, who was born
October 18, 1878. He is now living at Lafayette, Indiana, being in the
printing business as a linotype expert. He married Lottie Hadden, of
Kinmundy, and they have three children, two boys and one girl.
Our
subject ably served for a period of five years on the Board of Education in
Kansas, where he lived for several years, and while on the board just
mentioned they built two elegant school-houses.
Fraternally Mr.
Barnes is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Centralia,
having originally joined that order at Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1886. He is
also a member of the Knights of Pythias, having joined Lodge No. 26, in
Centralia in 1893. He became a Mason in Salem in 1896, and joined the Modern
Woodmen of America in 1897. He follows the example of his people by
worshiping with the Methodist denomination.
Our subject is a man of
unusual imposing physique, possessing great physical strength and endurance.
He also has a strong mind and the power of concentration, is congenial and
makes friends readily which he always retains.
Extracted 27 May 2019 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 564-566.