Plyer Barber Family
(This information provided by Jere Fletcher)
Plyer Barber, son of George and Elizabeth Barber, born 1740, Augusta
County, Virginia, died before 23 May 1814, Johnston County, North Carolina.
He married Amy _____. Amy survived Plyer (Estate papers, I do not have)
Plyer and his brother George Barber and step-father Matthew Patton and
mother Elizabeth Barber Patton migrated to Johnston County, North
Carolina ca 1756. The children of Plyer are named in his estate papers.
Burwell Barber, his son, was appointed adminstrator of his estate.
(Can anybody send me a copy of this?)
1. Amy Barber, born 1770, married William Jones 30 January 1800,
Johnston County, North Carolina.
See plyerbarber.doc, thanks to Gina Fuller Thompson.
2. Mary (Polly) Barber married William Messer Jr 2 April 1787
Johnston County, North Carolina.
3. Patsy (Martha) Barber married William Martin 4 March 1811,
Johnston County, North Carolina.
4. Reuben Barber married Edy Speight 18 April 1783, Johnston County,
North Carolina. Reuben died 1827.
5. Plyer Barber Jr married Nancy Busbee 17 November 1783, Johnston
County, North Carolina. Plyer died before May 1816.
More Descendants of Plyer Barber Jr This
includes Newitt Henry Barbour, who is an exact match for 37 markers
with Jerry Lynne Barber. Jerry is a descendant of George and
Margaret Watkins Barber.
6. George Barber married Nancy Johnson 4 October 1788. George died 1838.
(more info from Arlene Lewis)
7. Owen Barber married Elizabeth Gordon 4 October 1791, Johnston County,
North Carolina.
A. Owen Barber Jr.
(information posted to the Johnston Co NC web site by Arlene Lewis
a. Alsey Ann Barber married James Wesley Jones, son of Bennett
Jones, grandson of William Jones, great grandson of John
Jones Sr.
aa. Richard Calvin Jones married Laylon Byrd. Laylon was
daughter of George Washington Byrd and granddaughter of
Sutton Byrd Sr - Margaret (Peggy) Johnson.
8. Burwell Barber, born 23 October 1773, died 3 May 1851, married Lydia
Jones 27 December 1796.
9. Thomas Barber married Elizabeth (Betsy) Langdon 5 April 1799.
George Barber was the father of Theophilus (Offie) Barber, mentioned in
the article below.
"Heritage of Johnston County, North Carolina" 1985, page 130:
William Elbert Barbour, Family #89
No person I ever met knew more about his ancestors than William Elbert
Barbour. This information was not written down, but was implanted in
the memory of this man. It was he who sparked my interest in genealogy,
and he and I could sit for hours talking about "old times."
He told me that Plier Barber and a brother were the first Barbers to
settle in Elevation Township in Johnston County. Elbert had always heard
that Plier and the brother had a serous political disagreement before the
Revolutionary War. The brother left Johnston County, and the records
indicate that his name was George Barber and that he went to Georgia.
It was told that George once returned to see Plier, but was told by
Plier's wife, Amy, that he had better leave because she was afraid Plier
would kill him if he caught him there. So supposedly he left, never to
see Plier again. The records also indicate that Plier had come from the
Barber's Creek/Craig's Creek area of Lower Augusta County, Virginia, prior
to the Revolution.
Note that the following James Daniel spelled his name Barber but his
children spelled their name Barbour. During the years the spelling was
in transition (last part of the nineteenth century), James Daniel Barber
changed his name to Barbour with his children adopting this spelling.
However, in later life Daniel became dissatisfied with the "new"
spelling and resumed the "old" leaving his children with the last name of
Barbour. Elbert Barbour said that he had been otld the reason for the
spelling change was that the Barbers in Clayton "got acquainted" with
some of their aristocratic, affluent relatives in Virginia who told the
Clayton family they were not spelling the name correctly, thus the change
to Barbour."
James Daniel Barber was the son of Alvin Barber (1834-1910) and wife,
Temperance Eliza Jones (1848-1908), daughter of James Alvin Jone
(1819-1882) and Emmaline Barber Jones (1829-1891). The brothers and
sisters of James Daniel Barber were Sarah, George William, Louie, and
Julius Marcus.
Alvin Barber was the son of Theophilus (Offie) Barber (1793-1873) and
wife, Sarah (Sallie) (ca. 1795-1865). Much legend surrounds this couple,
but the records reveal that Theophilus was a farmer and hatter (hatmaker)
in Elevation Township. Offie liked to attend court in Smithfield and the
judges would kiddingly say they could not start court until Mr. Offie
Barber got there. The prevailing family legend is that Sallie was an
Indian from Onslow County whom Offie met when he served in the the War of
1812. To date, no records have been found to substantiate this.
Alvin Barber served as a militiaman during the War Between the States.
It was his duty to see htat deserters were returned to the ranks. It was
told to me by Elbert Barbour that Alvin was required by law to be armed
when he approached a deserter. To meet this requirement, he would always
pick up a small stick, which of course, would not place much pressure on
the deserter to return. Brothers and sisters of Alvin Barber were
Malsey, Ridley, Theophilus Hinton, Absalom (called Black Ap), Brittian,
Ashley, and Larkin. These children of Theophilus and Sally Barber were
the parents of forty-six known children and approximately 127 grandchildren.
William Elbert Barbour lived a fairly adventurous life in his youth. He
not only served in France in World War I, but was with Western Union and
helped install the first telegraph lines in the South, including the
state of Florida. He described Tampa as being about the size of
Smithfield at that time. It was not until he was 38 years old that he
married Lettie Stephenson, age 23, of Pleasant Grove Township. She was
the daughter of Bennett Marion Stephenson (1867-1929) and wife, Adeline
Johnson Stephenson (1874-1920)
Bennett Marion Stephenson was the son of Jessee Stephenson (1820-1887)
and wife, Charlotte Stephenson Stephenson (1826-?). Adeline Johnson was
the daughter of Henry Harrison Johnson (1841-?) and wife, Mary Jane Sabra
Coats Johnson (1842-?). Brothers and sisters of Lettie Stephenson were
Kirby, Kemp, Annie, Minnie, Millard, Bertha, Mary, Hallie, and Floyd.
Both Elbert and Lettie Barbour were descended from many pioneer Johnston
County families.
The children of William Elbert Barbour and Lettie Stephenson Barbour are
Marion Durwood Barbour who married Mary Anne Baker... James Atlee Barbour
who married Waneta Scott...and William Kenneth Barbour who married Helen
Marie Strickland...
Sources: Many personal interviews, personal knowledge of Elbert Barour
and others; census records, Johnston County; marriage records, Johnston
County; Barber Family Bible; Chalkley's Records, Virginia.
Mary Anne Barbour