Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Series, Box and Folder Listing
Cataloguing Information
Processed by
Chris Harter
6 May 1997
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 6 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize folders, 4 bound volumes
COLLECTION DATES: 1828-1971 (inclusive); 1840-1900 (bulk)
PROVENANCE: Betty A. Beatty (Mrs. Newton G. Beatty, Jr.), Indianapolis, IN, 22 July 1992
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION NUMBERS: 1992.0744
NOTES:
D. P. (David Parry) Barner (b. 1833) was born in Frankfort, Indiana (Clinton Co.) to John and Mary Barner. While attending public school in Frankfort, Barner worked in the offices of various newspapers, including The Clintonian, The Compiler, and The Clinton News. In 1853, he entered Asbury University (present-day DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana (Putnam Co.). However, he soon left and returned to Frankfort to teach in a district school during the winter of 1854. After one term, he began part-time duties as a deputy clerk under his father, who was Clerk of Clinton County.
D. P. Barner also taught school during the winter of 1855 and served as an assistant clerk in the Indiana House of Representatives during the 1857 session. He succeeded his father as Clerk of Clinton County in 1859. In 1868, Barner, along with his father, began the banking firm of D. P. Barner & Co. The next year the firm consolidated with Carter, Given & Co., proprietors of the International Bank of Frankfort, where Barner was made a cashier.
Barner married Martha (Mattie) M. Hopkinson (1837-1903) in 1858. They had four children: John H. (fl. 1878-1879), Bird Edgar (fl. 1878-1879), Mabel C. (fl. 1878-1879), and Lee Given (1870-1871).
John Barner (1810-1892) was born in Surry County, North Carolina. He was the son of Horatio Barner (b. 1783), a millwright. In 1814, the Barner family settled in Bledsoe County, Tennessee. John Barner left Tennessee for Indiana in 1828. He worked in Bloomington (Monroe Co.) as a bookbinder and as a cabinet-maker. During the winter of 1829-30, he worked for J & B Draper, a cabinet shop near Mooresville (Morgan Co.), and later moved with them to Indianapolis.
In 1831, Barner married Mary Darnell (1810-1884), the daughter of James Darnell of Marion County. They had five children: John Harrison (1832-1885), David Parry (b. 1833), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1836), Judith (b. 1838), and Indiana Sarah (b. 1845). The family moved to Frankfort, Indiana in 1832. John Barner served as postmaster (1834-1849) and was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Clinton County in 1843, 1850 and 1855. He formed a dry goods business, J. H. Barner & Co. with his son, John, in 1866, and later formed D. P. Barner & Co., a banking firm, with his son, David.
Edward Tiffin Collett (1820-1878) was the son of Josephus Collett, Sr. (1787-1872) and Elizabeth (Tiffin) Collett (1798-1829). He was a doctor in Eugene, Indiana (Vermillion Co.). He served as a surgeon in the 71st Indiana Regiment during the Civil War. He moved to Kansas after the war, and later died there.
John Collett (1828-1899) was born in Eugene, Indiana, the son of Stephen S. and Sarah (Groenendyke) Collett. In 1847, he graduated from Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Montgomery Co., Indiana), later receiving degrees as A. M. (1850) and Ph. D. (1879) from the same institution. At an early age he showed an intense interest in geology. He also was an advocate of scientific farming. He was unsuccessful in a campaign for the State House of Representatives in 1851, but served two terms as State Senator in 1871 and 1873.
From 1870 to 1878, Collett served as assistant to the state geologist; he was on the commission for a new State House in 1878-1879; and he was chief of the state bureau of statistics and geology from 1879 to 1884. In these various positions, he produced six volumes on statistics, geology, and paleontology; 110 papers; and 22 maps, including the first geological map of Indiana.
See also: SC 2289, John Collett Papers.
Josephus Collett, Jr. (1831-1893) was the third son of Stephen and Sarah Collett. He attended Wabash College, but left due to poor health. He recovered and engaged in merchandising in Newport, Indiana. He operated a shipping business, a pork-packing plant, and a milling and grain market at various times.
He later turned his attention to railroad development. He promoted the building of a line from Danville, Illinois to Terre Haute, Indiana, which was completed in 1871. He was credited with building four other railroads throughout the United States. These ventures and real estate interests in California helped Collett to build a large fortune.
He served as president and vice-president of the Board of Trustees of Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute. Collett and his brother, Stephen, financed the building of the Collett Home for Orphans near Cayuga, Indiana (Vermillion Co.)
See also: SC 1914, Richard Wigginton Thompson Papers.
