Roberts/Barnes/Taft Line
By Don Taylor

When I reviewed my possible connections through “We’re Related” to Walt Disney and to my Scarborough Historical friend, Carl, both were stopped by my research blockage at Mercy Eliza Taft.  After Mercy, both lines went through her father, Joel Cruff Taft. My research on Mercy convinced me that her father was indeed Joel and her grandmother was Sarah Whitney, which brings me two generations closer to proving a relationships with both Walt Disney and Carl.

Minuteman – Lexington

While doing this research I also encountered many new and exciting things. Fifth great-grandfather, Silas Taft is a Revolutionary War veteran and was part of the “Lexington Alarm” which was the first real battle of the Revolution in 1775. More about him in a later post. Also, I learned that William Howard Taft, the 27^th President of the United States and the 10^th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is my 5^th cousin, 4 times removed. Taft is the only person to ever be both POTUS and the Chief Justice.

Roberts-Barnes 2017 Research – Ancestor #21

List of Grandparents

• Grand Parent: Elsie Pansy Barnes
• 1^st Great-grandfather: Joel Clinton Barnes
• 2^nd Great-grandmother: Mercy Eliza Taft
• 3^rd Great-grandfather: Joel Cruff Taft
• 4^th Great-grandfather: Asa Taft
• 5^th Great-grandfather: Silas Taft
• 6^th Great-grandfather: Stephen Taft
• 7^th Great-grandfather: Benjamin Taft
• 8^th Great-grandfather: Robert Taft

Mercy Eliza (Taft) Barnes (1822-1884)

There is confusion regarding Mercy’s first name. Some researchers believe her name was Mary. I think that it is even possible that her first name might have been Marcy or even Mancy. In reviewing the records, I am yet to find a source that I feel is compelling enough to prove her name. People who have seen her grave marker indicate that her name is Mercy. Certainly, her Christian name if Eliza is used in the majority of records regarding her. I’ve decided to use Mercy until I find a compelling source.

Fairbanks Township in Sullivan County, Indiana

Mercy Eliza Taft was the second of ten children of Joel Cruff and Tamise/Fanny Sutherland/Southerland, born in New York on 27 March 1822.[i] It appears that all of her siblings live to adulthood. It does appear that the family moved several times in New York before part of the family split off and settled in Fairbanks Township, Sullivan County, Indiana.

Eliza married Nelson Barnes in New York on 31 October 1839.[ii] Their first daughter, who has one of the most unusual names I’ve ever encountered, Tryphenia Ann Barnes was born on 11 Oct 1841 in New York. The following year the young family moved west to Indiana (1842) by covered wagon and camped near Fairbanks. They started out renting farmland, then slowly purchased land until they had 80 acres.

Over the ensuing years, Nelson and Eliza would have nine children. They are:

Children of Nelson and Mercy Eliza Taft

*I believe that Ploutina was born in Indiana and not New York.

• 

  Mercy on left base, Nelson on Right base

  1850 – Living with husband and four oldest children in Turman, Sullivan County, Indiana.[iii]

• 1860 – Living with husband and six of the children in Turman, Sullivan County, Indiana.[iv]
• 1870 – Living with husband and five of the children in Turman, Sullivan County, Indiana.[v]
• 1880 – Living with husband one of her children and one of her granddaughters in Turman, Sullivan County, Indiana.[vi]
• 1884 – Her husband Nelson died in either January or February.[vii],[viii]
• 1884 – Eliza died on 4 October 1884 in Turman, Sullivan County Indiana. She was buried at the Drake Cemetery in nearby Fairbanks, Sullivan County, Indiana.[ix]  I find the image available through Find-a-Grave isn’t clear enough to determine the name used on the marker.

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Find the Taft Family in the 1840 Census.
• Find the Taft Family in the 1830 Census.
• Visit the Drake Cemetery and see if I can get a better image of her marker to confirm the name she was known by at the time of her death.

Endnotes:

• [i] Memories, Family Search, History by Martha Barnes Conner. Transcription of a handwritten note by Martha Barnes Conner, wife of Frank Conner – CONTRIBUTED BY Timothy Foulkes to Family Search. https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/28314121.
• [ii] Memories, Family Search, History by Martha Barnes Conner. Transcription of a handwritten note by Martha Barnes Conner, wife of Frank Conner
• CONTRIBUTED BY Timothy Foulkes to Family Search. https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/28314121.
• [iii] 1850 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, Nelson Barnes – Turman, Sullivan, Indiana, Household 713, Line 12. Accessed 24 March 2017. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHV4-FML.
• [iv] 1860 Census, Family Search, Nelson Barnes – Indiana, Sullivan, Turman Twp. Accessed 12 Jun 2016. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4NV-D7K.
• [v] 1870 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, Nelson Barnes – Indiana, Sullivan, Turman Twp, Page 27, Lines 25-31. Accessed 13 June 2016. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX6Z-6D2.
• [vi] 1880 Census (A) (NARA), Ancestry.Com, 1880 Census – Nelson Barnes – Turman, Sullivan, Indiana. Accessed 27 Mar 2017.
• [vii] Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Nelson Barnes (1816 – 1884). Accessed 27 Mar 2017. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37229135&ref=acom
• [viii] Wolfe, Thomas J., History of Sullivan County, Indiana, A, Files (Personal), Pages 234-236. A history of Sullivan County, Indiana, closing of the first century’s history of the county and showing the growth of its people, institutions, industries and wealth. New York: The Lewis Pub. Co.
• [ix] Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Mercy Eliza Taft Barnes (1822 – 1884). Accessed 27 Mar 2017. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37229132.