PENSION FILE OF LUTICIA A. BARNES, TOPEKA, KS Information contributed by Cameron-Ashley Heath, copyright 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pension file of Luticia Anderson McComas Barnes The following is taken from a deposition/examination of Luticia Anderson McComas Barnes, daughter of Martin Anderson and Elizabeth Houck. Sworn testimony under oath 28 March 1917 Topeka, KS before F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions. I am 76 years of age, my post office address is 215 Clay St, Topeka, KS, occupation-none. My full name is Luticia A. Barnes, the letter A being for my maiden name Anderson, and I usually sign my name Luticia A. Barnes, and in case this pension is granted I desire my name to appear that way. I was born on January 28, 1841, near Marlboro, Stark County, Ohio, two miles from town. My age was recorded in our old family Bible but I do not know where the family record has gone to. My father’s name was Martin Anderson, my mother’s Elinore Houck. In 1850 we were living in Marlboro, Stark Co. OH, the place where I was born. My brother Thomas Jefferson and myself were the only members of the family at that time. My brother is 20 months older than I. In 1860 we were living in Jackson County, KS, Circleville being our post office and we were just about a mile from that place. I was first married to David R. McComas on the 12th day of April 1865, married at Circleville, Jackson Co. KS at the home of my parents, married by Rev. R.R. Ham, a Methodist Minister. We lived together there until his death on April 5, 1867. I was next married on April 16, 1873, to Milo Boudenot Barnes--married him at Kansas City, MO at the Pacific House. We were married by a Methodist minister but I did not know him and I cannot recall his name. The persons who were present at our marriage there in Kansas City were just members of the hotel at that time and they were strangers to me and I do not know their names. I have no marriage certificate showing that marriage and no record of any kind. At the time I married this Milo B. Barnes he was a resident of Topeka, KS, but his home before coming here had been Ottawa, Kansas. He had been married prior to my marriage to him and had a wife and family down there, but I do not know their names and cannot tell whether they are living or not. He had been divorced from his wife there in Ottawa. His home originally was in Ohio, in Williams County, but I do not know the name of the town and do not know the names of his relatives. After our marriage we lived for a time in Denver, Colorado and a time here in Topeka, and I was living here at the time of our separation, and shortly after our separation I filed for petition in the County Court here in Topeka for divorce from this husband and as shown by the copy of the divorce decree filed in the Pension Office on September 21, 1916, I was divorced from said Milo B. Barnes on the 18th day of December 1891. We had separated that same year. From the date of my divorce from this Milo B. Barnes, in 1891 to the present time, I have made my home in Topeka, KS, most of the time, and then for short periods I have visited my daughter Jessie (Barnes) Robb , wife of Henry S. Robb and their address is Muncie, PA. He is a farmer, and they live just a mile from Muncie. While I have been a resident of Topeka, I have made my home with my brother Thomas J. Anderson, until his death, and since his death with his widow. My brother has been dead five years this past January. -- Examiner: By whom can you prove you have not remarried since you divorced Milo B. Barnes? Maybelle Anderson, the widow of my brother, with whom I live and D.H. Forbes, the hardware merchant on Kansas Ave between 6th and 7th. I have no idea where this Milo B Barnes went to and cannot state whether he is living or not. After I was divorced from this Milo B Barnes I made my living by dressmaking. --On this 2 day of April 1917 at Topeka Cunty of Shawnee, State of Kansas before F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions appeared Celeste Forbes testifying in the case of Luticia Barnes: I am 64 years of age, my post office address is 703 Polk St., Topeka, KS. I am the wife of Daniel H. Forbes, hardware merchant. I am acquainted with the claimant in this case, Luticia Barnes, having known her since the year 1859, but not intimately acquainted with her until about 1875. My first knowledge of this claimant was in 1859 when I went to school with her for a short time at Valley Falls, KS, but I was just a child at that time. In 1865 her parents, Major Martin Anderson and family, moved to Topeka, KS and I knew her here, and then they moved back to Holton, KS, and then to California, and were gone for some years and I did not know much about her until about 1875. When they came here in 1865 she was the wife of David McComas, and I recall they brought him here to bury him after his death. I was not personally acquainted with him. Since 1875 this claimant has been a member of our household at various times, and my acquaintance with her has been such that I believe I am in a position to know about her affairs as much as anyone else. To the best of my information and belief this claimant was married twice and only twice. Mr. David McComas was her first husband and her second and last husband was a man named Barnes. I do not know what his given name was and I did not know him personally. From what little information I