The Barefoots

Alexandra Barefoot2-9-2015

The BarefootsBarefoot comes from my dads side of the family and is a Norwegian name, originating in Norway with the original spelling of Bjornfoot. Norway is now a unitary monarchy whose territory takes up the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and also shares a long eastern border with Sweden. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Barefoot is a nickname for someone who goes without shoes the majority of the time. This surname was usually given to someone who could not afford even the simplest footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance. I could not find any meanings or history regarding the original spelling of the name.My ancestors migrated from Norway to the United States in the early to mid 1800s, taking up residence in New York. Organized emigration started in 1825 due to Norways shortage of jobs and religious persecution. It is believed that my ancestors were Quakers and came to America to experience religious freedom. Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends. a faith that emerged as a new Christian denomination in England during a period of religious turmoil in the mid-1600's and is practiced today in a variety of forms around the world. To members of this religion, the words "Quaker"and "Friend" mean the same thing. To get here, Norwegian emigrants had to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat, which is believed to have been about a fourteen week trip. My great, great, great grandfather, Crogan Barefoot and his wife Lula were believed to be among the first Norwegian emigrants to arrive in America. My ancestors were known to be entrepreneurs and brought with them from Norway the Norwegian Elkhound. The Norwegian Elkhound is the national dog of Norway, and was developed to help early Scandinavians hunt big game such as moose and bear. Elkhounds can also be used for hunting smaller game. Crogan and Lula continued to breed the Norwegian Elkhound here in America, and sold it to hunters all over the east coast. Also being known for its beautiful coat and stature, these dogs were strong competitors in dog exhibitions sometimes bringing their masters home a cash prize. Most Norwegian emigrants worked as farmers and lived in farming communities with people who shared their culture and religious beliefs. This gave opportunity for Crogan and Lula to sell these dogs to farmers as well as hunters to help do farm work. This is how my family first got established and made a living for themselves in the United States. It is not known when or why my family dissolved their dog breeding business.Crogan and Lula had many children, one of them being my great, great grandfather, Miles Barefoot who owned a small farm in Western New York where he grew various crops and raised cattle and hogs. Although he made a comfortable living by trading and selling his crops and cattle he was mainly known for his devout Quakerism. He later married Ida Flowers, and moved down to South Carolina where he continued farming. Miles and Ida also grew a sizeable family, among their children was my great grandfather Miles Mack Barefoot. Miles Mack Barefoot mainly helped on the farm growing up and was not given the opportunity to receive any education. Fortunately he inherited the entrepreneur gene, and had saved enough money to start his own oil company in the early 1900s which was later taken over by his son, and my grandfather, Bunyan Wesley Barefoot. My grandfather married my grandmother, Ruth Earnhardt. Together they had eight children, which he supported by delivering oil to people with oil furnaces in the 1950s. In 1955 Bunyan Barefoot came down with Rheumatoid Arthritis and had to sell the business. He moved the family to North Carolina, and after some recovery started a carpet cleaning business and called it Superior Rug Cleaners. My grandfather did get to attend high school, but it is not known where, but he did not attend college. My dad and his brothers and sisters were the first generation of my family to attend college. My dad, Claiborne Wesley Barefoot attended Guilford College on a football scholarship.