52 Ancestors: "Artistic" - Laura Alice Barnett Conner

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Laura is the second from the Left. 

This week's theme is "artistic," and I'll be honest—it made me laugh at first. Neither my family nor my husband's family tree is decorated with painters, musicians, or poets. We come from long lines of farmers and the occasional preacher, people who worked with their hands in fields rather than studios. But as I dug deeper into the story of my husband's 2x great-grandmother, Laura Alice Barnett Conner (1876-1968), I realized there's a different kind of artistry worth celebrating—the art of survival, resilience, and creating something beautiful from the rawest materials life can offer.

A Canvas of Constant Movement

Laura Alice was born on February 14, 1876, in Floyd County, Kentucky, to Samuel J. Barnett and Bethany Slusher. But like many women of her era, her life became a masterpiece painted across multiple states and decades of change. At just 14 years old, Laura married William Monroe Conner on August 30, 1890, in Webster, Missouri. What followed was an extraordinary period of creation—not of art, but of life itself. Between 1891 and 1921, Laura gave birth to fifteen children. Fifteen. Let that sink in for a moment.

The Geography of a Life

Laura's life reads like a migration map of early 20th-century America: Kentucky (birth, 1876), Missouri (marriage, 1890), Texas (multiple children born in Williamson County, 1893-1918), and Oklahoma (later children born, 1920-1921). Each move represented a new beginning, a fresh canvas. The family followed opportunities, seasons, and hope across state lines.

The Art of Loss and Perseverance

If Laura's life was a painting, it would be one of those complex works where beauty emerges from darkness. The records tell a story of profound loss: her infant daughter Ruthie May lived only two months in 1907, her husband William died in 1936, leaving her widowed at 60, her son James Roy died in 1937, her son Jack Denver died in 1947, and her son Monta O D died just one month before her own death in 1968. Yet through it all, Laura continued. The census records show her adapting, surviving, moving in with children when needed, maintaining her independence when possible.

An Artist's Eye for Detail

What strikes me most about Laura's records is how her name was spelled differently in nearly every document—Laura, Alice, Laurie, Larah, Larie, Laray. These weren't artistic choices but likely evidence that she couldn't read or write her own name. Census takers and clerks simply wrote what they heard phonetically. This detail tells us something profound about her world—she navigated an increasingly bureaucratic society without the basic tool of literacy, yet still managed to raise fifteen children and maintain a family across multiple states.

The Final Portrait

Laura Alice Barnett Conner died on December 1, 1968, in Hollis, Oklahoma, at the remarkable age of 92. Her obituary appeared in the Wichita Falls Record News on December 3, 1968, listing surviving children: "Oma Hilder-Brand Opal Crabb Jewel Davis S E Tex Leon Tex Ray Earl Audie." She was buried in Wheeler Cemetery in Wheeler County, Texas—yet another state in her geography of survival.

The Art We Don't Recognize

Maybe Laura Alice wasn't artistic in the way we typically define it. She didn't paint landscapes or write sonnets. But she created something arguably more challenging and beautiful: she built families, maintained connections across impossible distances, and somehow held together a sprawling network of children and grandchildren through decades of loss and change. That's artistry of the highest order—the kind that doesn't hang in museums but lives on in the DNA and memories of generations. In a world that often celebrates the creation of objects, perhaps we should spend more time honoring those who created the very fabric of our families. Laura Alice Barnett Conner was an artist, and her medium was life itself.

Sources:

  1. "Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847-1911." Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives; Frankfort, Kentucky. Alice Barnett born 30 Dec 1875, daughter of Samuel Barnett & Berthena Slusher, Menifee, Kentucky.

  2. "1880 United States Federal Census." Year: 1880; Census Place: Jeffersonville, Montgomery, Kentucky. Allis Barnett (4), daughter of Samuel Barnett.

  3. "Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002." Missouri State Archives; Jefferson City, MO. Laura A Barnett (18) marriage to W M Conner, 30 Aug 1890, Webster, Missouri.

  4. "1900 United States Federal Census." Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 2, Williamson, Texas. Laura A Conner (23), wife of William M Conner.

  5. "1910 United States Federal Census." Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Coleman, Texas. Laura A Conner (33), wife of William M Conner.

  6. "1920 United States Federal Census." Year: 1920; Census Place: Martin, Harmon, Oklahoma. Laura Conner (44), wife of W M Conner.

  7. "1930 United States Federal Census." Year: 1930; Census Place: Dryden, Harmon, Oklahoma. Laura A Conner (52), wife of William M Conner.

  8. "1940 United States Federal Census." Year: 1940; Census Place: Amarillo, Potter, Texas. Laurie A Conner (64), widowed mother in household of E Joe Conner.

  9. "1950 United States Federal Census." Year: 1950; Census Place: Hollis, Harmon, Oklahoma. Larah A Connor (74), widowed mother-in-law in household of Mort L Crabb.

  10. "Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982." Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas. Death records for sons Jack D Conner (2 Dec 1947), Monta O D Conner (5 Nov 1968), Ray E Conner (24 Sep 1974), and Samuel Corvert Conner (9 Nov 1978).

  11. "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current." Laura Alice Conner burial, died 1 Dec 1968, Wheeler Cemetery, Wheeler, Wheeler County, Texas. Born 14 Feb 1876.

  12. "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current." Wichita Falls Record News, 3 Dec 1968. Laura Alice Coiner obituary, age 92, died in Hollis, Harmon, Oklahoma.


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