Gabriel M. Barr was born on June 29, 1846, in Dundee, Canada, one of 8 children of David and Sarah Mullholland Barr. The Monteregie Region was in the southwestern corner of Quebec, above New York, on the Salmon River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. His parents were natives of Londonderry, Ireland, though of Scottish descent. They emigrated to Canada in 1840 (according to the Marcus Centennial book) or 1845 (according to the Biographical History of Cherokee County).
In Canada, Gabriel grew up on a farm next to his future father-in-law, George Ward, Sr. In 1869, Gabe and 2 brothers traveled to California where he was a foreman in a shingle mill for 4 years. He returned to Canada. In 1871, through George Ward, Sr., he purchased 120 acres of land in Amherst Township, Cherokee County, Iowa. In the spring of 1874, he settled on this land, clearing it and making improvements. Marcus had been founded in 1871.
The Ward and Barr families traveled from Canada to Iowa in covered wagons. In the spring of 1874, Gabe settled on the land he had cleared.
Gabriel M. Barr married Margaret Rebecca Ward on September 20, 1876, in Marcus, Cherokee County, Iowa. He was 30; she was 19.
After coming to Marcus, Gabriel was an auctioneer and owned a successful general/men's clothing store. The Biographical History of Cherokee County states that his sales were about $10,000 annually. Granddaughter Jo Ann remembers her Grandma Barr telling the story: One night Gabriel was coming home in his horse and buggy from "crying an auction." Someone tried to hold him up. He was carrying about $100, which was a terrific amount of money in those days. He took the whip, cracked and cracked it, and got away from the robbers. His obituary, taken from the Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, 1889, states that he was "one of the best auctioneers in Western Iowa." It also states that he was "one of the main supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Marcus...one of the trustees and a steward of the church…a staunch Republican…and a strong advocate of Prohibition. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. (Ancient Order of United Workmen, a fraternal benefit society that offered insurance for sickness, accidents, death, and burial), No. 233, and of the Modern Woodmen of Marcus, (another fraternal benefit society, founded in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883) being a charter member of both organizations."
Other children:
Pearl Wanda (Pearlie) Barr, b. June 4, 1886.
She died in childhood in Marcus of scarlet fever.
Leslie Garfield (boy) Barr, b. September 3, 188_ .
He died in childhood in Marcus of spinal meningitis.
Both are presumably buried in Marcus, but there are no grave markers, and the cemetery has no record of their burials.
Gabriel Barr died at age 78. His obituary was in the June 4, 1925, Marcus News, and the headlines read: "Colonel G.M. Barr Called to Death – Pioneer Auctioneer of Marcus Dies on Memorial Day."
From his death certificate: Age 78 years, 11 months, 1 day.
Cause of death: Tumor/cancer of the bladder. He had surgery.
Gabriel is buried near the upright stone of David Barr, just at the beginning of the middle Methodist section on the curve of the drive.
Sources:
Oral notes given in 1986 by granddaughter Jo Ann (Memorial #53169460); Material from the Marcus Historical Society, courtesy of Sheree Ogren; (both submitted by great-granddaughter Angela, Member #48520699). Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, W. S. Dunbar & Co., Chicago - 1889, pages 517-518, submitted by Jim Allen, Member #47319841. All edited and merged by Angela.
In Canada, Gabriel grew up on a farm next to his future father-in-law, George Ward, Sr. In 1869, Gabe and 2 brothers traveled to California where he was a foreman in a shingle mill for 4 years. He returned to Canada. In 1871, through George Ward, Sr., he purchased 120 acres of land in Amherst Township, Cherokee County, Iowa. In the spring of 1874, he settled on this land, clearing it and making improvements. Marcus had been founded in 1871.
The Ward and Barr families traveled from Canada to Iowa in covered wagons. In the spring of 1874, Gabe settled on the land he had cleared.
Gabriel M. Barr married Margaret Rebecca Ward on September 20, 1876, in Marcus, Cherokee County, Iowa. He was 30; she was 19.
