3. Charles and Elizabeth Barnes of Staffordshire

It is usually suggested that the Barnes name is derived from people who worked around barns but it could also be derived from an old first name. The name is most common in Lancashire.

Charles Barnes (b. 1764) married Mary Lowe (b. 1766) in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire in 1789. Both families were established in Staffordshire: each of the couple were described as being from Stoke. Charles died in Longton, Stoke in 1798, long before the first census. Mary survived until 1850; in 1841 she was still living in Longton with younger lodgers who were colliers and potters.

Newcastle church (credit), where
 Charles and Mary were married

Longton was later a constituent of the City of Stoke-on-Trent. It was already well known for industrial pottery. Sir John Edensor Heathcote, industrialist, was a notable resident of Longton while the couple were there: he rebuilt Longton Hall 1778.

Charles and Mary had five children, including Charles Barnes (1796).

Coppenhall church (credit), 
where Richard and Elizabeth married

The Merry family had quite an illustrious history as landowners in the Shallowford nr Chebsey nr Stafford area: I have a copy of a privately published book written about the family. Apparently, John Merry, gentleman merchant and tallow chandler bought the Barton Blount estate in Derbyshire. Much was lost in the civil war but the family remained prosperous and was active in developing the hardware and metal industries in Birmingham from 1736-1824. Our branch was that of a younger son which fizzles out in 1715 (on page 36 of the book which goes on another 250 years in 200 pages!). Three generations later, Richard Merry (b. 1763) married Elizabeth Ryley (b. 1763) in Coppenhall nr Stafford in 1783.

Richard Garnett (1789–1850) an English philologist (historical linguist), author and librarian at the British Museum, was a notable resident at about the same time.

Richard and Elizabeth had six children, including Elizabeth Merry (1794).

For the record, and with the usual cautions, my oldest direct ancestors we know about in this part of the family are: Ralph Barnes (1706), Margaret Lea (1733), John Lowe (1748), Mary Brammar (1740), John Merry (1528), Margaret Palmer (1562), Elizabeth Vernon (1586), Jane Turner (1744), John Cotton (1721), Ann Allen (1721) and Thomas Ryley (1716).

Chebsey church (credit), 
where Charles and Elizabeth were married

Charles married Elizabeth in Chebsey in 1818. They had eight children:

• 34.1.1 - Charles Barnes (1819)
• 34.1.2 - Richard Aspley Barnes (1823)
• 34.1.3 - Caroline Barnes (1825)
• 34.1.4 - Martha Barnes (1826)
• 34.1.5 - Mary Barnes (1826)
• 34.1.6 - Edward Barnes (1828)
• 34.1.7 - Thomas Merry Barnes (1830)
• 34.1.8 - Horatio Barnes (1837)

There is more on these individuals in Chapter 34.

Elizabeth was described as a farmer in 1841 (and with a neighbours named Weaver in Shallowford); she is a yeoman in 1842, and a victualler in 1851; she died in 1862. Charles had died in 1839, before the first census. His gravestone reads thus:

"He lived a calm, domestic life, He love his children and his Wife His friends, his King, his country too All this, indeed Self-love may do But this grand Man, we know possessed True Christian Virtue in his Breast His social love was unconfined He lov’d, he prayed, for all Mankind Out of the little store he had To help the Poor his heart was glad; And when they thank him, thus spoke he; “Give Thanks to God and not to me”

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