The Burial Place of
William Henry Barlow (Barlar)
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~ About Wayne Austin ~
For anyone unfamiliar with his work, Wayne Austin descends from William Henry Barlow (Barlar) via the Alfred Jordan Barlow (Barlar) lineage and he has invested a considerable amount of time and effort over the years in researching the Barlow / Barlar family history. The results of Wayne's hard work will most certainly be considered an invaluable gift by generations to come. A photo of Wayne in his younger years is available here.
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- Presbyterian Church -
This lovely church cemetery is typical of those found in the area around Brick Church, TN.
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Marsh-Haywood Cemetery
(Photo Courtesy of Wayne Austin)
On July 2nd, 2008, Wayne Austin contacted Barlar.org with the news that he had at last obtained a record which would serve as proof of the details surrounding the death and burial of our ancestor, William Henry Barlow (Barlar).
The following record had been on file in the Pulaski, TN archives, unknown until it was discovered by Wayne's associate, archivist Polly Carter, as she was completing other work for Wayne.
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Brick Church April 1, 1897
Mr. Wm. Barlor, who has been confined to his room several months with La Grippe,
was buried last week at Hayward Cemetery. He was about 75 years old.
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"Notice the 'Barlor' spelling," Wayne said in his message to us about the newly discovered article. "I think it can be discounted as just an error."
And we totally agree. During the course of our research, we've all seen the name misspelled more often than not; and we have no doubt about the identity of the person referred to in the article.
"There is little doubt that this is our William Henry Barlar," Wayne said. "He was known to have lived very near Brick Church, further toward I-65 on the old Owen Bass farm. Also, his calculated date of birth of 1822/1823 agrees with the estimate of his age at death, stated in the article as 'about 75 years old'. The phrase 'buried last week' yields an estimated death date of about March 23, 1897."
"I further believe the 'Hayward Cemetery' to be what is called the 'Marsh-Haywood' Cemetery, about 1/4-mile further on the left from where William Henry last lived in the (I'm told) Lee Gusta Barlow (Barlar) home, on Hwy 31 Alt. This is on Hwy 31 Alt, past I-65 about 2-tenths of a mile; and on the left, upon a ridge in a thicket on the 'Smith' farm today."
"I had been to and photographed that cemetery back in 2005. But at the time, I had no concrete evidence it was where Wm Henry had been buried. I went because other family members had suggested it may have been his burial place. I did not find William Henry's memorial then, but I didn't actually do a thorough seach using the probe I often use to look for lost memorials that have fallen and sunken into the soil. Many times, lost memorials sink below the topsoil by 1 to 4 inches or more. If the stone has fallen into the grave-pit, it may be as much as 3-feet below the top."
Wayne went on to say that the cemetery was in bad shape, with many unmarked graves and memorials that were damaged as a result of the cattle that are allowed to freely roam about among the grave-sites. It is his intention to go back and make a more concentrated search of the entire area in an attempt to find the exact spot where William Henry Barlow was laid to rest.
NOTE: In that era, 'La Grippe' was the term for Spanish Flu.