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In 1940, Capt John Barksdale published our first comprehensive family
history. However, the technological tools available to us today were
not available to him at the time of his writing. During the summer of
2003, I discovered the gems that are the Virginia Historical Society
library and the Library of Virginia. During a 30-day research blitz, I
was able to fill-in the gaps of Capt Barksdale's research from the
archived holdings of those two libraries. Thus, the catalyst to turn
my research into a manuscript was inaugurated sitting at the tables of
those libraries.
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Groves' research into his maternal ancestors began at the millennium
due, in large part, to the colorful family stories he recalled his
mother and her siblings sharing during his childhood. Family
chronicles define and preserve the contributions of ancestors to their
families and communities. Through a study of our roots, we gain an
appreciation of what helped shape us as individuals and citizens. This
edition captures but a small part of the Barksdale family as it starts
out in the New World. As followed through the lineage of John
Hickerson Barksdale, early ancestors began forging a life for
themselves in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas
and Arkansas. They courageously served their country in the
Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. Some dipped
their toes into the political waters of our country and served their
communities, states and nation as elected officials. Using their
creativeness, they turned resources available to them into
entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture, merchandising, and
manufacturing. Some heard a higher calling and faced the moral issues
of the time from rural pulpits. Indeed, the early Barksdale ancestors
played a vital role in shaping the communities where they settled and
the environment into which following generations were born.
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