John and Jacqueline Barnes Papers regarding the Farmington Mine Disaster
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4532
Papers collected by the Barnes family of WV and Ohio regarding the Farmington Mine Disaster (1968 November 20) and its aftermath. Includes newspaper and clippings; letters of support from the Methodist Church and others to Rev. John Barnes; letters from both their mothers to his wife, Jacqueline Barnes; a handwritten narrative account by Jacqueline Barnes; and other material such as official reports from the coal company, Consol. Includes full issues (1968-1973) of various newspapers, mostly The Fairmont Times and The West Virginian (Fairmont, WV), and magazines from the national press, the United Methodist Church, and the United Mine Workers of America. Box 1 (1954-2009) contains the first-hand account, correspondence, reports, and some of the periodicals. Box 2 (1968 November 12-1973 October 11, 1993-2010) contains the newsapers and other periodicals such as Life Magazine.
This collection is minimally processed.
No special access restriction applies.
The donor of this collection has transferred rights to the intellectual property they created to the Center. For more information regarding permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the West Virginia and Regional History Center.
Rev. John Addison Barnes (1935-2020) was born in Buckhannon, WV to the late Edward Gorby Barnes and Mary Vestine (Lowe) Barnes. After moving to Cincinnati, OH, John graduated from the Ohio State School for the Blind before attending Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH. He went on to study theology at Emory University and served as an Elder and Pastor in the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 1959, John married Jacqueline Byrge (1938-2007) in Cincinnati, OH. Following John’s ordination into the ministry, the young couple served a number of congregations together across West Virginia over 38 years: Bramwell, Corinth, Logansport, Farmington, Rowlesburg, Cairo, Parsons, Johnson Ave. (Bridgeport), Belington, Big Tygart (Mineral Wells), Red Hill/Murphytown (Parkersburg), Blue Jay/Beaver, Lesage, Man, and Walnut St. (Franklin). Over the course of his ministry in West Virginia, John worked to increase the access and inclusion of individuals with handicapping conditions. He served two quadrennia on the United Methodist Church General Conference’s Communications Committee (UMCOM), where he introduced national legislation to grant universal access and inclusion for the handicapped in the United Methodist Church. After his retirement, John became a proud inductee of the Ohio State School for the Blind Hall of Fame.
Rev. John Barnes was the pastor of the James Fork United Metodist Church in Farmington, West Virginia, at the time of the explosion of Consol No. 9 Mine on 1968 November 20 when 78 miners lost their lives. The church, a few hundred yards from the mine entrance and the rescue operation, was pivotal in ministering to the miners and their families. Jacqueline Byrge Barnes, John's wife, collected newspapers and other materials to document the disaster and also wrote a personal narrative of the event.
0.54 Linear Feet (1 document case, 2.5 in.; 1 flat storage box, 4 in.)
English
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Gift of Musgrave, Grace, 2019 August 29.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository