Luther Barney was the oldest son of Charles and Mercy Yeoman Barney. Luther, his father Charles, and several of his brothers joined the Mormon church, and were encouraged to move to near Nauvoo, Illinois, along with many other Mormon converts. Later, Luther and his wife Lucinda Seymour were the first of the Barneys to participate in the spiritual ordinances of the not-quite-completed Nauvoo Mormon Temple in early February 1846. However, armed neighboring groups forced the Mormons to abandon their farms and the town of Nauvoo, and force relocate to the Council Bluffs area, beginning in June 1846. These events included the murder of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith near Nauvoo; and the new Mormon church leader became Brigham Young. During this very difficult relocation period, Luther suffered with and overcame the diseases of cholera and malaria. All the Barney families farmed in this area for about eight years, and by 1856 had all been called by the church to emigrate to Utah. The summary of Barneys and their assets who actually emigrated to Utah from Iowa reads: Charles (three males, three females, one wagon, six oxen, and six cows); Lewis (five males, two females, two wagons, two oxen, four cows, two horses, and one young stock); John (two males, one female, one wagon, four cows); and Benjamin (three males, two females, one wagon, four oxen, two cows, four young stock). However, for unknown reasons, Luther, the first of the Barneys to embrace Mormonism, chose an alternative to emigrating to Utah. Whether Luther found disagreement with his family or with his religion or just took another direction in life, Charles’s oldest son would never be seen by his father or siblings again. Perhaps remembering reports of his younger brothers’ venture in Arkansas in the late 1830's, Luther took his family south to Benton County, in northwestern Arkansas, and established a home in Beatie's Prairie Township, near Maysville, Arkansas. Working away from this home to sustain his family, Luther died in 1860 while in nearby Oklahoma Indian Territory. In the next few years following his death in 1860, the area around the family farm became an extremely dangerous area due to Civil War battles, and lawlessness. At least two sons joined the 16th Missouri Infantry (Confederate) after the death of Luther. Family lore is that six of the sons joined the civil war, but only one son returned from the war. Later genealogy research indicates son Charles lived near Chelsea, Oklahoma, and sons Luther and James lived near Camp Verde, Arizona. Luther's wife Lucinda must have moved to the Camp Verde area, apparently to be near her sons Luther and James, as family records indicate she died near there in 1882.

1850 United States Census, District 21, Pottawatomie Co., Iowa:
Luther Barney, age 44, b. N.Y.
Lucinda Barney, age 27, b. Tenn.
Ambrose Barney, age 12, b. Ill.
Charles Barney, age 11, b. Ill.
Lucien Barney, age 9, b. Ill.
Hyrum Barney, age 7, b. Ill.
Ebineeser Barney, age 3, b. Mo.
Elisha Barney, age 1, b. Iowa
Luther Barney, age 6/12, b. Iowa.

Iowa Census, 1856, La Grange Township, Harrison Co., Iowa:
Luther Barney, age 49, md., in Iowa 8 years, b. N.Y., Farmer
Lucinda V. Barney, age 33, md., in Iowa 8 years, b. Tenn.
Ambrose M. Barney, age 17, single, in Iowa 8 years, b. Ill., Farmer
Charles Barney, age 16, single, in Iowa 8 years, b. Ill., Farmer
Lucien Barney, age 15, single, in Iowa 8 years, b. Ill., Farmer
Hyrum S. Barney, age 11, in Iowa 8 years, b. Ill.
Ebenezer Barney, age 9, in Iowa 8 years, b. Mo.
Elisha Barney, age 7, b. Iowa
Luther Benjamin Barney, age 6, b. Iowa
James R. Barney, age 3, b. Iowa