| Notes |
- J.C. BARNER, a prominent representative of the agricultural interests of Lamar township, Clinton Co, and one of its highly esteemed and honored citizens, is a native of the Co, his birth having occurred in Loganton, February 13, 1842.
Henry Barner, his grandfather, a well-known pioneer of this. section, left his old home in Perry county. Penn., when a young man, accompanied by his brother, George, who located at Liverpool, but he took up his residence on Sugar Valley Mountain, one mile north of Loganton, in Clinton Co, early in the present century.
He believed that the soil of the mountain was better than that in the valley, and the land was much cheaper. He did not long enjoy his new home, however, as his death occurred in 1820. His widow, who survived him for twenty-four years, was thus left with the care of a large family, twenty-one children having been born to them, of whom fifteen reached years of maturity.
The trials and hardships she was forced to endure in her primitive mountain home were many; the wild animals which haunted the forests often killed her cattle; and she was compelled to work early and late in order to keep her family together until they were able to care for themselves.
Her last years were spent with the father of our subject, who operated the old home farm, and there she passed away at the age of seventy-two, her remains being interred in the old cemetery in Sugar Valley.
Christian Barner, our subject’s father, was born on Sugar Valley Mountain, December 19,1816, and was the youngest child of Henry and Susanna (Bunce) Barner that lived to adult age.
As a farmer boy he was reared in the mountain home, and received a very limited education, as the nearest school was several miles distant and hard to reach. As soon as old enough he began learning the miller’s trade, but his health did not permit his following that occupation, so he took up the mason’s trade. All of his nine brothers who reached manhood had also learned some trade, and it was under the instruction of his brother Harmon that he mastered masonry.
As a young man he was employed at various places, but always considered the farm where he was born, “home”.
On October 20, 1839, in Penn’s Valley, Christian Barner was married by Rev. Fisher to Catharine Frazier, who was born February 24,1821 near Rebersburg, in Brush Valley, Centre Co, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bierly) Frazier., also natives of Brush Valley.
Her paternal grandfather was Ludwig Frazier, a pioneer of that Valley; and her maternal grandparents were John and Catharine (Garman)Bierly. Mrs. Barner is the oldest in a family of six children, of whom one died in infancy,and the others are as follows: Elizabeth, who died at the age of fourteen; John, who died in Huntingdon Co, Penn., in the fall of 1896; William, who died in Salona; and Jonathan, who died in Penn’s Valley. She was only ten years of age when her father died, but being the eldest she was forced to earn her own livelihood and help take care of the younger children. She accordingly worked as a domestic from the age of fourteen until her marriage. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, namely: J.C., of this sketch; George H., a resident of Lock Haven: Rebecca, wife of H. J. Brungard, of Lamar township, Clinton county; Sarah E., ow Mrs. J. Edward Bressler, of Renovo, Penn.; Nathaniel J., of Emporium, PA ; and Amanda C.. wife of John E. Furst, of Lamar township.
After their marriage the parents of our subject located in Loganton, where the father worked at his trade during the busy season, and in the winter chopped wood or engaged in threshing, receiving only one dollar per day as a mason and fifty cents per day as a laborer. From his small wages, however, he saved enough to purchase two lots, and upon one of these he built a residence, making Loganton his home for eight years. He then returned to the old homestead on Sugar Valley Mountain, as his mother was then in feeble health, and while living there she died. Later the place was divided into two parts and sold, Mr. Barner purchasing the portion on which the buildings stood. At the end of eight years, however, he sold and came to Nittany Valley, where he operated rented land for several years, and then bought a farm in Lamar township, which he subsequently sold at a profit. He traveled through Illinois and Iowa on a prospecting tour, but concluded to remain in Nittany Valley, and bought the farm where our subject now lives. In the summer of 1876, he built a very comfortable home at the east end of Salona, where he continued to reside while engaged in light farming until his death, which occurred in March, 1884, being laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery. For several years he was officially connected with the Lutheran Church, and in politics was always identified with the Democratic party. Although at his death he left a very comfortable property, he started in life for himself in very limited circumstances, but in his labors was ably assisted by his excellent wife, who was to him a true helpmeet. As a girl she had often worked in the hay field at twenty-five cents per day, and after her marriage aided in the work of the farm while her husband was employed at his trade. She is also a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, and is enjoying a well-earned rest at her pleasant home in Salona, where she is surrounded by loving kindred and friends.
In his native village, J. C. Barner began his education, but was never able to attend school more than four months out of the year. When about eight years old he accompanied his parents on their removal to the farm on Sugar Valley Mountain, after which his studies were often interrupted by farm work as he was the oldest child. He began to assist in the plowing at the age of thirteen, and continued to help in the cultivation of the farm until after the outbreak of the Civil war. In the summer of 1862, at Lock Haven, Mr. Barner enlisted in Company E,137th P. V. I., and from Harrisburg proceeded to Baltimore and thence to Washington, D. C., near which place the regiment went into camp. His first engagement was at South Mountain, which was followed by the battle of Antietam and all the other engagements in which his regiment took part during his ten-months’ service, including the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. He was honorably discharged at Harrisburg in 1863.
After his return from the army, Mr. Barner worked for his father until his marriage, which was celebrated in Clinton Co, in March, 1865, Miss Maggie A. Harter, a native of Penn’s Valley, and a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Wolf) Harter. becoming his wife. The children born to them are as follows: William H., a printer living in Meadville, Penn. ; Charles E., a machinist of Jersey Shore, who is married and has one child, Erma; Christian S., a machinist by trade, but now a farmer of Lamar township, who is married and has three children-Ira N., William J., and Margaret M . ; Henry A., a machinist; and George N., J. Wesley, Mary C. and Florence A.C., all at home.
For some time after his marriage our subject lived upon his father’s farm near Salona, and then rented the Samuel Segmund place until going to Iowa in 1869. In Audubon Co, his father-in-law owned a large tract of land, and our subject also purchased eighty acres there. He converted the wild land into a good farm, erected good buildings thereon, but at the end of three years and a half returned to Pennsylvania, and after renting his place in Iowa for two years sold it. As a renter he first located upon his present farm in Lamar township, Clinton Co, but after the death of his father he purchased the land, and under his able management and careful supervision it has become one of the most desirable places in the locality. He owns 132 acres of farming land and 21 acres of timber land in the home place and a small tract in the east end of Nittany Valley. In the course of his life he has paid out over $5,000 for rent, but he is now the owner of a most attractive and productive farm, which has been acquired through his own well-directed efforts and untiring energy.
Politically, Mr. Barner is an adherent of Democratic principles, and although he has served as school director, he has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office. Socially he is an honored member of John S. Bitner Post No. 122, G. A. R., and of the Grange, and, religiously, he and his wife both belong to the Lutheran Church, in which he has served as deacon for several years. In October, 1897, he was elected a deacon of the Lutheran Church at Salona for a term of two years. He was at one time superintendent of the Sunday-school in the east end of Nittany Valley. While in Iowa he was one of the leading members of the Lutheran Church of his locality, and served as superintendent of the Sunday-school. In January, 1898, he was elected one of the directors of the Salona creamery for the term of one year.
Pleasant and affable in manner, their circle of friends is only limited by their circle of acquaintances.
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1842 - 1914 (72 years) Has 12 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
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