Soldier Information
Name: John Barnett
Alias: John H. Adams
Place of Birth: Hardin KY Year of Birth: 1843
Occupation: Farmhand
Eyes: Dark Hair: Dark Complexion: Dark
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 6.5
View Ledger
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: July 18, 1864
Enlistment Place: Louisville
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District: 5th
Company: C Regiment(s): 107th USCI
Mustered Where: Louisville, KY
Mustered Out Date: November 22, 1866
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
Throughout the CMSR, the soldier is referred to as either “John Barnett” or “John Bonnet”
On pg 19 of 26 the muster roll says “J. Bonnett” with a red asterisk with a note that says ‘name appears also as Chap (?) Barnett’ – also states various detachment locations: June 1865 Absent on detached service Morehead City, NC; Dec 1865 Absent det (detached) service guard Dec 14, 1865 Camp Dis, Va; Jan 1866 On duty as guard and teamster at Camp Distribution, VA.
The USCT Enlistment Form has the soldiers name as John Bonnett; in the lower left hand corner of the form is a signature which is high likely of the enslaver’s — again, it appears as the abbreviation for Joseph (it is written incursive with a J..and letter ‘o’ ? and then Barnett)
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date: June 3, 1912
Cause of Death: Unknown
Soldier Pension Information
Pension Card Link: Pension Card
Pension Application Date: November 30, 1888
Application No.: 680484 Certificate No.: 1043213
Alternate First Name: John H Alternate Last Name: Adams
Widow Pension Information
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: December 27, 1916
Application No.: 1076488 Certificate No.: 875780
No other family pension card found
Pension File Information
Pension File:
Pensioners:
Pensioner County: Pensioner State: MD
Number of Pages:
Pension Notes:
Two pension index cards were retrieved for John Barnett aka John H. Adams; one at Fold3.com and the second at Ancestry.com. The dates, application and certificate numbers are the same on both cards. The Ancestry index card noted the name of the soldier’s widow, Annie E. S. Adams. The soldier’s invalid and the widow’s applications were approved for benefits.
A Veterans Administration Pension Payment card was retrieved for Annie E. S. Adams. showing the original start date and rate and an increased rate in 1917. The source is linked to Annie’s family tree profile. The Veterans Administration Pension Payment card reflecting John H Adams’ invalid benefits was also retrieved, and the source is linke to the soldier’s family tree profile.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
Freedman’s Bank Link: View
Freedman’s Bank Notes:
“Record was found under John Barnett (vs. Adams)
Residence address is Hardin County, KY; also has residence as Washington DC
Bank location: Washington DC
Relation to Head: Self (head)
Complexion: 5.3 Dark
Military Company: 107 Co. C
Description: Roll 04: Washington, District of Columbia; Jul 11, 1865-Dec 30, 1871
Account number: 56
Master: Joseph Barnett
Mistress: Martha (?) A.”
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Family Information
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Julia Maiden Name: Jackson
Wife #2 First Name: Annie Maiden Name: Scott
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: John Quincy Adams 1872
Florence Adams 1876
William Adams 1878
Simon Adams 1880
Family Notes:
Basil Adams was born in 1865 and shows up in the census for John and Julia Adams, but with his birth year at 1865, and with John Adams still in the USCT until 1866 there is a possibility that Basil was born from a previous/different relationship.
The children listed under John Adams and Annie Adams: William Adams (1886); Catherine Adams (1893); Dora Adams (1901) may have also come from a previous/different relationship with Annie Adams.
Additional side note: It should be noted that while records for John Adams indicate he was born in Kentucky (some say Meade county, some say Hardin county), I’ve come across a number of records that reference John Adams, for example, censuses of his grown children that ask where their parents were born, and they tend to say he was born in Maryland. It seems most of Julia’s family, as well as Annie’s were all from the Maryland/DC area and perhaps over time it was assumed John Adams may have been born in Maryland, as well.
Family Tree:
View Family Tree on Ancestry.com Please note: this requires a paid Ancestry.com account to view
1870 Census
1870 Census information not found
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: Works on farm
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1880 Census Notes:
Census is under John ADAMS
Age: 36
Birth date: about 1844
Birthplace: KY
Home in 1880: Medleys, Montgomery, MD
Dwelling: 48
Race/Gender: Black, Male
Married to: Julia Adams
Both parents born in KY
Works on farm
Cannot read/write
Others in household aside from Julia (wife):
Basil: son, 15 yo
John Quincy: son, 8 yo
Florence: daughter, 4 yo
William: son, 2
Mille Jackson: mother in law, 61 yo (Julia’s mother, likely?)
