Osborn Barnard
Osborn Barnard was born on November 12, 1822, in Dayton, Ohio. His family moved to McLean County, Illinois, in February 1840. He worked as a farmer near Bloomington, Illinois, and by 1850, he owned $3,000 of real estate. He may have moved to Texas in the 1850s, and he married Sarah M. Clemons there on December 29, 1855. Their daughter Cora was born around 1872. They also adopted a son named William, who was born around 1864. They lived in Dale, Illinois, and by 1860, he owned $7,000 of real estate and $20,000 of personal property. He supported the Republican Party, and local Republicans nominated him for a position as Commissioner of Highways in the spring of 1860.
In August 1862, he received a commission as a 1st lieutenant in Company I of the 94th Illinois Infantry. In February 1863, he lamented the consequences of war. On a quiet Sunday morning, he heard “no sound of church bell or merry laugh of school children.” Instead, he wrote, “you see them at home or at their deserted abodes in their scanty dress & shoeless feet…it makes my heart bleed for my country & an early restoration of peace.”
He remained committed to the Union cause, writing that the only way to end the war was “by a conquering of those that have brought it on & forsaken their families & homes & cast their fortunes with the wicked ones of the Rebellion.” His health deteriorated in the spring of 1863, and he resigned on June 29, 1863.
He settled in Bloomington after the war and resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $25,000 of real estate and $18,000 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in July 1890 and eventually secured one. By 1901, he owned $32,000 of real estate and $20,000 of personal property. A local writer described him as an “intelligent and successful farmer” who “enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.” He was “a man of noble character and his sterling integrity and courteous treatment endeared him to all who enjoyed close relations with him.” He died of “urenic poisoning” in Bloomington on June 23, 1901.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (4826) | Barnard, Osborn | 1822-11-12 | 1901-06-23 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: 1st Lieutenant
- Rank out: 1st Lieutenant
- Rank highest: 1st Lieutenant
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 34
- (13504) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 4 January 1862
- (13505) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 27 August 1862
- (13506) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 12 September 1862
- (13507) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 15 September 1862
- (13508) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 23 September 1862
- (13631) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Amos Barnard, undated
- (13632) [recipient] ~ Adelaide F. Barnard and Francis Barnard to Samuel Barnard and Osborn Barnard, 19 October 1862
- (13633) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 27 October 1862
- (13634) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 2 January 1863
- (13636) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 30 January 1863
- (13640) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 3 February 1863
- (13641) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard and Samuel Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 6 February 1863
- (13642) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 14 February 1863
- (13643) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 24 February 1863
- (13644) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 7 March 1863
- (13645) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 12 March 1863
- (13646) [recipient] ~ William Vandervoort to Osborn Barnard, 22 March 1863
- (13647) [recipient] ~ Benjamin S. Sutton to Osborn Barnard, 14 April 1863
- (13648) [recipient] ~ Amos Barnard to Osborn Barnard, 16 April 1863
- (13649) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 3 May 1863
- (13664) [recipient] ~ Francis Barnard to Osborn Barnard and Samuel Barnard, 6 May 1863
- (13665) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 6 May 1863
- (13666) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 17 May 1863
- (13667) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 31 May 1863
- (13668) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 5 June 1863
- (13669) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 6 June 1863
- (13670) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 7 June 1863
- (13671) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 9 June 1863
- (13672) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 15 June 1863
- (13673) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 19 June 1863
- (13686) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 24 June 1863
- (13687) [writer] ~ Osborn Barnard to Sarah M. Barnard, 10 November 1864
- (13688) [recipient] ~ Amos Barnard to Osborn Barnard, undated
- (13690) [recipient] ~ Joseph H. D. Street Receipt, 2 May 1853
People - Records: 7
- (4826) Barnard, Osborn is the [aunt/uncle of] (5515) Barnard, Adelaide F.
- (4827) Barnard, Sarah M. is the [wife of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
- (4854) Barnard, Samuel is the [sibling of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
- (5513) Barnard, Amos is the [sibling of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
- (5514) Barnard, Francis is the [sibling of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
- (5517) Sutton, Benjamin S. is the [sibling-in-law of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
- (5518) Barnard, William C. is the [sibling of] (4826) Barnard, Osborn
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 1
- (977) [officer] [I] ~ 94th Illinois Infantry
Groups - Records: 1
- (3) [member/supporter] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Texas Marriage Index, 1824-2014, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; The Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 31 March 1860, 28 June 1901; Osborn Barnard to Sarah Barnard, 14 February 1863, DL1899.013, Nau Collection
