The “52 Cousins” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database. The selected AI will used the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46 years of research. Today's Biography of Barbara Dry Harkey: (19 Jan. 1831- 6 Aug. 1888) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:
Barbara Dry Harkey: A Pioneer Woman's Journey from Carolina to Arkansas
Early Life in North Carolina
Barbara Dry was born on January 19, 1812, in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, to Phillip Wiley Dry (1759-1837) and Catherine Köppel (1771-1830). Growing up in the piedmont region of North Carolina during the early 19th century, Barbara came of age in a rural farming community where German-descended families like hers had established deep roots.
Marriage and Family
On October 7, 1831, nineteen-year-old Barbara married Adam Eli Harkey in Cabarrus County. Adam, born May 24, 1807, was the son of Jacob H. Harkey and Catherine Teeter. The marriage bond was signed by Jacob Harkey, likely Adam's father, serving as bondsman—a common practice of the time.
Barbara and Adam built their life together in Cabarrus County, where they welcomed seven children:
Elizabeth Hulda Harkey (born November 18, 1832)
Jacob Simon Harkey (born February 5, 1835; died November 19, 1907)
Sarah J. Harkey (born November 11, 1835; died January 1, 1887) - married James Montgomery Moore (1838-1886) in 1859
Abraham Harkey (born about 1838)
Elias E. Harkey (born about 1843)
Martin M. Harkey (born about 1845)
Julia Cardico Harkey (born September 27, 1850; died August 5, 1933) - married J. E. Westmoreland
Life in Antebellum North Carolina
The 1850 census captured the family during their years in Cabarrus County. Adam, then 43, worked as a farmer with Barbara, 38, managing their household of growing children. Their home was likely a modest farmstead typical of the region, where the family would have raised crops and livestock to sustain themselves.
The Move West to Arkansas
Sometime during the 1850s, the Harkey family joined the westward migration, settling in Chickalah, Yell County, Arkansas. This move reflected a broader pattern of families seeking new opportunities and cheaper land in the expanding frontier. The 1860 census found them established in their new Arkansas home, though the family was smaller now as older children had begun lives of their own.
The Civil War Years (1861-1865)
The outbreak of the Civil War brought profound changes to the Harkey family. Adam enlisted as a Private in Company H of the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry, joining the Confederate forces. The war years of 1861-1864 must have been extraordinarily difficult for Barbara, managing the farm and family while her husband served in the conflict that tore the nation apart.
Tragedy struck on November 4, 1864, when Adam Eli Harkey died in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. He was just 57 years old. He was buried the same day in what is now Little Rock National Cemetery, in grave #209. Barbara found herself a widow at age 52, facing an uncertain future in a war-ravaged region.
Widowhood and Later Years
After Adam's death, Barbara lived with her son Jacob Simon Harkey and his family. The 1870 census shows her in Chickalah, Yell County, living in Jacob's household. He had married Permelia A., and they were raising their children while providing a home for Barbara.
By 1880, the family had moved to Shoal Creek in Logan County, Arkansas. The census that year again found Barbara, now 68, living with Jacob and Permelia's growing family. She spent her final years surrounded by grandchildren, having survived the hardships of migration, war, and widowhood.
Barbara Dry Harkey passed away on August 6, 1888, in Yell County, Arkansas, at the age of 76. She was laid to rest in Elizabeth Hall Cemetery in Logan County, far from the North Carolina home where she'd been born and raised, but near the family she'd helped build in Arkansas.
Historical Context
Barbara's life spanned a remarkable period of American history. Born during the War of 1812, she witnessed the nation's westward expansion, lived through the turmoil of the Civil War, and saw the Reconstruction era that followed. Her journey from North Carolina to Arkansas mirrored that of thousands of families seeking new opportunities in the developing South and West. The loss of her husband to the Civil War was a tragedy shared by countless families, both North and South, during America's bloodiest conflict. Through it all, Barbara persevered, maintaining her family through extraordinary challenges and living to see her children and grandchildren established in their adopted Arkansas homeland.
Barbara Dry Harkey is my 1st Cousin 5X Removed
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1. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 3 October 2020); Memorial page for Barbara C. Dry Harkey; (19 January 1812–6 August 1888); Find a Grave memorial # 63497308, Citing Elizabeth Hall Cemetery; Logan County, Arkansas, USA.
2. 1870 U. S. Census, Yell County, Arkansas, population schedule, Chickalah, Yell, Arkansas, Page: #518B (Stamped); Line:17, Dwelling: #30, Family: #29, Household of Simeon HARKEY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: online August 2025); citing NARA publication Roll: M593_.
3. 1880 U. S. Census, Logan County, Arkansas, population schedule, Shoal Creek, Logan, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) 95, Page: #182 (Stamped); Line:38, Dwelling: #8, Family: #8, Household of Jacob S. HARKEY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: online August 2025); citing NARA publication Roll: T9.
6. "North Carolina, Marriages Record, 1741-2011," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: Viewed 2 October 2020), Marriage: Eli Harkey and Barbara Dry, Marriage Date: 7 Oct 1831.
7. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database, "Record, Adam Eli Harkey (24 May 1807–5 November 1864), Memorial # 3135005.
8. 1850 U. S. Census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Page: 482B(Stamped), Line 28, Dwelling 1236, Family 1236, Household of Eli HARKEY; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: viewed 3 October 2020); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 622.
9. 1860 U. S. Census, Yell County, Arkansas, population schedule, Chickalah, Yell County, Arkansas, Page: 1063(Stamped); Line 2, Dwelling 1133, Family 433, Household of Eli Harkey; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: viewed 3 Oct 12020); citing NARA publication Roll: M653_48.
10. Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (https://www.fold3.com/: accessed 3 October 2020), entry for Eli HARKEY, Private; Company 'H', 3rd Arkansas Cavalry; Confederate.
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