Grant County Indiana BARLEY A family cemetery containing evidence of only six burials may be found on the old Barley farm. This site overlooks Lugar Creek as it nears its junction with the Mississinewa River. Three miles east of Marion on State Road #18 and one half mile south on the Troyer Road is this fine old pioneer home. It nestles in the shelter of a hill above the creek. Atop the hill are some shrubs and old trees where an orchard once grew. To the north-west of the orchard is the old family burying ground. The above was written by the DAR in the 1940's. I visited this cemetery in the fall of 1996. I must say it was difficult to locate. One thing I want to say here is the Mississinewa River, as mentioned above, is more than a mile and a half from this cemetery. This property was, in 1990, in the hands of Irving Brothers. In 1990 they owned the north 80 acres of the original Barley Homestead. The part of the farm we are concerned with is the northeast 80 acres, the east 1/2 of the north east 1/4 of Section 10 Twp. 24 N. Range 8 East. This part of the Barley Homestead was located on the southwest corner of Old State Rd. 18 and 400 E. 400 E. is referenced above as the Troyer Road. After several inquiries I was able to pinpoint the area this cemetery was supposed to be in. After my husband made two trips alone, back into this rugged area trying to locate it, I decided to go along. I was amazed at finding what had apparently been the Barley Homestead. Of course time and many other families after the Barley's have erased, probably, all traces of them, but still many things were very old. Several small areas are fenced in with old pegged boards. These pegged boards were probably from the original Barley Homestead. Evidence of the beginnings of Grant County. The corner posts were made of 12 inch hewed timbers. Most of them were rotting away, but it was quite a sight. The old house that once stood there has burned down, leaving only one very old brick wall and a newer chimney still standing. along with newer concrete block walls. Apparently this house had been built on to many times. There is now a basement under where the house once stood. Someone had boarded up portions of the house that were still standing after the fire, probably to keep stock from falling into it. Behind the house was a dug well, with limestone lining the walls. There was also an old cistern under what once was an eave of the house. Several outbuildings lay on the ground in decay. Just north of this homestead, on higher ground, had been an old orchard. There are no signs of any fruit trees there now. Just north of this orchard and across what appears to be an old road, perhaps 500 feet, on higher ground, was where I found the old stones. From the reading you can see only 2 were found and one base. From Grant County History books we find that Henry Barley moved from this farm in 1869, when he bought the old Conners Mill. So from 1838 (his time of settlement) until 1869 many graves could have been here. One source says he, with his brother A.R. Barley, came with their father, Conrad Barley. I have not found where the father was buried. The base I found, was for a much larger stone than the two I found. I feel it was probably for Catherine Snyder, wife of Jacob Snyder. These stones were by a pile of field stones, near an old fence that seems to just stop at this point. I also found a roll of fence wire rolled up that had a scalloped top on it. This may have once been around this cemetery. The DAR says the cemetery was northwest of the orchard, but this would have been impossible because to the northwest of the orchard is a very deep and wide ravine. The stones may have been moved to this location, from somewhere else on this old farm. There is no way of knowing that now. I have included a detailed map of the farm, as I found it in1996. Hopefully in another 50 years others will be able to find where this family plot was once located. *Denotes a stone not found at this time. Barley, Jacob son of Jacob & Mary Barley died Jan. 18, 1856 aged 21y.9m.30d. * Louisa died April 28, 1845 aged 20 days. Mary E. dau of G.W. & M. Barley died Oct. 25, 1860 aged 4y.7m.27d. * Matilda dau of Henry & Mary Barley died Sep. 9, 1847 aged 8m.27d. Snyder, * Catherine wife of Jacob Snyder died Apr. 7, 1860 aged 72y. "She was a member of the Lutheran Church." ------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sheila D. Watson (© 1997 Sheila D. Watson)