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Note: uary in the newpaper of Farmington, New Mexico, Cemetery records of Greenlawn Cemetery, Farmington, New Mexico BURIAL: Greenlawn Cemetery, Farmington, San Juan County, New Mexico. (Find A Grave.com) Elizabeth Funk Barnes, b: 1868 d: Oct 2, 1954 1880; Census Place: White Oak, Harrison, Missouri; Roll T9_689; Family History Film: 1254689; Page: 183.4000; Enumeration District: 301; Image: 0242. Dated: 17 June 1880, Family #126 John Funk, age 51, born in Ohio farmer Nancy J Funk, age 39, wife, born in Virginia Sarah Funk, age 13, daughter, born in Missouri Elizabeth Funk, age 12, daughter, born in Missouri Mary Funk, age 9, daughter, born in Missouri Adam Funk, age 4, son, born in Missouri 1900 CENSUS, Brunswick, Chariton, Missouri, 20 June 1900, Family #194, Roll T623_847, Dist 30 Wife: Elizabeth Barnes age 30, F, 4/3 Children, born Jan 1878 in Missouri, Father Ohio, Mother WV 1910 CENSUS, Farmington, San Juan County, NM, 11 May, 1910, Roll: T624_917, Pg 13B, Dist 191 Head: Elizebeth Barnes age 42, F, Wd, born in Missouri, Father born in Ohio, Mother born in Va 1920 CENSUS, Farmington, San Juan, NM, 21 Jan 1920, pg 11A, Dist 116, Fam 101 Head: Elizabeth Barnes age 51, F, Wd, born in Missouri, Father born in Ohio, Mother born in Va 1930 CENSUS Dist 14 Farmington, San Juan, NM, 4 Apr 1930, Roll 1398, Page 2A, Image 725.0 Head: Elizabeth Barnes age 62, F, Wd, birth Missouri, Father birth Ohio, Mother birth Virginia 1940 Census: Glendale, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_229; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 19-178, Dated: 19 April 1940, Family #192 Albert Torsell, age 39, head, born in Colorado, master carpenter, building construction, 5 years previous lived in Terrero, San Miguel, New Mexico Elizabeth Barnes, age 72, mother--in-law, widowed, born in Missouri, 5 years previous lived in Farmington, San Juan, New Mexico HISTORY “Grandmother Barnes” Elizabeth Funk Barnes Memories as told by Herbert Weldon, Grandson For as long as I knew her, Grandmother Barnes lived in her two story clapboard house one block from Main Street in Farmington, New Mexico. She was Grandmother to the Barnes kids, the Brown kids, the Weldon kids and others who came to love her. Some neighbors thought of her as that lovely old lady with her quaint ways who lives in that weathered old house on Arrington Street. But to us, she was “Grandmother” in gilded letters She was born Elizabeth Funk, a direct descendent of Henry Funck, the first Mennonite Bishop in the United States. Her father, John Funk, had left the Mennonite faith to join the Presbyterian Church. Even so, many of the Mennonite habits passed down to our Grandmother: She was always in her ankle length dress - never in slacks or shorts. While tending her flowers, she wore a pilgrim style bonnet and talked softly to the blossoms. She was dutiful in her tithing. At her death she left two envelopes in her bureau drawer; one was labeled “My Money” and the other “The Lord’s Money”. One morning after my coffee-drinking days in the armed forces, I joined this grandmother for “Teakettle Tea” – hot water from the teakettle with just a pinch of sugar. And John Denver had it right! Grandmother had a featherbed that was used by all of her grandkids. Before her family finally brought plumbing to the house, daily trips were made to the front yard for cistern water,and to the “Out Back” when that facility was needed. And always, Grandmother was the kindest, most gentle lady who spent every day in the service of her Lord. A report from the Church History Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Farmington stated: “Elizabeth was a devoted church member, a faithful member of the Ladies Aid Society and for many years taught a Sunday School Class. The women’s society served a luncheon for the Rotary Club meeting every Wednesday for many years and Elizabeth always elected to peel the potatoes; her contemporaries said she must have peeled mountains of them!” “The Barnes’ home was renown for its beautiful gardens. Mrs. Barnes loved flowers and spent several hours every morning during the spring and summer months weeding and watering. Occasionally neighborhood children would play in her front yard and inevitably would disturb the flower beds. She made and erected a small sign in her front yard which read: “THE GOLDEN RULE: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” Elizabeth was also a talented quilter and many homes in early Farmington had quilts adorned with her fine needlework.” “Mrs. Barnes was described by those who knew her as a gentle soul who lived her Christian religion in a heart-warming way. She continued to live in her home on Arrington and contributed her talents to the church until her death in 1955. In 1966, members of the local United Presbyterian Woman renamed their five fellowship circles for women in the early local church who exemplified the characteristics of faithfulness; Elizabeth Barnes was one of those selected for this singular honor.” MEMORIES OF GRANDMOTHER by Richard Knight Barnes, Grandson As you asked, the very fond memories of Grandma Elizabeth are of very soft loving hands. They were wrinkled, but so very soft. She always had a small kiss for me when I woke up in the morning, and for sure when I went to bed at night. Grandma was a very religious person, reading the Bible every morning around the breakfast table and she always had a cup of hot water sipping it. I used to ask her how she could drink it with no flavor, so she put a little sugar in mine, so I would drink it with her. Her home was a wooden board and bat siding that had been a barn. You could see around the outside of the home where there used to be large doors for a hay wagon to get in and out. For the longest time, Grandma did not have running water in her house. She used a small outhouse in the back yard, and she had a well in the front yard with a pulley and bucket. We would go out and get a bucket of water and bring in the house for drinking and cooking and doing dishes. When we ran out, then it was back to the well for more water. Grandma was always horrified at swearing and I remember when Uncle Omar and Dad were hanging cupboards in Grandma’s kitchen (after she finally got running water), the hammer slipped and hit Uncle Omar in the head, and he let out a string of cuss words a mile long. Grandma got up, got a bar of soap and proceeded to wash his mouth out with soap. I remember Keith Ruesch and I taking Grandma back to Farmington from Springdale when she had come to stay with us. Dad had us use a Model A Ford and when we got to Winslow, Arizona, the car broke down and we had to get a motel and wait for Uncle Omar to come from Rattlesnake, New Mexico, to get her. Needless-to-say, neither he nor Dad was very pleased with me, but Grandma said, “WELL THINGS HAPPEN when you send a kid to do a man’s job. Of course, that made matters worse and from that point on it was bad. My Memory of My Grandmother Elizabeth Funk Barnes - by Sandra Barnes Lamb I never knew my grandmother, really knew her, as I had only seen her twice before she passed away. But I learned to admire her so for her goodness, her strength and courage and her devotion to the Lord. I learned much about her not from her son, my father, but rather from my mother who described her with much love and tenderness. Because I admired her so, I chose to name my only daughter after her. After the death of Charles, her husband, Elizabeth was left alone with her six children and pregnant with another little boy. Her husband’s attorney friend talked her into investing what little money she had and subsequently lost it all for her. In the tape recording by my father, he tells of the destitute status of his mother and little family; how his mother took in hand-sewing in order to provide for her children; how they barely had enough to eat and the home they finally ended up living in was a little shack which let in daylight between the wooden planks.
Note: DEATH: Funeral program from Cope Mortuary, Farmington, New Mexico. Obit
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