about this site
created August 1997
Barbee's Crossroads adopted its name from the old Barbee family homestead in Hume, Faquier County, Virginia. The name reflects the purpose of this web site--connecting Barbee family researchers with Barbee genealogy information on the web. I started the Barbee's Crossroads web site 7 years ago and it has been very gratifying to help so many find their connections to the early Andrew and William Barbee lines. However, I know many like myself who are still looking for their connection. In fact, I have been looking for my missing link for over 15 years, and I have decided that my only chance is to track him down both genetically and genealogically! Therefore, I am very happy to announce two new and exciting additions to this web site - research in England and the Barbee Surname DNA Project.
Research in England
Shirley Massie Simms of the U.S. Andrew Barbee line lives in England and has volunteered to help U.S. Barbee's find family connections in England. Because our U.S. immigrant ancestors arrived in the Virginia colony in the 1600s, we have no memory or record of where they came from. From looking at census records, Barbee is spelled several different ways in England and Wales (including Barby, Barbey, Barbe), but we suspect they are related.We are interested in every aspect of research, from getting to know modern day cousins, to the origins of the Barby name and its different spellings, connecting up our family trees and identifying the different lines, and generally sharing family knowledge, including the significance of the place Barby, in Northants. To help with this research, please contact Shirley Massie Simms, Janet Barbee, or Greg Barbee
Barbee Surname DNA Project
The Barbee Surname DNA Project uses the science of genetics as a tool to further our genealogy research. This tool first became available to genealogists 4 years ago and is rapidly growing in popularity. The DNA test used by genetic genealogists can be used to identify lineages, but is not the same test used to identify individuals or close relationships (such as paternity testing).
In just 3 short months, we have made a major discovery - the two early immigrants to the Virginia colony in the United States (Andrew and William Barbee) were not related. Since most U.S. Barbee's likely descend from one of these early immigrants, they are finally able to know which immigrant is their ancestor. As of October 2004, seven Barbee family lines in the U.S. have determined which of these Barbee immigrants they descend from.
In order to discover more about our European roots and help knock down brick walls for those of us still looking for our connections in the U.S., we need the participation of descendants of Andrew and William Barbee and other U.S. Barbee lines. Additionally, we would like participation from Barbee's with roots in Western Europe. All spellings that sound like Barbee (Barby, Barbey, Barbe, Barbie, Barbi, etc.) will be included. If you have found Barbee's Crossroads useful in your research, I hope you will consider participating in this exciting project which can help many more Barbee researchers for whom the paper trail has grown cold!
Research Tip
Barbee is frequently mis-indexed as BARBER, even when the original record is clearly BARBEE. Therefore, indexes are unreliable. If you think your Barbee family was in the area--go to the original records!--------------------------------
Barbee's Crossroads is a member of Surname Web which encourages the sharing of genealogy information. If you find this site useful, I hope you will share your family information and Barbee links with us. Email Janet Barbee any contributions, corrections or suggestions to improve this site. Hope you make a connection!
