Barney Calhoun was probably born in Ashe County, North Carolina. He is bur ied in the Fork Mountain Cemetary just outside of Newland, North Carolin a. The dates on his headstone show his date of birth as April 13, 1834 a nd his death date as December 12, 1930. Census records indicate that he w as most likely born around 1837. Sometime between 1870 and 1880, He mov ed to the Vale Community of Mitchell County now Avery County, North Caroli na. Barney Calhoun married Nancy Rachel Osborne. The only marriage reco rd on file at the Ashe County Court house shows that a Barney Calhoun marr ied a Nancy Roark on Jan 6, 1859. This has caused a lot of confusion. Mo st death records of Barney and Rachel's children show her maiden name as O sborne.

Confederate Soldier during Civil War.
Co. C2, 21st VA Cav. Enl. 7/18/63, provided his own horse. Pres. on 8/31/6 3. Claimed as a deserter from 37th NC Inf. as of 10/31/64. D. 1930 in As he Co., NC. Some of his kinsmen served in Union organizations from Tenness ee.

Confederate Pension Records for Barney
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Company Regiment Disability Post Office Died
Calhoun, Barney E 21 VA Age 6/15/28 Newland 12 Dec 1930
Barney Calhoun was living with his son Larkin Calhoun in the 1920 Avery Co unty census. Listed his age as 82. Both of his parents were listed as bei ng born in North Carolina.


Barney B. Calhoun was born on Apr. 13. The year of his birth is list ed as 1834 on his headstone. The 1850 census record would indicate th at he was born c1837. The place of his birth is not absolutely known, thou gh it would seem most likely that he was born in Ashe County. He died on D ec. 12, 1930 in Newland, Avery County, North Carolina. Barney has a dea th certificate on file in the court house at Newland. This is the informat ion that appears on that death certificate:

Barney Calhoun, Born April 13, 1835, Died Dec. 12, 1930
Undertaker: Ronald Hughes
Informant: Tilman Calhoun
Wife: Rachel Calhoun
Cause of Death: Old Age
Father: William Calhoun
Mother: LNU

Barney married Nancy Rachel Osborne around 1859. Rachel was born Sep. 2, 1 840 and died Dec. 6, 1912. If I have the correct family for Nancy Rache l, she was born in Virginia. Grayson County Virginia would be the most lik ely location. She also died in Newland, North Carolina. Barney and Rach el are buried in the Fork Mountain Cemetery just outside of Newland. Rache l's origins are obscure. My mother, Rachel's granddaughter, told me that h er maiden name was Osborne. She could not name any of Rachel's siblings, t hat is, if she had any. I have some census records that I will present a l ittle later that will show some evidence as to who her parents were.

In the Ashe County court house there is a marriage register that lists a B arnabas Calhoun married to a Nancy Roark on Jan. 6, 1859. This is just a r egister and not an actual marriage bond. This has caused great confusi on to the researchers of Barney and Rachel. Wade Eller has a note on o ne of his cards that says that Barnabas Calhoun married a Nancy Roar k. He indicated that she was the daughter of Charles Roark, Sr. and Lett ie Jones. Census data for Charles and Lettie Roark do not list a daught er by that name. I can find no other Nancy Roark who would seem to fi t. On the death certificates of Larkin C. Calhoun and John Calhoun, so ns of Barney and Rachel, Rachel Osborne is listed as their mother. I am co nvinced that Rachel Calhoun was an Osborne and the entry in the Ashe Coun ty marriage register is incorrect or is referring to another Barnabas Calh oun. There is another Barnabas Calhoun, but that Barney was born in 1855.

Barney Calhoun was a soldier in the Confederate Army. He enlisted on Ju l. 18, 1863 in the 21st Virginia Cavalry. He was a member of Company C2 a nd provided his own horse. He was claimed as a deserter from the 37th Nor th Carolina Infantry on Oct. 31, 1864. Confederate pension records from Av ery Co., NC. show that Barney Calhoun was in Company "E" of the 21st Virgi nia Regiment. He was listed as disabled on 6/15/1928 and died on 12/12/193 0. The following was written by Russell Calhoun telling about an incide nt that happened to Barney during that conflict in his book The Calho un - Cahoon Family of Northwestern North Carolina:

Barney was noted for his honesty and this was reflected in an incident to ld by his grandsons, Donald and Henry Calhoun. Barney came upon a Confeder ate Officer who had passed out from the effects of alcohol. This officer w as carrying a satchel that contained a large sum of Confederate money. Bar ney stayed with the officer until he regained consciousness sometime the n ext morning. When the officer came to his senses, he realized what had hap pened and was quite grateful to Barney. He was carrying a satchel fu ll of payroll money. He probably saved the officer his career and possib ly his life. He persuaded Barney to ride with him for a couple of da ys so he could get to know him better.

