Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Phillips Camp Biographies, Allen to Barton

page 17

SKETCH OF CHARLES BARNES By Beatrice Barnes Cheney May 1938 Charles Barnes was born at Sandy, Bedfordshire , England, March 4, 1848. His family was among the early converts of the church. He came with his parents, Willi.am Jeffery and France s Fitzjohn Chapman Earnes; hi s grandparents, William J. Barnes and Elizabeth Barnes, his three brothers and two , sisters . They left England, March 19, 1853. After a long ocean voyage they l anded in New Orleans. The thing Charles remembered of the voyage was falling in a barrel of sugar on the boat. He was only six years of age when he came to America. They came from New Orleans to Utah by ox team. The family came to Kaysville to make the:tr home . Here Charles grew to manhood. As a child he had no opportunity of going to school. In the winter he herded sheep barefooted. I have heard him tell of wrapping his feet in burlap sacks and digging sego roots to eat . In spite of all this he developed a fi.ne character. He married Rebecca Phillips Barnes and was called by Brigham Young to take the church cattle to Marsh Vall ey , Idaho, and develope a com­munity there. While there they endured all the hardships of frontier life. Here he was given the name of ":captain" and was often call ed captain. He acquired this title by an eastern buyer of cattle. gt a large round-up of cattle, the cattle men disagreed on the ~ rands of the cattle and were ready to fight when the cattle buyer asked ~ f there was a man there whom they would all agree on to settle the ( ,dispute of the ownership. They said yes, they would abide by the decision of Charles Barnes. The eastern buyer said , '~this man, Ba rnes , must be a captain among men to settle a frontiersman's troubJL '~ He felt badly because of his lack of education. While living in Marsh Vall ey, six children were born to them. The oldest , a girl, died there and was buried in the yard of their home so they could watch the:tiny grave