Stephen Stevenson Collett (1791-1843) was born in Pennsylvania. He lived in Kentucky and Ohio before moving to Indiana in 1818. He married Sarah Groenendyke (1804-1852), in 1822, and had eight children: Emily (1822-1866), Mary (1824-1882), John (1828-1899), Stephen, Jr. (1829-1902), Josephus, Jr. (1831-1893), Ellen (1833-1924), Jane (1837-1915), Clara (1840-1911). The family settled in Vermillion County in 1827.
Collett worked as a storekeeper, surveyor, fur trader, and farmer throughout his life. He was Parke County surveyor (1821), a justice of the peace in Vigo County (1826-1827), and a State Senator (1833-36, 1842-43). He died in Indianapolis.
David Milton Jones (1828-1865) was the son of Lewis C. Jones (1793-1852) and Margaret (Alston) Jones (1800-1846). He attended Wabash College (1844-1848) and the Indiana University School of Law (1850-1851). Jones was admitted to the bar in 1849, and started a law practice in Newport, Indiana (Vermillion Co.) after graduating from Indiana University. He served one term in the Indiana House of Representatives.
Jones married Ellen Collett (1833-1924), daughter of Stephen S. Collett. They had three children: Rita (1856-1928), Nellie (1858-1905), and Frank C. (1863-1953), a doctor in Frankfort, who married Mabel Barner, granddaughter of John Barner. Following the death of her husband, Ellen continued to reside in Newport until the death of her daughter, Nellie, at which time she moved to Washington, D.C. to live with Rita.
Robert K. Krout (fl. 1827-1908) was a druggist in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
F. W. Malone (fl. 1908-1920) was involved in the grain trade. He was secretary of the Cayuga Business Men's Association in Cayuga, Indiana (Vermillion Co.)
Charles H. Test (ca. 1802-1884) was born in Delaware, but lived throughout Indiana for most of his life. He married Elizabeth Moore in 1824; they had six children. Test served with the 108th Indiana Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War. He worked as a lawyer and judge throughout the state, and was a member of various political parties at times, including the Whig, Democratic, and Know-Nothing parties. He served as State Representative (1826-27, 1855) and as State Senator (1840-41). Test authored a novel, The Novice, and was the uncle of fellow author and politician Lew Wallace. (For Lew Wallace, see also: M 292, Lew Wallace Papers.)
For information on the Test family, see also: The Test Family in Indiana, compiled and edited by Charles E. Test.
John Whitcomb (1821-1891) was born in Preble County, Ohio. He attended Wabash College. He married Margaret Whitcomb (d. 1868) and had five children. Whitcomb later remarried to Lydia A. Parks, and fathered three children by that marriage. He was a merchant (1844-1881) and owned a wholesale hardware store in Indianapolis (1868-1869). He was elected a State Representative from Vermillion County in 1857.
No information found in available resources for: Elisha Bigelow (fl. 1833-1856), W.S. Melton (fl. 1859), or John R. Porter (fl. 1843)
Sources: Materials in the collection.
Collection Guide - SC 2289, John Collett Papers.
Biographical Directory of the Indiana General Assembly. Vol 1. p. 313, 413.
History of Clinton County (1886). p. 416-419, 538-39.
O' Donnell, Harold L. Eugene Township. The First 100 Years. p. 254-56, 296-98.
Wylie, Theophilus A. Indiana University. Its History from 1820, When Founded, to 1890. p. 322.
This collection consists of the correspondence and personal papers of the Barner-Jones-Collett Family. John Barner and his family were residents of Frankfort, Indiana (Clinton Co.). David M. Jones lived in Vermillion County, Indiana, and married Ellen Collett (also of Vermillion County). Their son, Frank C. Jones, married Mabel Barner, a granddaughter of John Barner.
The collection is divided into four series: John Barner Family, David M. Jones Family, Collett Family and Miscellaneous Materials.
Series 1 (boxes 1-2) consists of the correspondence and papers of the John Barner family. The bulk of the correspondence (1835-1890) is letters received by John Barner. They include family correspondence, as well as letters from individuals discussing local, state, and national politics. A folder of general correspondence (1848-1971) includes letters to U.S. Representative John Pettit (1807-1877) and David P. Barner.
Correspondents include: David Parry Barner, Horatio Barner, John Barner, John Harrison Barner, Calvin Fletcher, Jr. (See also: M 108 Calvin Fletcher Papers), John Pettit, Charles H. Test and Dennis Tuttle (See also: SC 2571, Dennis Tuttle Letter).
The series also contains information on family genealogy; John Barner's memoirs; a funerary photograph of John Barner; copies of illustrations of John Barner used in a county history (History of Clinton County, Indiana, p. 416-419); material regarding his estate; marriage certificates signed by John Barner as Circuit Court Clerk of Clinton County; and a leather wallet kept by Barner. Also present are two ink blotters probably used by David P. Barner, family receipts, writings and poems of unknown authorship, and miscellaneous items, including: a flyer for the Indiana State Sentinel; a printed invitation to John and Mary Barner's 50th anniversary; a printed notice for the funeral of Mary Barner; and a phrenological analysis.
