Who Is Ossie Barnes
02-16-1898 to 07-29-1990
Great grandmother of OBEF Founder and CEO, Paula Rogers-Withers. Born February 16, 1898, Ossie Elizabeth Gilliard. The only child of AME Presiding Elder, Alex Gilliard and Delia Taylor-Gilliard in Hensley AR. In 1911 at the age of 13 she attended Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute under Booker T Washington and George Washington Carver. At that time, it was a 6-year program, she graduated May 24, 1917 with two diplomas, one the equivalent of today’s Associate’s degree and the other the equivalent of today’s Bachelor’s degree. She married Samuel H Johnson to this union was born her only two children, identical twins, Julius H and Junius S Johnson in 1920.
At the beginning of her teaching career, she walked three (3) miles from Hensley south to the Harris Plantation where she taught grades 1-8 in a one room schoolhouse. After the closure of the Hensley school she taught at Woodson Elementary with other educational legends like Mrs Ruby McMurry, Mrs Hazel Lawrence, and Ms Sadie Cook. After the closing of the Woodson school, she taught at JC Cook Elementary until she retired. She then devoted her time to the community she loved so much. Mrs Ossie, as she was known, started teaching children as well as adults to read and write in the one room schoolhouse on the Harris plantation.
She also taught crafts and practical techniques such as making mattresses, preserving food, money management and other skills to help people survive the difficult years of the Great Depression. During this difficult time, she was instrumental in bringing assistance such as rations and commodities to the African Americans in Hensley. She organized community harvest events to help make the best use and way of preserving food while it was in season. These skills were directly derived from her education at Tuskegee and mostly from George Washington Carver which was her science professor.
Mrs Ossie put on plays, holiday programs, dances and other events introducing her students and the community to the arts and other cultural and social refinements. She implemented some of the first forms of special education, where she worked to teach those with developmental problems to write and recognized their names when seen, during a time when people that could not read and write, signed with an X.
She taught in the Pulaski County School district for 50+ years. She dedicated her life to education and Public Service. She served the Hensley and Woodson communities for over 70 years. More information in bibliography below.
Biography
Ossie Elizabeth Gilliard Johnson Henry Barnes. Born February 16, 1898 Ossie Elizabeth (after her grandmother) Gilliard, The only child of Alex G. and Delia (Taylor) Gilliard. In 1911 at the age of 13 she attended Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute under Booker T Washington and George Washington Carver. At that time, it was a 6-year program, she graduated May 24, 1917 with two diplomas, one the equivalent of today’s Associate’s degree and the other the equivalent of today’s Bachelor’s degree.
She married Samuel H Johnson and had identical twins, Julius H and Junius H Johnson in 1920. These were her only children. She later married Al Henry and in 1947 she married Lewis Barnes.
She began her teaching career at Harris plantation in Hensley, AR teaching 1—8th grade in a one-room schoolhouse, she walked 3 miles from Hensley to the plantation every day. Her mother Delia (Gran Deli) cooked lunch for the school. Children from Hensley and some Woodson attended school there until the school closed. She then taught at Woodson Elementary until it closed, and she taught at J.C. Cook Elementary until she retired in 1966 although she did continue teaching as a substitute when needed. She taught school for a total of 50+ years in the Pulaski County School District.
She was also a community leader and organizer, mostly after she retired. She put on plays and programs in the community and churches. She organized summer lunch programs and activities for children including takes a bus to the Arkansas State Fair every year and trips to Six Flags over Texas. She also started the first and only community center in Hensley, where the park is located now, where there were activities for adults and children, until the building burned. She then moved her Senior Citizens Club to a building next to her home. She continued providing support and assistance to the Hensley community she loved so much until her health failed. She raised money to care for the cemetery, including at funerals where out of town relatives attended,
She attended St. Luke AME church, that her father established in Hensley next to the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge.
She was known as “Mrs Ossie”, “Cousin Ossie”, or “Aunt Ossie”.
Ossie Elizabeth Gilliard-Johnson-Henry-Barnes (02-16-1898 – 07-29-1990). Great grandmother of OBEF Founder and CEO, Paula Rogers-Withers. Born February 16, 1898, Ossie Elizabeth Gilliard, The only child of AME Presiding Elder, Alex Gilliard and Delia Taylor-Gilliard in Hensley AR. In 1911 at the age of 13 she attended Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute under Booker T Washington and George Washington Carver. At that time, it was a 6-year program, she graduated May 24, 1917 with two diplomas, one the equivalent of today’s Associate’s degree and the other the equivalent of today’s Bachelor’s degree. She married Samuel H Johnson and had identical twins, Julius H and Junius H Johnson in 1920, these were her only children. She later married Al Henry, then to Lewis Barnes in 1947 until he passed in 1982.
At the beginning of her teaching career, she walked three (3) miles from Hensley south, to the Harris Plantation where she taught grades 1-8 in a one room schoolhouse. After the closure of the Hensley school she taught at Woodson Elementary with other educational legends like Mrs Ruby McMurry, Mrs Hazel Lawrence, and Ms Sadie Cook. When the Woodson school closed, she went on to teach at JC Cook Elementary where she retired from education and devoted her time to the community she loved so much. Mrs Ossie, as she was known, started teaching children as well as adults to read and write in the one room schoolhouse on the Harris plantation. She also taught crafts and practical techniques such as making mattresses, preserving food, money management and other skills to help people survive the difficult years of the Great Depression. During this difficult time, she was instrumental in bringing assistance such as rations and commodities to the African Americans in Hensley. She organized community harvest events to help make the best use and way of preserving food while it was in season. These skills were directly derived from her education at Tuskegee and mostly from George Washington Carver which was her science professor.
Mrs Ossie put on plays, holiday programs, dances and other events to involve her students and the community to the arts and other cultural and social refinements. She implemented some of the first forms of special education, where she worked to teach those with developmental problems to write and recognized their names when seen, during a time when people that could not read and write, signed with an X.
In later years she attended Baptist College, Philander Smith College and Shorter College in Little Rock, AR to for supplemental education and advanced degrees. She taught in the Pulaski County School district for 54 years. She dedicated her life to education and Public Service. She served the Hensley and Woodson communities for over 70 years.