learned regarding this marriage it was not a happy marriage and it was a subject which I knew this claimant did not like to discuss and I never talked to her about it, and I do not know where she married him nor the year, but they did not live together a great while. I know they had one girl. I can state that from about the year 1875 to the present time this claimant has been with us at different times, and my acquaintance has been such that had this claimant been married during that period I believe I would have known it. Claimant has lived most of that time in Topeka and Holton, KS and a short time with her daughter in Pennsylvania, and while she could have remarried without my personal knowledge, if she had I feel confident she would have told me about it This claimant is highly respected and if there is any discrepancy in her statements on file in the Pension office, I believe it is due to some misunderstanding of the questions asked. She is quite aged and is very nervous which probably accounts for any mistatements. -- Case of Luticia Anderson (McComas) (Barnes) Testimony by Daniel H. Forbes 31 March 1917 Topeka Kansas before F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions. I am 66 years of age, my business address is 616 Kansas Ave, Topeka, KS. Occupation: hardware merchant. I am acquainted with the claimant in this case, Luticia Barnes, having known her for about 35 years, or since about the year 1881. She has been a member of our household on various occasions from that time to the present and at the present time is with a son of mine here in Topeka. My wife and this claimant have been very intimate and have known each other longer than I have known her. When I first became acquainted with this claimant she was known as Mrs. Barnes, which was, as I was informed, the name of her last husband. My understanding is that she has been married twice and only twice. The name of her first husband was McComas and her second and last, Barnes. I got this information from my wife, who knew claimant before she ever married. I do not known what the given name of this Mr. Barnes was as I was not acquainted with him, neither do I know what his business was. She has not been here in Topeka all the time since 1891, but knowing her as I do, I am sure had she remarried at any time since then she would have told us about it. She has visited some at Holton, Kansas with friends of hers, and also visited with her daughter in PA and she could have remarried without my personal knowledge, but I am sure she would have told us if she had. This claimant’s family were highly respected in this community, and I believe that whatever this claimant tells you can be relied upon. --- Statement of Mary E. Walker given in case of Luticia Anderson (McComas) (Barnes) on 30 March 1917 at Holton, Jackson Co. KS before F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions. I am 61 years of age, my post office address is Holton, KS, my occupation is Register of Deeds for Jackson County, KS. I am acquainted with the claimant in this case, Luticia Ann Barnes having known her since the year 1870. She was then known as Mrs. McComas and was the widow of David McComas, a soldier. I learned that he had been a soldier and had died of tuberculosis contracted while in the service. I did not know him. She was living with her father and mother there in Holton, KS and while living here she was married to a man by the name of Barnes. This man Barnes was living here at that time and was a tailor by trade and was boarding at the home of the father of this claimant, Major Martin Anderson. I cannot be real positive as to the given name of this Barnes, but a short time ago I received a paper from Mr. Coney of Topeka, asking me to sign the same, and that paper was prepared as it now is, and when I read that statement and came to the name of Milo B. Barnes it sounded familiar, and it is my belief that the name Milo B. Barnes is correct, and believing it was I signed the statement. This claimant and this man Barnes did not live together a great while, when they separated and she afterward secured a divorce from this Barnes and I was with her the night she paid her attorney for securing the divorce. She paid to to John S. Hopkins, Kansas and it was $10. This Mr. Hopkins is now dead. The Hopkins family were very intimate friends of this claimant. After this Luticia Barnes secured her divorce from this Mr. Barnes, the tailor, she has not remarried at any time to the present. She has been like a member of our family and I know positively that had she ever remarried at any time she would have told me of it. I am real sure she has been married but the two times, to David McComas and to this Barnes, whose name I feel pretty sure was Milo B. Barnes as that name sounds familiar. This claimant is highly respected by everyone and comes from a family of the very best citizens of this community, and I am sure anything she may say regarding her life would be the truth. --- Statement of Case Broderick 30 March 1917 at Holton, Jackson Co Kansas to F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions I am 77 years of age, my post office address is Holton, Kansas and occupation Retired Lawyer. I am acquainted with the claimant in this case, Luticia Barnes, having known her from shortly after the death of her first husband, Mr. McComas. She was the daughter of Major Martin Anderson, who was a major during the civil war