James Monroe Barnhart

 Joseph Barnhart came to Texas and served in the Zanesville Riflemen attached to the 1^st Regt. Permanent Volunteers, T.A. Col. Rogers Command.  In the spring of 1839 he helped Dr. Thomas Kenney erect the first  settlement in Williamson County.  Kenney’s Fort was a home that served as a place of defense during Indian raids. Rendezvous of the Santa Fe Expedition, 1841. Here the archives of the Republic of Texas en route to Washington-on-the-Brazos were captured on December 31, 1842 and returned to Austin.

Mary Elizabeth Smith married Joseph Barnhart on June 25, 1841 in Travis County, TX.   They had 12 children and were loyal Texans in the central Texas area .  Their son James Monroe Barnhart married Rebecca Clark in 1866 - She died after the birth of Joseph Monroe Barnhart in 1867 - He then married Margaret Denson in 1868 and had 5 more children.  They moved to Childress County where they continued to raise their family.