|
|
||
Area researcher recognized for work on genealogy Date published: 3/2/2004 By SCOTT NEAL HEN DORIS Barnes and her husband retired to Orange County in 2001, she had no idea she was coming home to her roots. She knew about long-dead forebears in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Georgia. And she knew of Quaker ancestors in New Jersey and French Huguenot kin in Maryland. But Virginia? Orange County? She'd never imagined she was related to anybody who had ever set foot on the rolling hills of red dirt in Orange County. But Doris Barnes isn't a nationally recognized genealogist for no reason. Obsessed with painstakingly documenting the generations that have gone before, Barnes ultimately stumbled upon a distant grandfather who was a captain in the Continental Army and served in the American Revolution. Capt. Benjamin Head lived in Orange County. Barnes is descended from him through his son, Ensign James Head, who also fought in the Revolution and lived in Orange County. "You can't imagine how thrilling it was to learn about them," she said. "I am so proud to have ancestors who were right here in Orange County where I live. Who knows, I might be walking in their footsteps every day." Barnes lives at Lake of the Woods. She doesn't know where Benjamin and James Head lived in Orange County, but one of these days she hopes to learn more about them and "put some meat on their bones." For now, she's busy helping other people locate their ancestors. She's a founding member and organizing registrar of the Susannah Chandler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, formed in 2002. A pants-wearing, knee-slapping 72-year-old grandmother, Barnes defies the DAR stereotype of a prissy, blue-haired lady in a silk dress. The fact is, Barnes says, there is no typical DAR type, and her chapter includes members ranging from college age to their mid-90s. Genealogical research is part of her job as registrar. Prospective members must be able to prove lineage back to an ancestor who was a soldier or provided aid in the American fight for independence.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
|
|
|||||||||||||
