James Henry Arney

Finding my great grandmother, Sabrina Florence Arney was really no problem. I remembered my Mother talking about her and I knew her name. Sabrina's father was another story. Sabrina was born in 1862 she married in 1876 (yes, I know she was 14 !!!). So that meant the only census she would be on with her parents was 1870. But there was no Sabrina, no Florence, no Flo ... nothing. I found two of my grandmothers photo albums with most of the pictures labeled. So then I at least had names of some of Sabrina's step brothers and sisters.

At the library one day I checked the Soundex for 1880 for Arkansas. They were hard to read but one looked like maybe it had some of her step siblings names. And then the fire alarm went off ... I'm like I can't leave now I may have found something!!!!! Henry Arney and his wife, Manna. OK that can't be right, Manna like from heaven.

I then began looking for Henry Arney and did he get around. They say we live in a transient society which implies that in the past people did not. However, I have tracked James Henry Arney through 8 states.

He was born in Tennessee, possibly Overton County. He marries Elizabeth Ware June 1861 in Greene County, Indiana. They have Sabrina Florence April 1862. We believe Elizabeth dies but I cannot find any other record of her. In 1863 Henry marries Minerva Jane Baker, daughter of Andrew and Mary Ann Baker (btw in 1843 Mary Ann gave birth to triplet boys, how often did that happen????) For the 1870 Census the Bakers and Arneys are all back in Carroll County, Arkansas except Sabrina. I heard a State of Arkansas archivist speak one time and he said if your relatives left Arkansas, went north and came back after the Civil War, they were Union sympathizers getting out of the way of the fighting. If they went south and came back they were Confederate sympathizers getting out of the way of the fighting.

Between 1890 and 1894, Sabrina, her husband Isaac Benson and kids, and at least one of her brother-in-laws, leave Arkansas for Dallas, Texas. On the 1900 Census, Henry and Minerva are in Dallas County. On the 1910 Census, they live in Ninnekah, Oklahoma with their son John and his family. Their daughter, Jennie Marvin also lives there.

I have a Bible of Isaac Benson's; it seems that the last correspondence received from anyone was kept in the Bible. I have a letter Henry wrote to his granddaughter postmarked 1909 from Ninnekah, Oklahoma. I assumed Henry and Minerva died in Oklahoma. I couldn't find anything but Oklahoma is tight with their records. They have very little online and very little released to the library for research.

So I was pretty surprised when I was at the library looking for Henry and Minerva's grandkids and I found the listings of Barbee Cemetery in Erath County, Texas. (This is near Dublin, http://www.dublindrpepper.com/. ) There they were, JH Arney born Nov 1835 no death date and Minerva J. Arney born August 12, 1843 and died August 13, 1913.

Later, I was looking up some of their other kids and found James Henry Arney Nov 18, 1837 to August 1, 1917 buried in Mt Vernon, Missouri. He his buried near his son, Annew. I believe Henry is buried in Missouri and not Texas. But I think the birth date on the stone in Texas would be more likely correct because he would have ordered it.

Later I found this picture, on the back it says it was taken in Comanche, Texas. I assume the woman to be Minerva and Henry one of the men on either side of her.

So that is my story of Henry Arney ... Tennessee to Indiana to Illinois to Arkansas to Texas to Oklahoma to Texas to Missouri.





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