The Barber Family of Nodaway County, Missouri

ALFRED CHARLES BARBER.

Among the prominent and successful citizens of Nodaway county, Missouri, who have attained success through their own well-directed efforts, stands Alfred C. Barber, of Monroe township. He was born in Adams county, Illinois, on May 5, 1848, and is a son of William and Eliza (Hammond) Bar ber. William Barber was born in England, the son of John Barber. He was

* reared in his native land, where he received a fair education, and then learned the trade of a carpenter. About the time he attained his majority he came to America, locating first in Canada, but eventually he came to “the States,” locating in Ohio, probably at Cleveland. While a resident of Ohio he married Eliza Hammond, who also was a native of England and the daughter of Thomas Hammond, who brought his family to the United States, locating in Ohio. For a time after their marriage William Barber and wife lived in Vermont, but later they went to Illinois locating at Mendon, near Quincy, where their eight children were born, namely: Two that died in infancy; Mary, the wife of Joseph Burk; Newton H.; Alfred C.; Maria Ann, who died after her marriage to John Iv. Hicks; William H., Frederick C. In 1873 the family came to Nodaway county, locating four miles west and three miles north of Skidmore, in the southwestern part of Green township, where A. C. and Newton H. had settled in 1871, where they had two hundred and forty acres of land. There William Barber bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of new land, and at once set himself to the task of breaking the land and improving the farm. They lived there twelve or fifteen years and then moved to Skidmore, where they spent the remainder of their days, the mother dying there in 1891 and her husband about two years later. Both parents were earnest Christians, the father being a member of the church of England and the mother of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Alfred C. Barber was reared on the Illinois homestead and in the common schools of that locality he secured a fair education. He came to Nod away county in 1871 and bought a farm in the same neighborhood as that in which his parents afterwards located. About two years later he sold that farm and bought another one in the north edge of Burr Oak Grove, west of Skidmore, and there made his home until about 1892, when he sold out and moved to Colorado, but about two years later he returned to Nodaway county and bought his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres, located three and a half miles west of Skidmore. It was the first land in that neighborhood to bring as high a price as fifty dollars an acre, being now worth more than three times that figure. On this place the family have resided since and the place has been developed by Mr. Barber into one of the choice farms of that section of the county. Neat and attractive buildings, well kept fences and fertile and well cultivated fields give the place an air of prosperity that reflects great credit on its owner, who has given an intelligent and practical direction to his efforts.

In 1877 Mr. Barber married Ann M. Coston, the daughter of Alonzo M. and Ann (Hays) Coston. She was born in McDonough county, Illinois, but when a baby she was left an orphan by the death of her mother. She was brought to Nodaway county by her father and she was reared in the family of Capt. John Grigsby, whose wife was her mother’s sister. To Mr. and Mrs. Barber have been born nine children, namely: John F., who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Lillian C., wife of Clinton C. Knepper, of Atchison county, six miles west of Skidmore; they have two sons, Guy and Neal; Lucy E. is the wife of Halford Botkin, of Atchison county, and they have one daughter, Mary Rebecca; Vera R., who is a graduate of the Tarkio Musical School, is now teaching music in Creston; Maria Ann, a teacher, is at present attending the normal school at Maryville; Alonzo, who is a graduate of the commercial department of Tarkio College, is farming for himself and makes his home with his parents; Viola, Glo and Frank R. are at home with their parents.

Politically, Mr. Barber was a Republican by “inheritance,” and in early life was an active worker in the ranks of that party, but he found sound reasons for changing his position and he voted for Peter Cooper for President, and he has ever since that time voted for the men whom he considered best qualified for the offices they sought, regardless of political lines. He was twice elected justice of the peace in Monroe township on the Democratic ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the blue lodge at Skidmore and the chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Maryville. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give a generous support. In every avenue of life’s activities in which he has engaged. Mr. Barber has been true to every trust and because of his ability and upright life he commands the unqualified esteem of the people with whom he has lived for so many years.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

A. C. BARBER, farmer and stock raiser, section 35, was born in Adams County, Illinois, May 5, 1848, and is a son of William and Eliza (Hammond) Barber, who were natives of England. A. C. spent his boyhood days and received his education in his native state, and, in 1872, came to Nodaway County, Missouri, settling near where he now resides. He was married December 23, 1877, to Miss Ann M. Cortin, a native of McDonough County, Illinois. She is a daughter of Alonzo and Ann Maria (Hays) Cortin. The latter was born in McDonough County, Illinois, February 23, 1829, and died April 15, 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Barber have three children: John F., born September 24, 1878; Lillian, born January 11, 1879, and an infant, born in December, [881. They are members of the M. E. Church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected.