and also at one time State Treasurer, and a man well known and highly respected in this community. I was acquainted with her first husband David McComas and her second husband Barnes, given name not recalled but he was a tailor and a cripple, and I never heard of any other marriage on the part of this claimant except these two. I will also add that from my knowledge of this Luticia Barnes I would believe implicitly in what she stated with respect to the number of marriages and the persons to whom she was married. I did not know of the divorce of this claimant from Barnes. --- Statement of May Bell Anderson , 28 March 1917 at Topeka, Kansas, County of Shawnee before F.E. Keith, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions in the case of Luticia Anderson (McComas) (Barnes) I am 50 years of age, my post office address is 215 Clay Street, Topeka, Kansas. I am the widow of Thomas J. Anderson , Major, General Staff, during the civil war and I am a pensioner on account of his service and death. I married Thomas J. Anderson on April 15, 1890 and I have known the claimant mentioned above ever since then. When I first became acquainted with this claimant she was the wife of Milo B Barnes, and she obtained a divorce from him here in Topeka after I married her brother. I did not know just at the time she secured the divorce but learned of it later. I did not know Milo B Barnes, her husband but have heard the name mentioned many a time and always heard the given name Milo, never heard im mentioned as William. Of course my late husband knew all about the divorce at the time but I did not hear of it until later. When I first became acquainted with this claimant she was living with her father, mother and brother, my late husband, and while she has not lived right with me from that time to the present, she has lived with me a great deal of the time and in this vicinity so that I have been intimately acquainted with her. I never heard of a William B. Barnes in connection with this claimant and have no idea where Mr. Coney (her attorney) got the name in fixing up her papers. -- Petition for Divorce In District Court Shawnee County, State of Kansas Luticia A. Barnes, Plaintiff vs. Milo B Barnes, Defendant Petition. The Plaintiff in the above entitled action Luticia A. Barnes complains of the above named defendant Milo B. Barnes and shows to this Court. I That the plaintiff is now and has been continuously an actual resident in good faith of the State of Kansas for 30 yers next preceding the filing of this petition, and is now a resident in good faith in this county. II.That on or about the 16th day of April A.D. 1873 at Kansas City State of Missouri plaintiff and defendant Milo B. Barnes were legally married, and ever since have been husband and wife. IIIThat the following child (and no other) was born of such marriage to wit Jessie E. Barnes age 16. IV. That said defendant on the __day of November 1877 abandoned plaintiff without any cause or excuse, and has ever since abandoned her, and said abandonment existed continuously for more than one year last past. V. That defendant is not possessed of any property to plaintiff’s knowledge or information. VI. That plaintiff is not the owner of any real property. VII. That plaintiff has always demeaned herself properly and acted toward her said husband as a faithful wife, and there is no fault on her part. Wherefore Plaintiff prays that she may be divorced from her said husband Milo B. Barnes on account of the fault of said Milo B. Barnes as set forth; that she may be entitled to hold and enjoy her personal property free from the control of her husband; that she be allowed the care and custody of said child; and that she have all equitable and proper relief and for costs of this action. Signed Luticia A Barnes 23 Oct 1891 Note: There was a 2nd document saying that the Sheriff could not make a service of summons on Milo B Barnes as he could not be found and is believed to be a nonresident now of the State of Kansas. In a later statement Luticia said “The last I heard of my husband, Milo B Barnes, he was some place in Texas, but I have no idea what the name of the place was, and I have not heard from him since before I secured my divorce. We corresponded for quite a while after our separation and before my divorce was granted, but my friends did not know about that. Milo B. Barnes was a tailor by trade, and a cripple. --- Dept of the Interior Bureau of Pensions Washington, D.C. Kansas City, MO April 11, 1917 Hon. Commissioner of Pensions: Sir: I have the honor to return herewith the papers in the above-cited case (Luticia Barnes formerly Luticia McComas, Shawnee Co. KS) and to submit my report therein. The papers in this case were referred to the S.E. Division to determine whether the Milo B. Barnes, from whom the claimant obtained a divorce on December 18, 1891, is identical with the William B. Barnes whom the claimant represented in her former claim she married on April 16, 1873, also whether she has remarried or otherwise forfeited title to pension since 1891; also to make a copy of her petition for divorce from said Barnes, and came to me for the initial examination. In compliance with instructions I called upon this claimant, advised her of her rights and privileges and served the usual notice. She waived the right to be present or represented at the taking of testimony, and was not but it was all read to her before her final