Henry Barner

     Henry Barner was born on 1 June 1799 at Berks or Northampton County (?), Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry Barner and Susanna Bunce. Henry Barner married, at age 29, Catherine Kern, age 22, daughter of Jacob Kern and Susanna [—?—], on Sunday, 24 May 1829. Henry Barner died on 3 October 1876 at Greene Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, at age 77 years, 4 months and 2 days. He was buried in the Mount Union (Bixler) Cemetery, located in Greene Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
     Born 1 June 1799 - died in 1876 in Greene Twp., Clinton Co., PA - buried in Mt. Union Cemetery, up the mountain from Carroll, PA. He came with his father, John Henry Barner, in April of 1807 to the 400 acre tract of land 1 mile north of Loganton, PA. Henry grew up there and had a fair education, since he could read and write and was the principal executor of his father's estate, by the terms of the will John Henry Barner who died in 1822.

After the death of his father, he continued to live on the home farm with his mother and brothers and sisters, many of whom were still very young, while trying to establish his own large family. Married 14 May 1829 to Catharine Kern, born 2 July 1806, daughter of Jacob and Susanna Kern. Catherine died 10 February 1891 and was buried beside he husband in the Mt. Union Cemetery. After marriage, Henry continued to live on the home farm and keep his mother and both families, his own and those brothers and sisters that still lived at home.

In 1830, Henry and his brother, John, took out warrants for 300 acres of land each, in Logan Township, Centre County (now Clinton County). The two brothers never picked up the warrants, so the tracts of 300 acres were purchased by someone else.

On 2 September 1840 Henry Barner did purchase land, a tract of 300 acres along with David Myers, in Logan Township (now Greene Township), Clinton County from Lewis Passmore, John Moore, David Stewart and James Hale. Henry must have decided that with his growing family he needed a home and land of his own, by this time 7 of his 13 children had been born, while still living at home with his mother.

This tract of land is located in the eastern end of Sugar Valley, Greene Township, Clinton County, and does indeed lie near the 'Big Sink' as Henry tells his brother George. Fishing Creek flows through the southern portion of his tract before disappearing into the 'Big Sink', which can be seen on the road between Carroll and Eastville. This same road is a part of the western boundary of Henry's 300 acres. The road from Loganton (through the valley east and west) called 'The Summer Road', Route 880, turns left in Carroll and continues on over the mountain to Nipponese Valley, etc. The portion of the road that takes us to I-80 and through the eastern end of Sugar Valley and to White Deer, is called the White Deer Turnpike. From the top of the mountain, north of the 300 acres, flows another small mountain stream, on which Henry located a sawmill in 1845. There are 3 old homes located here on this acreage, any one of which could have been the house and buildings he mentions in his letter to George. Two of these are known to be the Schroyer homes. The other was located beside the stream, and it is my guess that this was Henry's home. Besides the 3 homes just mentioned, the small village of Carroll is located at the crossroads on this 300 acre tract. Linn's History, published in 1883, states that 'Carroll has a store, owned by D. A. Clark, a blacksmith shop owned by Mr. Knauff, a carpenter shop owned by I. D. Barner, a sawmill owned by Hiram Murray and J. P. Barner, a postoffice run by I. D. Barner and 12 or so dwellings.' Also an Evangelical Church was built next to Israel Barner's home.

Henry Barner and David Myers were unable to pay their mortgage; so on 27 December 1850, Henry's land was sold at Sheriff's sale to James Hale, one of the original four who sold it to Henry and David in 1840. James Hale was very helpful and lenient to the Barners in their efforts to hold the 300 acres, for four months after buying the land at Sheriff's sale, 4 April 1851, he sells the same back to Henry Barner. James Hale may have been a friend of Henry's for he seems to have helped him at this point, by extending the length of time to make his payments. He now has four years, until 1855 to pay for it, (mortgage book A, page 297). But once more he is unable to satisfy his mortgage, and the tract went back to James Hale, although Henry continued to live there. On 7 July 1863 Jacob and Emmanuel Barner, Henry's sons, tried to help save their 300 acres, by entering into a contract with James Hale, buying the 300 acres for $7000, eight years to pay, their last payment due in 1872. Before making this contract with Jacob and Emmanuel Barner, James Hale sold three parcels of the 300 acres to George W. Barner, Alfred Moyer and Catharine Barner (wife of Israel) for a total of $840 which was applied to the first payment. Now Jacob and Emmanuel lost the sawmill in 1865 (Assessment Records say that something happened to the sawmill - one word was illegible, but could have been 'burned'). After that the land was transferred to the Schroyers, according to the Assessment Records, so Jacob and Emmanuel must have had financial trouble after losing the sawmill.

Now James Hale, friend of the Barners, died 6 April 1865. In the settling of his estate at Orphan's Court in April of 1866, the court adjudged the facts of the contract, and on 22 April 1872, the Schroyers made the last payment and a deed was made out for the tract which was now 234 acres. Daniel and David Schroyer sold other parcels and in 1877 partitioned the land. Daniel taking 64 acres on the western side and David 81 acres on the eastern side. The two brothers had sold the parcels before they divided the land.

Of the 13 children that Henry and Catharine 'Kern' Barner had, 11 lived to maturity, most of them locating either on or near their father's home and the 300 acres.