My mother could remember her grandfather well. As a little girl he would l et her sit on his lap. She would comb and run her fingers through his lo ng white beard. After a while he would pretend to sleep and then sudden ly he would rouse and playfully snap his teeth at her and she would then p retend to be scared and squeal loudly. She was quite fond of her grandp aw Calhoun.

In the 1850 Ashe County census taken on November 6th for household# 106 4, we find the following entry:

Name Age Birthplace
John Osborn 54 NC
Nancy 51 NC
Ephriam 19 NC
Enoch 17 NC
John 14 NC
Calvin 12 VA
Nancy 9 VA
Martha 6 VA

I believe that this Nancy is my Nancy Rachel Osborne and that she is the d aughter of John Osborne (c1795-bef 1880) and Nancy Graybeal (c1798-aft 188 0). Barney Calhoun is listed in household# 1050 which is very close to Nan cy. The 1860 Ashe County census shows the following data:


Name Age Birthplace Household
Barnabas Calhoun 21 NC 487
Rachel 19 NC

John Osborne 64 NC 624
Nancy 60 NC
Martha 10 NC

Barney and Rachel are still quite close to John and Nancy Osborne. Rachel 's proposed brothers, William and Calvin are living in households 447 a nd 451 respectively. The 1870 Ashe County census lists the following:

Name Age Birthplace Household
Barnabas Calhoun 32 NC 115
Nancy 30 NC
Nancy 7 NC
William 6 NC
Margaret 4 NC
John 3 NC
Larkin 1 NC

Sarah Rotan 35 NC 117
Mary 16 NC
Nancy 14 NC
Elizabeth 12 NC
Francis 9 NC
John Osburn 80 NC
Nancy 75 NC

Here is the 1870 census, Barney and Rachel are living next door to John a nd Nancy Osborne. I believe that this Sarah Rotan is a sister to Rachel. S arah Osborne married David Roten. By 1880, Barney has moved to Mitchell Co unty. This is the 1880 Mitchell County census listing Linville Twp househo ld 94:

Name Age Relationship Birthplace
Barnie Calhoun 39 Head NC
Nancy R. 38 Wife NC
William L 16 Son NC
Margaret 14 Daughter NC
John G. 12 Son NC
Larkin 10 Son NC
David G. 8 Son NC
Willie D. 6 Son NC
Roba S. 4 Son NC
William H. 2 Son NC
Sara J. 9/12 Daughter NC

Russell Calhoun lists Nancy R's birthplace as VA in both the 1870 and 18 80 census. From my notes, I have transcribed her birthplace as NC. We a re in agreement in the 1900 census for Mitchell County. This is that recor d:

Name Age Relationship Birthplace
Self Father Mother
Barnabas Calhoun 5/1836 Head NC NC NC
Nancy R 1/1840 Wife VA NC NC
Sarah 8/1879 Daughter NC NC VA
Scott 9/1881 Son NC NC VA
Tilman 8/1883 Son NC NC VA
Ida 6/1887 Daughter NC NC VA
Emmit 12/1899 Grandson NC NC NC
Alice 2/1900 G/Daughter NC NC NC

This 1900 census record also shows that Barney and Rachel had been marri ed 42 years and that she had given birth to 14 children with 12 still livi ng. The 1850 census shows a Nancy Osborne at age 9 being born in Virgini a. The 1900 census shows Nancy R. being born in Virginia in 1840. It al so places the year of their marriage very close to the marriage record fou nd for Barnabas Calhoun and Nancy Roark on Jan. 6, 1859. The 1900 census r ecord places the year of their marriage in 1858, which is very close to t he record found in the marriage register. As I stated before, I believe th at the entry for Barnabas Calhoun and Nancy Roark should in fact read Barn abas Calhoun and Nancy Osborne. The last census recorded is the 1910 a nd it shows the following:

Name Age Relationship Birthplace
Barney Calhoun 73 Head NC
Rachael 70 Wife VA
Emmett 10 Grandson NC

Barney Calhoun was living with his son Larkin Calhoun in the 1920 Avery Co unty census. Listed his age as 82. Both of his parents were listed as bei ng born in North Carolina.

Rachel died on Dec. 12, 1912. No death certificates were issued until 191 4. A public document showing who her parents were has not been found. My m other, Texie Calhoun Peters, was told that her grandmother suddenly to ok a pain in her head and died a few hours later. It sounds as thought s he may have died of a brain hemorrhage or a stroke. Barney lived for 18 mo re years and died at the age of about 93 to 96 years. Barnabas "Barne y" B. Calhoun and Nancy "Rachel" Osborne had the following children: