Arabella Clark Barnes (née Cotten) was born in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, in 1839 to a wealthy planter family. When she was six years old, her father passed away in Florida, where he also owned land. Growing up in Raleigh, she was highly involved in North Carolina's elite social circles and married William Deanes Barnes in 1860. They later moved to Florida, where Barnes owned a plantation. She died in Marianna, Jackson County, Florida on October 10, 1908.