Bound items include: John Barner's Postmaster Register; an autograph book owned by Bird Barner; a cash book and two ledgers used by David P. Barner; scrapbooks with newspaper clippings about the Barner family; and a copy of the Frankfort Crescent Annual (1882) with an advertisement for D.H. Barner & Co. Also present are two diaries, whose authorship could not be determined at this time, but which are believed to have been kept by a member of the Barner family.
Series 2 (boxes 3-6) consists of the correspondence and papers of the David M. Jones family. Correspondence includes letters (1840-1865) received by David M. Jones, many from lawyers, government officials, businesses, and collection agents from Indiana and throughout the eastern United States; legal correspondence (1833-1864) not addressed to Jones; and two letters (1876-1904) to Nellie Jones. Correspondence include: Elisha Bigelow, Edward Collett, Stephen S. Collett, Jr., Robert K. Krout, David M. Jones, Lewis C. Jones, Nellie Jones, W.S. Melton, W.H.H Terrell, and John Whitcomb.
Present are David Jones' legal papers (1850-1863); a court docket; his student papers from Wabash College; writings and speeches by Jones, including those on the subjects of Indepedence Day and temperance; writings to Newport newspapers, The Vermillion Register and The Eagle; printed documents, including legal licenses, membership certificates for the American Legal Association and The Sons of Temperance, a vellum diploma from Indiana University, and a deed between David and Ellen Jones and Mary M. Donally; and material pertaining to Jones' position as enrollment officer during the Civil War. Miscellaneous items regarding Jones include, a phrenological analysis of David Jones, certificates of mailing, a doctor's prescription, and a copy of a statement by two individuals concerning Jones' political opinions. The series also contains nine diaries (1894-1905) kept by Nellie Jones; family receipts and accounts; and writings of unknown authorship.
Series 3 (box 6) consists of correspondence and papers of the Collett Family. Included is family correspondence (1843-1929); genealogies; legal papers regarding a lawsuit between the Collett family and Butler University; writings by Ellen (Collett) Jones; and newspaper clippings. Miscellaneous materials include an invitation for Ellen Collett to an Independence Ball, minutes of an organization (the exact name of which could not be determined) in Eugene, Indiana (Vermillion Co.), which included members of the Collett family in its ranks; and a recipe for dying wool.
Correspondents include: Josephus Collett, Jr., Sarah (Groenendyke) Collett, Stephen S. Collett, Ellen (Collett) Jones, Frank C. Jones, F. W. Malone, and John R. Porter.
Series 4 (box 6) consists of miscellaneous materials which may have been kept by members of the various families. They include legal papers from Vigo County, Indiana; a deed from Carroll County, Indiana between Thomas Candon and Agnis Viola Wheeler; a leather pocketbook owned by a John Bierbower (fl. 1801-1816); and a letterpress book from R.W. Watkins & Co. in Frankfort, Indiana (Clinton Co.).
SERIES 1: JOHN BARNER FAMILY
BOX 1: John Barner Family
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 John Barner Correspondence, 1835-1839
