Samuel Tilden Barnes was born into a post-Civil War America, during an era known as Reconstruction which ended in 1877. His birthplace, Bishopville, Sumter County, South Carolina, was part of the Southern United States that grappled with economic devastation and social upheaval following the war. The year of his birth also marked the end of federal intervention in Southern politics and the beginning of the ‘New South’ period, characterized by attempts to modernize the economy while maintaining traditional social structures.

Barnes’s family life unfolded against a backdrop of significant agrarian change. His father, Simeon Scarborough Barnes, would have witnessed the transformation from slave-based plantations to sharecropping and tenant farming systems. This period saw many African Americans and poor whites striving for self-sufficiency amidst challenging economic conditions and the rise of Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation.

By the time Samuel Tilden Barnes married Mittie Campbell in Holmes, Florida, on February 23, 1904, the United States had entered the Progressive Era, a time of widespread social activism and political reform addressing issues caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. Their marriage location suggests possible participation in the south-to-south migration patterns where individuals moved within southern states seeking better opportunities.

Samuel Tilden Barnes was born on February 6, 1877, in Bishopville, Sumter, South Carolina, United States. He was the son of Simeon Scarborough Barnes and Margaret Barnes (born Kelley). His father was born on November 20, 1852, although other records suggest a birth year circa 1851 or December 1851. His mother’s birth is recorded as February 18, 1856, with some sources indicating circa 1856 or December 1857. Samuel had seven siblings: Wilson Scarborough, Reese Algiers, Harriett Salina, Maggie Viola, Christiana, Magnolia, and Sarah Ethel.

Samuel Tilden Barnes married Mittie Barnes (born Campbell) on February 23, 1904, in Holmes, Florida, United States. Mittie was born on June 6, 1882, in Georgia. Together they had one son, Eugene Ludlow Barnes, who was born on August 5, 1906. However, there are conflicting records suggesting another marriage to Mary Letha Galloway, born on November 20, 1879, with whom he reportedly had a daughter named Aletha, born on January 12, 1902.

The early years of Samuel and Mittie’s son, Eugene Ludlow Barnes, were marked by the burgeoning Progressive Movement, aiming to improve living conditions and reduce the gap between rich and poor. However, they also faced the realities of the pervasive Jim Crow laws and the increasing entrenchment of white supremacy in the South, which would have shaped their daily lives and societal interactions.

Samuel Tilden Barnes passed away at the young age of 32 in Columbia, Marion, Mississippi. His death came just one year after the Panic of 1907, a financial crisis that affected many American families and businesses. He was laid to rest in a nation on the cusp of great changes, with the advent of World War I only five years away, which would dramatically alter the United States’ role on the world stage and its internal dynamics.