To the
Barnes,
Cates, Kates, O’Berry,
Reese,
Reece,
Sherod,
Sherrod,
Wilson,
Booth,
Prentice, Prentiss, Crumer, and
Cromer Families:
I am turning to all families that may be connected to my current quest:
My 2nd Great Grandmother was Laura
Cates Barnes. Her middle name may have been Kate. According to census records, she was born in Florida; death records provide her birth date as 26 Sep 1845; passed away on 1 Nov 1907, Kissimmee, Osceola, FL. They are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Kissimmee, FL. Laura
Cates married James
Alpheus Barnes about 1865. James
Alpheus Barnes was the son of Benjamin
Barnes, who was son of Jesse Barnes...of South Carolina.
Laura
Cates and James
Alpheus Barnes had the following children:
1) Elizabeth Waller
Barnes, b: 1 Dec 1867, Lake City,
Columbia County FL; married James Franklin O’Berry
2) Benjamin
Reese Barnes; b 26 Jul 1869; Lake City FL; died 1870
3) Sherod (
Sherrod)
Alpheus Barnes; b 4 Nov 1870; died 1872
4) George Theodore Barnes; b 24 Mar 1872; died 1917
5) Rosa Jane Barnes; b 10 Mar 1874; died 1879
6) Ola Verdelia Barnes; b 17 Jul 1876; died 15 May 1936 (married Daniel T. Wilson “Dede”)
7) William C. Barnes; b 13 Oct 1879;
Tracing the ancestry of Laura
Cates has become a nightmare. I have all the census records “after” her marriage to James
Alpheus Barnes. I have followed up “family” leads, expanded my search to NC,
GA, TN,
AL and TX. In desperation I started studying the names of her children for clues, which has led me on a very interesting study of the following families:
Sherod,
Sherrod,
Reece, and
Reese.
I have stumbled upon the following information that seems to mean nothing, but could provide a breakthrough:
• In 1842, a Mary
Reece, born 1825 in TN married a Robert H. Sherrod, born 1816 in TN.
• On July 2, 1882 in TX, a Mary Elizabeth
Cates married Granville
Sherrod (born 8 May 1859 in TN, son of John “Jack”
Sherrod). Mary Elizabeth
Cates was daughter of William D. Cates (b 5 Dec 1831, TN) and Martha M. Booth (b 15 Aug 1841).
• In
Maine, I discovered an
Ola Cates...no further information.
• In
Alabama, 1849, a Malinda
Cates purchased property
Alabama.
• In “The Ancestors & Descendents of
Carroll Prentice” it is stated that Samuel Wesley
Prentice, (son of William
Prentice) born 20 January 1809 in Louisville,
Jefferson Co. Kentucky; married Malinda Crumer
Cates 1848.
• The 1850 Marshall
AL census shows a Malinda
Prentice living with
Cates children, including a Laura
Cates age 4.
• The 1860 Marshall
AL census shows Malinda and Samuel
Prentice with children including Laura
Prentice age 14.
• The 1870 Marshall
AL census shows Malinda and Samuel
Prentice with children and Laura
Cates age 24.
I would very much appreciate any help in solving the mystery regarding my GGG grandmother Laura
Cates O’Berry.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Barbara Bretthauer
Marquez Froyland
bfroyland@comcast.net