I am seeking information on my g grandfather, William Henry "Willie" Barnes who married Pearl Eva Lena Sparks, and moved to the Milburn/Tishomingo area between 1900 and 1910 where they had a farm after their homestead burned to the ground in Cooke County, TX. According to census and tombstone records, Willie was born in MS July 19, 1871. He married Pearl in Cooke County, TX circa 1896 before they moved to OK. They had seven children: Delton Raymond (1897-1905),Bessie Mae (1898-1994),Fletcher Henry "Barney" (1900-1982),William Homer "Jack" (1905-ca 1990),Nannie Maude (1907-1996),Eula Irene (1908-1995), and Pearl Marie "Pinky" (1911-1994).

Willie shot himself to death on his farm on November 4, 1919, despondent over health problems. My grandmother, the youngest of the children, had few recollections of her father and his heritage. I am seeking any further information on Willie and Pearl and their lives in Johnston County. According to family tradition, Willie was one quarter Cherokee Indian (through his paternal grandmother), he had two sisters named Mary and Irene that lived in Memphis TN, and his parents' names were John Francis Barnes and Martha Hamlet. I have been unable to substantiate any of this information or find anything about Willie before his marriage to Pearl. Thanks in advance for any help or remembrances of this family.