After coming to Marcus, Gabriel was an auctioneer and owned a successful general/men's clothing store. The Biographical History of Cherokee County states that his sales were about $10,000 annually. Granddaughter Jo Ann remembers her Grandma Barr telling the story: One night Gabriel was coming home in his horse and buggy from "crying an auction." Someone tried to hold him up. He was carrying about $100, which was a terrific amount of money in those days. He took the whip, cracked and cracked it, and got away from the robbers. His obituary, taken from the Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, 1889, states that he was "one of the best auctioneers in Western Iowa." It also states that he was "one of the main supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Marcus...one of the trustees and a steward of the church…a staunch Republican…and a strong advocate of Prohibition. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. (Ancient Order of United Workmen, a fraternal benefit society that offered insurance for sickness, accidents, death, and burial), No. 233, and of the Modern Woodmen of Marcus, (another fraternal benefit society, founded in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883) being a charter member of both organizations."
Other children:
Pearl Wanda (Pearlie) Barr, b. June 4, 1886.
She died in childhood in Marcus of scarlet fever.
Leslie Garfield (boy) Barr, b. September 3, 188_ .
He died in childhood in Marcus of spinal meningitis.
Both are presumably buried in Marcus, but there are no grave markers, and the cemetery has no record of their burials.
Gabriel Barr died at age 78. His obituary was in the June 4, 1925, Marcus News, and the headlines read: "Colonel G.M. Barr Called to Death – Pioneer Auctioneer of Marcus Dies on Memorial Day."
From his death certificate: Age 78 years, 11 months, 1 day.
Cause of death: Tumor/cancer of the bladder. He had surgery.
Gabriel is buried near the upright stone of David Barr, just at the beginning of the middle Methodist section on the curve of the drive.
Sources:
Oral notes given in 1986 by granddaughter Jo Ann (Memorial #53169460); Material from the Marcus Historical Society, courtesy of Sheree Ogren; (both submitted by great-granddaughter Angela, Member #48520699). Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, W. S. Dunbar & Co., Chicago - 1889, pages 517-518, submitted by Jim Allen, Member #47319841. All edited and merged by Angela.
Gabriel M. Barr was born on June 29, 1846, in Dundee, Canada, one of 8 children of David and Sarah Mullholland Barr. The Monteregie Region was in the southwestern corner of Quebec, above New York, on the Salmon River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. His parents were natives of Londonderry, Ireland, though of Scottish descent. They emigrated to Canada in 1840 (according to the Marcus Centennial book) or 1845 (according to the Biographical History of Cherokee County).
In Canada, Gabriel grew up on a farm next to his future father-in-law, George Ward, Sr. In 1869, Gabe and 2 brothers traveled to California where he was a foreman in a shingle mill for 4 years. He returned to Canada. In 1871, through George Ward, Sr., he purchased 120 acres of land in Amherst Township, Cherokee County, Iowa. In the spring of 1874, he settled on this land, clearing it and making improvements. Marcus had been founded in 1871.
The Ward and Barr families traveled from Canada to Iowa in covered wagons. In the spring of 1874, Gabe settled on the land he had cleared.
Gabriel M. Barr married Margaret Rebecca Ward on September 20, 1876, in Marcus, Cherokee County, Iowa. He was 30; she was 19.
After coming to Marcus, Gabriel was an auctioneer and owned a successful general/men's clothing store. The Biographical History of Cherokee County states that his sales were about $10,000 annually. Granddaughter Jo Ann remembers her Grandma Barr telling the story: One night Gabriel was coming home in his horse and buggy from "crying an auction." Someone tried to hold him up. He was carrying about $100, which was a terrific amount of money in those days. He took the whip, cracked and cracked it, and got away from the robbers. His obituary, taken from the Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, 1889, states that he was "one of the best auctioneers in Western Iowa." It also states that he was "one of the main supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Marcus...one of the trustees and a steward of the church…a staunch Republican…and a strong advocate of Prohibition. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. (Ancient Order of United Workmen, a fraternal benefit society that offered insurance for sickness, accidents, death, and burial), No. 233, and of the Modern Woodmen of Marcus, (another fraternal benefit society, founded in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883) being a charter member of both organizations."