Limon (sp?)* Adams: grandson, 1 1/2 yo (Grandson to Millie Jackson? Census states both parents of Limon were born in Maryland, however John Adams was born in KY according to other records.)
Mary Countee: niece, 12 yo.
*Ancestry records show a correction was made to the transcription: Limon = Simon
1890 Census
1890 Vet/Widow Census: View
1890 Census Notes:
John Adams
Private (rank)
Role: Veteran
Residence date: 1890, Poolesville, Montgomery, MD
Enum district: 129
Enlistment date: July 1862
Discharge: 1866
107th Reg
Company C
Length of Service: 6 months
1900 Census
1900 Census information not found
1910 Census
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: Farm Laborer
1910 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1910 Own/Rent: Own 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Free 1910 Farm/House: House
1910 Census Notes:
Children in household: William Adams, son, 24 yo; Catherine Adams, daughter, 17 yo; Dora Adams daughter 9 yo; also, an uncle, Eli Brooks, 59 yo.
Note 1 of 3: ** Catherine and Dora Adams were likely born to Annie Scott in a previous relationship based on their ages/years of birth. While William is also likely born to Annie from a previous relationship, note that in the 1880 census John and *Julia* Adams had a son named William who was 2 yo at the time. If one were to conclude that these two Williams were the same person in the census, consider that this does pose an age difference of about 8 years in the record (based on the 1880 census William would be 32 in 1910; the William listed in the 1910 census is 24 yo).
With that said, they are likely *not* the same individual but I can’t be 100% conclusive. Additionally, the *name* William shows up in the 1880 census with parents John and Julia Adams, and does not appear again until the 1910 census under John and Annie (Scott) Adams. A search for William Adams in a 1900 census shows him at age 22 and married to a Laura J Adams. They are living in Poolesville, Montgomery, MD which is where John and Julia Adams were living in 1900 (William was not in this census but neither were his siblings). The dwelling next over on the 1900 census for William Adams shows a Black family with the surname Jackson — this could indicate that they are indeed two different William Adams…
Note 2 of 3: In the 1900 census, John Adams was still married to Julia (Jackson) Adams. Here, in the 1910 census, he is now married to Annie (Scott) Adams. The 1910 census indicates that this is both their second marriage, and that they have been married to each other for 6 years. This would mean that they were married around 1904. I was unable to find Julia (Jackson) Adams in the 1910 and 1920 census. However, I did find a death record for a Julia Jackson, birth year 1845, age 61, with a death date of May 9, 1906 in Jefferson, Louisiana. This is likely a stretch as I have not been able to find anything that would indicate Julia Jackson moving to Louisiana but this does not mean she did not.
Note 3 of 3: Based on this census, John Adams was born in 1845 (other sources put his birth at 1843). The spouse’s name, Annie, corroborates with other records. Also, Annie Adams filed for widow’s pension in 1916, 4 years after John Adams’ death, from Washington DC. So the likelihood that their home was in Maryland in 1910 is highly probable. John Adams died in 1912, so this is his last census.
1920 Census
1920 Census Link: View
1920 Profession: Laundress
1920 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1920 Own/Rent: Rent 1920 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1920 Farm/House: Unknown
1920 Census Notes:
The 1920 census (Washington DC) shows widow Annie Adams as living alone and head of household, occupation is laundress.
At the same address, an Edward Hall listed as head of household and his wife Cassie (Hall) who is Annie and John’s daughter born Catherine, 25 yo.
Within Edward and Cassie’s household is a daughter named Rebecca.
It also lists Dora Jackson, single, as daughter — Dora is the daughter of Annie and sibling of Cassie (Catherine), not a daughter of Cassie.
After Dora Jackson, there is a two yo listed as daughter, named Genevieve Jones…this is likley (?) Dora’s daughter (Annie’s granddaughter).
Side note: Cassie’s husband, Edward Hall’s occupation is listed as Army.
Enslaver Information
Name: Joseph Barnett Location: Hardin County, KY
Previous Enslaver:
Enslaver Notes:
On the 1860 Slave Schedule, the gender of the enslaved were not included. Of the four enslaved individuals, there is one who was 14 years old. Without knowing the gender of the enslaved, this age would be closest to that of the soldier…apprx 2.5/3 years apart.
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census Link: View
1850 Number of Enslaved:
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: 3000 1860 Personal Estate Value: 2500
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 4
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: 1500 1870 Personal Estate Value: 400
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Application not found