Barney Stone (Union Soldier)

Born a slave in 1847 in Spencer County, Kentucky, Stone's life was extraordinary. His parents were unable to live together, as his father was a slave on a nearby farm. Together, they had ten children, all of whom were also enslaved.

After witnessing the brutal treatment of his mother and siblings, who were beaten and sold to other plantations, Barney ran away at the age of sixteen and joined the Union Army. It was during his military service that he learned to read and write, thanks to fellow soldiers. By age twenty-one, he was preaching sermons. He married at twenty-four and had five children.

When his daughter Beulah graduated from Noblesville High School and later attended college in Kentucky, Barney was deeply involved in the community. He served as a Circuit Court Bailiff and was a member of both the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic Lodge. He took great pride in his military service and led many Memorial Day services at two local cemeteries.

A staunch Republican, he held the right to vote in the highest regard. At eighty-five, he campaigned across the state for Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign. At ninety-one, he traveled to Gettysburg to hear President Franklin Roosevelt speak. He was the only Civil War veteran from Hamilton County who made the trip, and he later said, "When I stood on the same ground where Lincoln stood, where he delivered his great speech, I think it was the happiest moment of my life."

Barney lived to be ninety-five, becoming the last surviving Civil War veteran in Hamilton County and possibly the last African-American Civil War veteran in the United States. His funeral, held at the church, lasted three hours to allow everyone to honor his extraordinary life.