Madness Monday: The Obituary of James W. BARBER

BURIED AT MT. MORRIS

James Barber Came ti [sic] Michigan When 16 Years Old.

(From a Journal Correspondent)

        Mt. Morris, May 22,-- The funeral of James Barber was held at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lavina Streeter in Mt. Morris township Monday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock, Rev. N. D. Potter of the Baptist church officiating.  Burial was made in the Mt. Morris cemetery.
       James Barber was born in England, residing there until 16 years of age when he came to Michigan where he has since made his home.  In early life he united with the English Baptist church.  He married 48 years ago to Elizabeth Betsy Cole, who with eight of the 10 children born to them, is left:  John of Ovid, James and Alex of Lansing:  Mrs. Lavina Streeter of Mt. Morris: Mrs. Anna Hudson of Millington: Mrs. Caroline Smith of Otisville: Mrs. Clara Goodwin of Oxford, and Mrs. Rose Eaton of Flint.

The above obituary was transcribed and sent to me via e-mail from a descendant of James W. BARBER. It was originally printed on page 2 of the 23 May 1912 edition of the Flint [Michigan] Daily Journal. There is a lot of helpful information in it, but also some distracting inaccuracies. Here's the breakdown:

BURIED AT MT. MORRIS

I've already determined that James was buried at Mount Morris Cemetery, from both his death certificate and from a cousin who photographed the family tombstones there.

James Barber Came ti [sic] Michigan When 16 Years Old.

Hmm...more on this in a moment.

Mt. Morris, May 22

This was a Wednesday, in 1912.

The funeral of James Barber was held at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lavina Streeter in Mt. Morris township Monday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock, Rev. N. D. Potter of the Baptist church officiating.

The funeral was held not in a church or a funeral home, but in the home of James's oldest daughter, Lavina.  Lavina was married to a Mr. Streeter and lived in Mount Morris Township. The funeral was held Monday afternoon, which would have been May 20th. The funeral was officiated by a Baptist minister, which leads us to believe that James was probably a Baptist. Was he a member of the Mount Morris Baptist Church?

Burial was made in the Mt. Morris cemetery.

Again, this information is known. What isn't known for certain from this obituary is which day the burial occurred. Tradition is that the funeral and burial are on the same day, but this isn't always so. The death certificate confirms the burial was on May 20.

James Barber was born in England, residing there until 16 years of age when he came to Michigan where he has since made his home.

Ok, here's where the problems come in. I do know that James was born in England, from all his census records, as well as his death certificate. However the phrase "...16 years of age when he came to Michigan where he has since made his home" is inaccurate at least in part. He lived in Canada in 1871, and probably married his wife there c. 1861. According to the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, he had six children born in Canada from 1863 through 1875, with a child born in 1877 in Michigan, leading me to believe he emigrated from Canada to the U.S. around 1876. My guess is that the "16 years of age" was when he came to Canada from England, which would have been about 1857. However, I've been unable to find him in the 1861 Canadian Census, even though I can find his wife (single at the time) living with her parents in that census.

In early life he united with the English Baptist church. 

This is consistent with information found on the 1871 Canadian Census under "religion," as well as the reference to the local Baptist church for his funeral.

He married 48 years ago to Elizabeth Betsy Cole, who with eight of the 10 children born to them, is left:

 Again, an inaccuracy. 1912 minus 48 years is 1864. James and Elizabeth's eldest daughter was born c. 1863. While it's not impossible they married in 1864, the 1910 U.S. Federal Census states they had been married 49 years; so c. 1861 is a better fit and more plausible. Also, Elizabeth's name should have been listed as Elizabeth "Betsy" COLE. Betsy was her nickname, not her middle name. Two children pre-deceased James: son Benjamin, who died in 1888, and son Orlando (my ancestor), who died in 1910.

John of Ovid, James and Alex of Lansing:  Mrs. Lavina Streeter of Mt. Morris: Mrs. Anna Hudson of Millington: Mrs. Caroline Smith of Otisville: Mrs. Clara Goodwin of Oxford, and Mrs. Rose Eaton of Flint.

It's interesting that these children are not listed in age order, which was Lavina, James, Caroline, Clarissa (Clara), Anna, John, Rosa Bell (Rose), and Alexander. Even if they had been listed by gender, you would have expected to see them listed as: James, John, Alexander, Lavina, Caroline, Clarissa, Anna, and Rosa Bell. Orlando was between James and Caroline in birth order, and Benjamin was (I believe) a twin of Alexander (more on that later).

As for surnames, we can see that Lavina married Mr. Streeter, Anna married Mr. Hudson, Caroline married Mr. Smith, Clarissa married Mr. Goodwin, and Rosa Belle married Mr. Eaton. In looking up their marriage records at FamilySearch's Record Search, I discovered that when Lavina married Everett L. STREETER, she had been married to a Mr. WILSON first. I have been unable to find a marriage record for her to Wilson. Caroline (Carrie) married Lewis N. SMITH. Clarissa married Lyman GOODWIN, but then later married Ernest SINES. Anna married Thomas E. HUDSON, but I have found an earlier marriage record to a Frank W. THOM. I could not find a marriage record for Rosa Belle to any EATON, but did find an early one to a William MORARITY.

As for the men, James was married to a Mary HEDGREN, John to Sylvia TOWNSEND, and Alexander to Elena STOCKWELL (he later married Nellie ANGUS), who had been married to a STREETER (Lavina's brother-in-law, perhaps?). Benjamin died as a child, so never married, and when my ancestor Orlando died, he left my Mary Jane FREDENBURG a widow.

No mention is made of the many grandchildren by which James was survived. More importantly, there are no surviving siblings listed, which is very frustrating. There were a number of BARBER men who lived in Lapeer, Oakland, and Genesee counties, but I have no way of determining if they were brothers of James.

Next week, we'll visit James's tombstone.

Source of obituary: Jamie Childers, Michigan [(E-ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE),] to Miriam Robbins Midkiff, e-mail, 11 March 2004, “Barber family,” James W. BARBER File, BARBER Documents Folder, Genealogy Folder (desktop computer); privately held by Midkiff, [(E-ADDRESS) & STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington.