Wife of Thomas Doane Bartley, mother of: Martha N Bartley Abshire; Elizabeth Bartley; Margaret Bartley; Eugene C Bartley; Elbert Meredith Bartley; Robert Taylor Bartley; Artemissa McMurtry Bartley McFarland; John Bell Bartley; Tennessee J Bartley; Franklin A Bartley; James P Bartley; Thomas Mitchell Bartley; Amanda Mazella Bartley; and Della Dora Bartley.

The Bartleys
by Ruth Bartley Verner
Great-granddaughter of Thomas Doane Bartley

The history of the Bartley Family dates back to 1790. Records show that Bartley Families lived in the North Eastern States, and migrated to other states and later to Texas. American families moved with their relatives and friends seeking a better livelihood and better land. Proof can be found in census and church records, wills and deeds.

Thomas Doane Bartley, grandfather of the local Bartleys, Claude, Doane, Willie, Albert, Earl, Edna and Amanda, was born in 1821 in Washington County, Tennessee. He and his wife, Amanda McMurtry Bartley had six children when they moved to Texas. He was the father of seventeen children. Only twelve children lived to be adults.

The names of the children were Martha Marcissa, Elizabeth Cordelia, Emaline Sophrena, Mary Jane, Margaret Louise, Eugenia Calanthe, Elbert Merideth, Robert Taylor, Artemissa McMurtry, John Bell, Tennessee Josephine, Franklin Adolphus, James Rover, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie Mae, Amanda Mozelle, and Debbie Dora. They settled eight miles northwest of Ladonia in the Dog-town, later Bartley-Woods Community.

Elbert Meredith Bartley was born in Arkansas while the family was in route to Texas. He was the seventh child. The Bartleys were self-sufficient. Elbert had a mill for making cane syrup, kept bees for honey, split wood for roofing and had a blacksmith shop. The family had fruit trees, maintained a vegetable garden, and raised hogs and cattle for meat. The grain was taken to the mill to be ground into meal and flour. Many products were dried or canned for future use.

Neither Bartleys nor other farm families operated with the cash budget so necessary to life today. Instead they used a percentage-swap system. The miller was given a portion of the meal or flour in exchange for the use of the mill and the labor of the miller. The neighbors had a similar transaction for the use of Elbert's cane mill. The Dog-Town Store served as the place to buy the "necessities", such as cigars that Elbert liked to smoke.

For the grandchildren, the family farm was an enjoyable place. Grandmother Bartley would set the table as she washed the dried the dishes. Then the table was covered with a tablecloth. Under it there would always be tea cakes in the same place for the grandchildren.

When the grandchildren were too young to work or had some time to spend, they frequently engaged in minor mischief such as throwing bois d'arc apples at wasp nests. The Bartley Farm was apparently a happy place, because of this type of grandparents, they left good thoughts in the minds of those who knew them.

Thomas Doane was a Republican and a thrifty farmer. He served as a member of Company E, Chambers Battalion, Texas Reserves Corp. Infantry. He was active in Republican politics and held several minor offices in Fannin County. After the Civil War he was a Deputy U.S. Marshal in charge of taking the United States Census at Ladonia and Honey Grove.

One of his sons, Robert Taylor (Bob) served as Postmaster at Ladonia. Thomas Mitchell and Amanda were school teachers, Amanda and Dora lived in Ladonia in their younger days, but later moved to Oklahoma.

Most of the goods, remedies, clothing and building material for houses and barns were produced on the Bartley Farm. Flax and wool produced at home furnished the raw material which was usually spun and woven then made into clothing by the wives and daughters. Hides were tanned and made into shoes and boots. Some of the clan would hitch up their oxen and take their load of freight to the nearest port which was Jefferson, Texas. By the time they had walked to and from Jefferson, their new leather boots were completely worn out.

Hunting and fishing were not only recreation but were also sources of food, especially in the early years. Everywhere the energetic farmer lived beyond subsistence level having few of the luxuries, but an abundance of the necessities of life. Land was cheap and plentiful and anyone could own land. There was little or no poverty, but great wealth was rare. Taxes were low and little or nothing had to be contributed for the support of the needy. As a rule, farmers had large families and as children were put to work at an early age, so a large family was not an economic burden but an addition to the producing force.

Thomas Doane died in 1883 and was buried a short distance from the Clan's homeplace in Providence Cemetery in the Bartley Woods Community. After his death, the F. A. Battery and Company of Chicago published their biographical souvenir of the State of Texas. In the volume is a tribute to Thomas Doane Bartley.

How fortunate for Ladonia! The Bartleys have been friends, neighbors, and a vital part of our community for 137 years. They have been and still are people with an appreciation for our past - a vision for our future and always ready to lend a helping hand today.


Thomas D. Bartley (deceased) was born in Washington County, Tennessee, September 10, 1821, and reared in Washington and Greene Counties, that State. September 11, 1846, he married Amanda, daughter of James and Martha (Buster) McMurty, natives of Greene County, Tennessee, and descendants of one of the first settled families of that county. Mrs. Amanda Bartley was born and reared in the same county. Thomas D. Bartley moved to Texas in August 1856, and settled in the south part of Fannin County. There he subsequently lived and died June 21, 1883. He was a large and very successful farmer, held some minor county offices and was once United States Deputy Marshal for the Northern District of Texas. He was one of the strongest, most out-spoken Republicans in north Texas, and not unfrequently had the political bees buzzing about his head in a very lively manner on account of his political convictions and the perfectly unterrified way he expressed them. He was a man of marked individuality of character, entertained pronounced views on most matters of public interest and was entirely fearless in his expression of them. He was an intelligent, thrifty farmer, a public-spirited citizen, and his neighbors say, barring his political views, was a splendid man to live in the community with. He was the father of a large family of children, seventeen in all, as follows: Martha, Elizabeth, Emaline, Mary Jane, Margaret, Eugenia, Elbert, Robert, Artemissia, John B., Tennie, Frank, James, Thomas, Hattie, Amanda, and Dollie. Of these, eleven are living and most of them are grown, married, and settled down in life.