WILLIAM H. BARBER, farmer and stock raiser, section 12, is a native of Adams County, Illinois, and was born the 3d day of January, 1855, being the son of William and Eliza (Hammond) Barber. William spent his boyhood days and received his education in his native state, coming to Nodaway County, Missouri, in 1872. He was married on the 4th of April, 1881, to Miss Annie E. Wing, a native of Gentry County, born on the 2d of May, 1860. She was the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Button) Wing, the former a native of Albany, New York, born April 1, [818. and her mother of Warren County, New York, born February 2, 1825. They were married April 5, 1.848, and afterwards settled in Glenn Falls, New York, moving to Wisconsin in 1854, and 1855 to Illinois, thence to Gentry County, Missouri, in 1857, and to Nodaway County, Missouri, in 1865, they locating near Maryville. Mr. Barber spent his boyhood days in this county, and received the advantages of a good education. He and his wife are both members of the M. E. Church. His farm consists of 255 acres of good land.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FRED C. BARBER.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOHN FREDERICK BARBER.

Descended from honored pioneer ancestry and carrying forward in a practical and successful manner the work so thoroughly inaugurated by his predecessors, the subject of this sketch is entitled to specific mention in a work purporting to deal with the representative citizens of Nodaway county. Mr. Barber was born September 4, 1878, at Burr Oak Grove, in Monroe township, this county, and is a son of Alfred Charles and Ann (Costen) Barber, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, therefore no further mention of them will be made here. John F. Barber spent his boyhood years on the home farm and secured a good practical education in the public schools. When seventeen years old he accompanied the family on their removal to Colorado, and on their return to this county he also came and bought a farm in the neighborhood from which they had moved. In 1903 the subject bought the farm on which he now resides and which is located in the south part of section 13, in southwestern Monroe township. Here he has diligently applied himself to the cultivation of this tract and his efforts have been rewarded with a due meed of success. He has made many permanent and substantial improvements, and today the place is numbered among the attractive farmsteads of Xodaway county. Mr. Barber raises all the crops common to this section of the country and also devotes some attention to the raising of livestock, which also has proven a source of considerable revenue. He is up-to-date in his methods, his progressive spirit leading him to adopt new methods when in his judgment their practicability has been demonstrated by experience. He is ambitious and is a steady and persistent worker, his greatest desire being to make a comfortable home for his family and to retain in the neighborhood the good opinion of his neighbors — a good will which he has won by a correct life and industrious habits.

On May 30, 1909, Mr. Barber married Myrtie Evonia Mast, the daughter of John and Adelene Mast, pioneers of Nodaway county whose sketch ap years elsewhere in this work. Fraternally, Mr. Barber is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the work of which he takes an appreciative interest. Every movement which promises to benefit the community, morally, educationally, socially or materially, finds in him an earnest supporter and he is numbered among the stanch and influential citizens of Monroe township.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ROBERT N. BARBER.

One of the central figures in the banking circles of western Nodaway county is the gentleman whose name forms the caption to this review. Prominent in business circles, with a reputation that has won him a name for sound judgment and high-grade business ability, there is today no more prominent or highly esteemed man in Nodaway township, with the history of which he has been identified for a number of years.

Robert N. Barber is a native of Nodaway county, having been born in Monroe township, on November 21. 1874. He is a son of Newton H. and Huldah (Martin) Barber, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Alabama. The paternal grandparents, William and Eliza (Hammond) Bar ber, who were of English nativity, came to America and settled in Ohio in the early history of that state, and there lived on a farm. The subject’s maternal grandparents, James and Lucy (Putnam) Martin, lived for many years in Alabama. During the Civil war he and one son served in the Union army, the father dying of exposure and the son being killed in battle. Newton H. Barber moved with his parents from Ohio to near Quincy, Illinois, where they followed farming until about 1870, when they came to Nodaway county, Missouri, locating in Monroe township. There the elder members of the family spent the remainder of their days, their deaths occurring at Skidmore. Newton H. Barber acquired one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he operated until 1881, when he moved to Nodaway township and secured one hundred and sixty acres, to which he devoted his attention up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1883. He was the father of three children, all of whom are still living. Politically he was a member of the old Green back party and his religious membership was with the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he took an active interest.

Robert X. Barber secured his elementary education in the public schools of Burlington Junction, supplementing this with a commercial course at Maryville, completing his studies in 1892. From that time until 1898 he was engaged in operating the home farm in Nodaway township, but in the year named he accepted the position of assistant cashier of the Northwestern Bank of Missouri at Burlington Junction, of which he became cashier in 1904. He is still the incumbent of this responsible position and has general over sight of the bank's affairs, much of its success being due to his business ability and sound judgment. He is also interested in the real estate business, having an accurate knowledge of land values and handling a number of important deals.

In 1901 Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Mrs. Amy Staples, the daughter of David Boyer. This union has been blessed in the birth of two interesting children, Huldah M. and Robert N., Jr. Politically, Mr. Barber is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, though in no sense a seeker after public office. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he gives a liberal support. A courteous and genial gentleman, Mr. Barber has won a host of warm personal friends and is well liked by all who know him. He is considered a strong business man and his integrity and honesty of purpose are above suspicion.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.