2 John Barner Correspondence, 1840-1841
3 John Barner Correspondence, 1842-1843
4 John Barner Correspondence, 1844-1845
5 John Barner Correspondence, 1846-1847
6 John Barner Correspondence, 1848-1849
7 John Barner Correspondence, 1850-1859
8 John Barner Correspondence, 1860-1869
9 John Barner Correspondence, 1870-1879
10 John Barner Correspondence, 1880-1890, n.d.
11 General Correspondence, 1848-1971
12 Barner Family Genealogy
13 John Barner--Memoirs
14 (VC) John Barner--Photograph
15 John Barner--Illustrations
16 Material re: John Barner's Estate, folder 1
17 Material re: John Barner's Estate, folder 2
18 The Methodist Herald
19 John Barner--Postmaster Register
20 John Barner--Leather Wallet
21 Marriage Certificates
22 (BV 3179) David Barner--Clerk Cash Book
23 (BV 3180-81) David Barner--Ledgers, 1868-1870, 1892
24 David Barner--Ink Blotters
25 Bird Barner--Autograph Book
BOX 2: John Barner Family
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Barner Family Receipts
2 Diaries, 1878, 1879
3 Scrapbook, ca. 1862-1884
4 Scrapbook, ca. 1877-1910
5 Scrapbook Covers
6 Frankfort Crescent Annual, 1882
7 Writings--Unknown Authorship
8 Miscellaneous
SERIES 2: DAVID M. JONES FAMILY
BOX 3: David M. Jones Family
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1840-1849
2 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1850-1851
3 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1852
4 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1853
5 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-June 1854
6 David M. Jones Correspondence, July-Dec. 1854
7 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1855
8 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-April 1856
9 David M. Jones Correspondence, May-Aug. 1856
10 David M. Jones Correspondence, Sept.-Dec. 1856
11 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-Feb. 1857
12 David M. Jones Correspondence, Mar.-April 1857
13 David M. Jones Correspondence, May- July 1857
14 David M. Jones Correspondence, Aug.-Dec. 1857
15 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-April 1858
16 David M. Jones Correspondence, May-July 1858
17 David M. Jones Correspondence, Aug.-Oct. 1858
18 David M. Jones Correspondence, Nov.-Dec. 1858
19 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-April 1859
20 David M. Jones Correspondence, May-July 1859
21 David M. Jones Correspondence, Aug.-Dec. 1859
22 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-Feb. 1860
23 David M. Jones Correspondence, Mar.-April 1860
24 David M. Jones Correspondence, May-July 1860
25 David M. Jones Correspondence, Aug.-Dec. 1860
BOX 4: David M. Jones Family
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-April 1861
2 David M. Jones Correspondence, May-Aug. 1861
3 David M. Jones Correspondence, Sept.-Dec. 1861
4 David M. Jones Correspondence, Jan.-Feb. 1862
5 David M. Jones Correspondence, Mar.-June 1862
6 David M. Jones Correspondence, July-Dec. 1862
7 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1863
8 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1864
9 David M. Jones Correspondence, 1865
10 David M. Jones Correspondence, n.d.
11 Nellie Jones Correspondence, 1876-1904
12 Legal Correspondence, 1833-1858
13 Legal Correspondence, 1859-1864
14 David M. Jones--Legal Papers, 1850-1855
15 David M. Jones--Legal Papers, 1856-1859
16 David M. Jones--Legal Papers, 1860-1863, n.d.
17 David M. Jones--Court Docket
18 David M. Jones--Student Papers
19 David M. Jones--Speeches re: Temperance
20 David M. Jones--Speech re: Independence Day
21 David M. Jones--Writings to Newspapers
22 David M. Jones--Miscellaneous Writings
BOX 5: David M. Jones Family
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 (OM 98) David M. Jones--Certificates, Licenses, Diploma & Deed (See also: OM 98, Folders 1-2)
2 David M. Jones--Civil War Documents
3 David M. Jones--Miscellaneous
4 Nellie Jones--Diaries, May-Dec. 1894 & Jan. 1895-July 1896
5 Nellie Jones--Diaries, July-Oct. 1896 & Oct. 1896-Dec. 1897
6 Nellie Jones--Diaries, Jan. 1898-May 1899 & May-Aug. 1899
7 Nellie Jones--Aug. 1899-Aug. 1900
8 Nellie Jones--Aug. 1900-Nov. 1904
9 Nellie Jones--Nov. 1904-March 1905
BOX 6: Collett Family; Miscellaneous Materials
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Jones Family--Receipts and Accounts
2 Jones Family--Expense Book
3 Writings--Authorship Unknown
SERIES 3: COLLETT FAMILY
4 Collett Family--Correspondence, 1843-1845
5 Collett Family--Correspondence, 1846-1849
6 Collett Family--Correspondence, 1850-1860
7 Collett Family--Correspondence, 1908-1910
8 Collett Family--Correspondence, 1911-1929
9 Collett Family Genealogy, folder 1
10 Collett Family Genealogy, folder 2
11 Legal Papers re: "Collett vs. Butler University"
12 (OM 98) Ellen (Collett) Jones--Writings (See also: OM 98, Folder 3)
13 (OM 98) Collett Family--Newspaper Clippings (See also: OM 98, Folder 3)
14 Collett Family--Miscellaneous
SERIES 4: MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL
15 Miscellaneous--Legal Papers and Deed
16 Miscellaneous--John Bierbower Pocketbook
17 (BV 3182) Miscellaneous--R.W. Watkins & Co. Letterpress Book
MAIN ENTRY: Barner-Jones family papers, 1828-1971
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Barner family--Archives
Jones family--Archives
Collett family--Archives
Barner, John, 1810-1892
Jones, David Milton, 1828-1865
Collett, Sarah Groenendyke, 1804-1852
Jones, Ellen Collet, 1833-1924
Jones, Nellie, 1858-1905--Diaries
Terrell, William Henry Harrison, 1827-1884
Pettit, John, 1807-1877
Fletcher, Calvin, 1826-1903
Family archives--Indiana--Clinton County
Lawyers--Indiana--Newport
Postal service--Indiana--Frankfort--Postmasers
Phrenology--Indiana
Marriage records--Indiana--Clinton County
Autograph albums--Indiana--Clinton County
Clinton County (Ind.)--History--Sources
Vermillion County (Ind.)--History--Sources
Frankfort (Ind.)--History--Sources
Newport (Ind.)--History--Sources
END