Buckner-Barker Family
Biographical Note
The Buckner-Barker Family's history in the United States dates back to the eighteenth century. Family lore recounts that Lamoneha, the mother of Almeda Phillips (1800-1906), was lured onto a slave ship in Africa and transported to the United States. Almeda Phillips was born into slavery on the Cave Johnson Plantation in Kentucky. Upon emancipation, she lived in Ohio, Canada, and finally in Kansas with her daughter Lynette Buckner (b.1840). Almeda was married to Roger Bush, widowed, and remarried to Noah Phillips.
Lynette Phillips Buckner, daughter of Almeda and born into slavery, married John L. Buckner on August 25, 1859, at the plantation of Judge Short in Kentucky. John L. Buckner was born in Canada and after marrying Lynette, they returned to Canada. In 1870, the Buckners moved to Kansas. Lynette and John Buckner had nine children, including Eva Buckner. John L. Buckner was self-educated and penned many poems, including several in the epic form. The poems demonstrate his knowledge of world history, the revolution in Haiti, the racial oppression of his time, and a keen sense of his African-American heritage.
Eva Buckner (1871-1966) married John D. Barker (1868-1960) in 1888. They had seven children, including Theresa Ada Barker (1903-1995) and Allena Carey. John D. Barker passed the United States Civil Service Examination and worked for the Post Office. He was also a privately published poet, whose themes were largely about home and family. Eva and John Barker celebrated over seventy years of marriage. Theresa Ada Barker married the artist Hale Woodruff in June 1934. They had one son, Roy, born in 1935.