Other children:
Pearl Wanda (Pearlie) Barr, b. June 4, 1886.
She died in childhood in Marcus of scarlet fever.
Leslie Garfield (boy) Barr, b. September 3, 188_ .
He died in childhood in Marcus of spinal meningitis.
Both are presumably buried in Marcus, but there are no grave markers, and the cemetery has no record of their burials.
Gabriel Barr died at age 78. His obituary was in the June 4, 1925, Marcus News, and the headlines read: "Colonel G.M. Barr Called to Death – Pioneer Auctioneer of Marcus Dies on Memorial Day."
From his death certificate: Age 78 years, 11 months, 1 day.
Cause of death: Tumor/cancer of the bladder. He had surgery.
Gabriel is buried near the upright stone of David Barr, just at the beginning of the middle Methodist section on the curve of the drive.
Sources:
Oral notes given in 1986 by granddaughter Jo Ann (Memorial #53169460); Material from the Marcus Historical Society, courtesy of Sheree Ogren; (both submitted by great-granddaughter Angela, Member #48520699). Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, W. S. Dunbar & Co., Chicago - 1889, pages 517-518, submitted by Jim Allen, Member #47319841. All edited and merged by Angela.
In Canada, Gabriel grew up on a farm next to his future father-in-law, George Ward, Sr. In 1869, Gabe and 2 brothers traveled to California where he was a foreman in a shingle mill for 4 years. He returned to Canada. In 1871, through George Ward, Sr., he purchased 120 acres of land in Amherst Township, Cherokee County, Iowa. In the spring of 1874, he settled on this land, clearing it and making improvements. Marcus had been founded in 1871.
The Ward and Barr families traveled from Canada to Iowa in covered wagons. In the spring of 1874, Gabe settled on the land he had cleared.
Gabriel M. Barr married Margaret Rebecca Ward on September 20, 1876, in Marcus, Cherokee County, Iowa. He was 30; she was 19.
After coming to Marcus, Gabriel was an auctioneer and owned a successful general/men's clothing store. The Biographical History of Cherokee County states that his sales were about $10,000 annually. Granddaughter Jo Ann remembers her Grandma Barr telling the story: One night Gabriel was coming home in his horse and buggy from "crying an auction." Someone tried to hold him up. He was carrying about $100, which was a terrific amount of money in those days. He took the whip, cracked and cracked it, and got away from the robbers. His obituary, taken from the Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, 1889, states that he was "one of the best auctioneers in Western Iowa." It also states that he was "one of the main supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Marcus...one of the trustees and a steward of the church…a staunch Republican…and a strong advocate of Prohibition. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. (Ancient Order of United Workmen, a fraternal benefit society that offered insurance for sickness, accidents, death, and burial), No. 233, and of the Modern Woodmen of Marcus, (another fraternal benefit society, founded in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883) being a charter member of both organizations."
Other children:
Pearl Wanda (Pearlie) Barr, b. June 4, 1886.
She died in childhood in Marcus of scarlet fever.
Leslie Garfield (boy) Barr, b. September 3, 188_ .
He died in childhood in Marcus of spinal meningitis.
Both are presumably buried in Marcus, but there are no grave markers, and the cemetery has no record of their burials.
Gabriel Barr died at age 78. His obituary was in the June 4, 1925, Marcus News, and the headlines read: "Colonel G.M. Barr Called to Death – Pioneer Auctioneer of Marcus Dies on Memorial Day."
From his death certificate: Age 78 years, 11 months, 1 day.
Cause of death: Tumor/cancer of the bladder. He had surgery.
Gabriel is buried near the upright stone of David Barr, just at the beginning of the middle Methodist section on the curve of the drive.
Sources:
Oral notes given in 1986 by granddaughter Jo Ann (Memorial #53169460); Material from the Marcus Historical Society, courtesy of Sheree Ogren; (both submitted by great-granddaughter Angela, Member #48520699). Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, W. S. Dunbar & Co., Chicago - 1889, pages 517-518, submitted by Jim Allen, Member #47319841. All edited and merged by Angela.
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