William Barlow was born about 1796 in Robeson County, North Carolina.  The earliest record concerning this William shows that he married a Scottish girl, Nancy Ferguson, on February 24, 1829.  In 1834 William and Nancy sold a  male slave, age six,  to Neill McQuilkin in Robeson County for $82.50.  Many small farmers owned one or two slaves to help them plant and harvest their crops.  A great depression struck North Carolina during the 1830s which might explain why William found it necessary to sell this young boy.
    William Barlow and Nancy had three children: Sarah, Duncan, and Catherine.  Evidently Nancy died soon after 1840, and William moved to Montgomery County, Georgia in 1842 where Marsh Barlow, probably his uncle, and Elias Barlow, perhaps a cousin, had settled earlier.  Two of William's children, Sarah and Catherine, moved to Montgomery County and lived with John Forgusson or Ferguson, a relative of their mother's.  Duncan Barlow, the son, also moved to Montgomery County, although he was not listed in the 1850 census. 
   The state of Georgia had recently  participated in the removal of the Cherokee and Creek Indians to the Western states, and their land was now available to  the white settlers.  However, the Indians had abandoned the land that would become Montgomery County years earlier.  Some settlers had come to Montgomery County from other parts of Georgia, but the largest and most enduring settlement  was the Highland Scots from Robeson County, North Carolina during the War of 1812 and for twenty years or more thereafter. William Barlow's marriage to a Scottish girl and his close ties with his Scottish neighbors in North Carolina probably influenced his decision to move to this area of Georgia.

By 1850 William Barlow was living on the land of Philip McSwain in Montgomery County and had met Elizabeth Watson Couey, the young widow of James Couey.  They were married on August 10, 1850.  Their children were William, Elias,  John Thomas, and Mary.  The elder William died before 1870, and his widow moved to Clinch County, Georgia, where she was listed as the head of the household in the 1870 census.  Elizabeth, or Betsey as she was called, lived with her son William and his family in her later years.  She died February 21, 1905, and is buried in the Homerville, Georgia city cemetery.