statement. Claimant comes from a very highly respected family and is well thought of by all who know her. Her father, Major Martin Anderson was at one time State Treasurer and a major during the Civil War. Her brother, Thomas J. Anderson was also a major during the civil war. Claimant is now over 75 years of age and very nervous. She is also in poor shape financially, and she feels it keenly, having been quite prominent socially in her younger days. The witnesses in this case are the very best people in Topeka and Holton, and their testimony can be given full weight. I have been unable to learn of a single person who was personally acquainted with this man Barnes, but from what evidence I have been able to secure it tends to show that his name was Milo, or in any event this claimant was married but to one man surnamed Barnes, from whom she secured a divorce. The people with whom I talked spoke of this marriage as a “tragedy” and a subject which none of the members of the family wished to discuss, and that accounts largely for my inability to learn more of him. I have made a copy of the petitions filed by this claimant for divorce from said Barnes and the given name therein appears therein as Milo B., no reference being made to any person named William. I called upon Patrick H. Coney and looked at his records and he has the name entered in his book as William B., but could not say how he got it. I searched the marriage records in Independence, MO this day to see if a record was there of the marriage of this claimant to Barnes, but found nothing. At the time of their mariage no license was required, but it was customary for the officers performing the marriage to make returns to the proper court, but I have had other cases where no record was obtainable. I also searched the marriage records for Jackson and Shawnee counties , KS covering the period from 1891 to date but found no record of a marriage of this claimant to any person. My search was made under the surnames Anderson, McComas and Barnes. The evidence herewith is submitted for the consideration of the Chief of the Board of Review. Very respectfully, F.E. Keith, Special Examiner PS: Mrs. Isabella C. Pomeroy, who signed (document) BJ4 is in very bad shape physically, being confined to her bed and I did not like to disturb her. Her son is the present Probate Judge of Jackson Co. KS and her testimony can be given full weight. --- William F. Creitz East Portland, Oregon in the claim of Luticia Barnes, Widow of David R McComas Affidavit from Oregon, County of Multonmah taken 30 June 1890 William F Creitz, 61 years Former Captain of Company A, 5th Regiment, Kansas Cavalry Volunteers Said David R. McComas while in the line of his duty at or near Fort Scott, Kansas did on or about the 5th day of Sept 1861 become disabled in the following manner: Owing to the hardships, privation and severity of the exposure incident to our severe service in the campaigns of 1861, on the border of Missouri and Kansas, culminating in the battle of Drywood and Morris Town, and many other minor actions, said David R. McComas contracted a disease of the lungs, permanently disabling him for the performance of arduous duties, thereafter and necessitating his discharge in the spring of 1862 and resulting in his death from consumption some time after discharge--when he enlisted he was apparently a healthy and robust man. -- State of Kansas, County of Shawnee, Filed August 12, 1890 Statement of Martin Anderson and Thomas J. Anderson in the matter of Luticia Barnes, widow of David R. McComas Pension Application Martin Anderson, age 72 years, resident of Topeka, Kansas Thomas J Anderson, age 51 years, resident of Topeka, Kansas We knew the above named David R. McComas for nine years. We well remember and know of his being home from the Army on furlough sick with lung disease contracted in the army; this was in the Winter of 1862, and his home was at the town of Circleville, Jackson County, Kansas where he lay sick in the winter of 1862. That he contracted his fatal disease of lungs in the army we know for the reason that we well and intimately knew him before he enlisted and he was a sound, healthy, ablebodied man. He was discharged from the Army in May 1862, on account of his lung disease and then returned to his home at Circleville, Kansas where he resided until his death on April 5, 1867. We well knew him from his discharge from the army until his death and in fact knew him while he was in the army. From the time of the contraction of his lung disease in the army until his death he continuously suffered from his disease of lungs from which he died. He was buried in the Topeka Kansas Cemetery. --- Commissioner of Pensions Washington D.C. Dear Sir: I am enclosing Pension Certificate # 283156 of my mother Luticia A. Barnes who died March 19th, 1919 in Pittsburgh, PA. Jessie Barnes Robb 125 N. Craig St. Pittsburgh, PA Another address given on documents for Jessie E. Barnes Robb was: 153 N. Nigley Ave Pittsburgh, PA --- Paperwork indicated pension for Luticia Barnes was increased from $8 mo to $20 mo commencing September 21, 1916. Further increased to $25 mo on Oct 6, 1917. -- First husband David R McComas buried in Topeka Cemetery on 7 April 1867, Lot 10 Sect 13 Born 14 Feb 1837 Cabell Co VA to Sanders W. McComas who later moved from Platte Co MO to Circleville, Jackson Co KS. David R. McComas died 5 April 1867 -- -----------------------------------