HUGH BARR, one of the leading farmers of Washington Town-ship, is a son of Robert and Hannah (Johnson) Barr. Of German ancestry Hugh Barr was born Barr Township in 1817.
In boyhood he enjoyed very limited educational advantages, not having attended school in all more than five months, and during that time scarcely learned to read and write. At the age of sixteen he was hired out to work in a still-house, in which he remained seven years, notwithstanding which experience he did not contract a bad habit.
Having accumulated a capital of $281, he desired to engage in merchandising. During the seven years he worked in the still-house he so won the confidence of his employer that now he invested some $600 with Mr. Barr's $281, and entrusted the management to him. With this small capital he stocked up in 1840 in Bruceville. Two years later Mr. Barr became sole proprietor. Some time after he engaged
in flat-boating to New Orleans, making eight trips. For thirty years he continued the mercantile business in Bruceville, and for two years he ran a store at Bicknell.
About 1846 Mr. Barr purchased seventy acres of land, and by close attention to business and good management he increased the number of acres to 350. In 1842 Mr. Barr was married to Martha B. McClure, a native of Washington Township, Daviess County, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gowens) McClure. Both parents were from Kentucky, being among the early settlers of Knox County.
To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born eight children: Daniel J., Robert N., Alice, Henry C, Ann B., Mary R, Joseph H. and John L. Mrs. Barr died in 1882. Three years afterward Mr. Barr was married to Kate (Beckes) Nugent, who was born in 1833 in Johnson Township.
Mr. Barr is a staunch Republican, and cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison for President. Both himself and wife are professing Christians, he being a member of the Christian Church and she of the Presbyterian.
Source: History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana
Update, 2019: Hugh's grandfather was also Hugh Barr (1758-1842), also known as "O'Barr". Hugh the elder's son succeeded in getting the Revolutionary War pension (finally in the 1850s) that Hugh would have been entitled to. He testified that his father's name was O'Barr. A cousin of this Hugh was Treasury Secretary under LBJ, named Joseph W. Barr. His bio in the Dictionary of Treasury Secretaries states that the O'Barrs emigrated from Ireland in the 1760s. And there is a headstone for the elder Hugh Barr in the Barr-Johnson cemetery in Bell Ridge, Edgar County, IL, that was dedicated by the DAR on 11-11-57, that states Ireland was the county of origin for the Barrs
The above article from Knox County Genealogy and History is one of several articles that appeared in Indiana newspapers, many of which were written in Hugh's dotage to commemorate his prosperous life.
In boyhood he enjoyed very limited educational advantages, not having attended school in all more than five months, and during that time scarcely learned to read and write. At the age of sixteen he was hired out to work in a still-house, in which he remained seven years, notwithstanding which experience he did not contract a bad habit.
Having accumulated a capital of $281, he desired to engage in merchandising. During the seven years he worked in the still-house he so won the confidence of his employer that now he invested some $600 with Mr. Barr's $281, and entrusted the management to him. With this small capital he stocked up in 1840 in Bruceville. Two years later Mr. Barr became sole proprietor. Some time after he engaged
in flat-boating to New Orleans, making eight trips. For thirty years he continued the mercantile business in Bruceville, and for two years he ran a store at Bicknell.
About 1846 Mr. Barr purchased seventy acres of land, and by close attention to business and good management he increased the number of acres to 350. In 1842 Mr. Barr was married to Martha B. McClure, a native of Washington Township, Daviess County, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gowens) McClure. Both parents were from Kentucky, being among the early settlers of Knox County.
To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born eight children: Daniel J., Robert N., Alice, Henry C, Ann B., Mary R, Joseph H. and John L. Mrs. Barr died in 1882. Three years afterward Mr. Barr was married to Kate (Beckes) Nugent, who was born in 1833 in Johnson Township.
Mr. Barr is a staunch Republican, and cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison for President. Both himself and wife are professing Christians, he being a member of the Christian Church and she of the Presbyterian.
Source: History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana
Update, 2019: Hugh's grandfather was also Hugh Barr (1758-1842), also known as "O'Barr". Hugh the elder's son succeeded in getting the Revolutionary War pension (finally in the 1850s) that Hugh would have been entitled to. He testified that his father's name was O'Barr. A cousin of this Hugh was Treasury Secretary under LBJ, named Joseph W. Barr. His bio in the Dictionary of Treasury Secretaries states that the O'Barrs emigrated from Ireland in the 1760s. And there is a headstone for the elder Hugh Barr in the Barr-Johnson cemetery in Bell Ridge, Edgar County, IL, that was dedicated by the DAR on 11-11-57, that states Ireland was the county of origin for the Barrs
The above article from Knox County Genealogy and History is one of several articles that appeared in Indiana newspapers, many of which were written in Hugh's dotage to commemorate his prosperous life.
HUGH BARR, one of the leading farmers of Washington Town-ship, is a son of Robert and Hannah (Johnson) Barr. Of German ancestry Hugh Barr was born Barr Township in 1817.
In boyhood he enjoyed very limited educational advantages, not having attended school in all more than five months, and during that time scarcely learned to read and write. At the age of sixteen he was hired out to work in a still-house, in which he remained seven years, notwithstanding which experience he did not contract a bad habit.
Having accumulated a capital of $281, he desired to engage in merchandising. During the seven years he worked in the still-house he so won the confidence of his employer that now he invested some $600 with Mr. Barr's $281, and entrusted the management to him. With this small capital he stocked up in 1840 in Bruceville. Two years later Mr. Barr became sole proprietor. Some time after he engaged
in flat-boating to New Orleans, making eight trips. For thirty years he continued the mercantile business in Bruceville, and for two years he ran a store at Bicknell.
About 1846 Mr. Barr purchased seventy acres of land, and by close attention to business and good management he increased the number of acres to 350. In 1842 Mr. Barr was married to Martha B. McClure, a native of Washington Township, Daviess County, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gowens) McClure. Both parents were from Kentucky, being among the early settlers of Knox County.
To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born eight children: Daniel J., Robert N., Alice, Henry C, Ann B., Mary R, Joseph H. and John L. Mrs. Barr died in 1882. Three years afterward Mr. Barr was married to Kate (Beckes) Nugent, who was born in 1833 in Johnson Township.
Mr. Barr is a staunch Republican, and cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison for President. Both himself and wife are professing Christians, he being a member of the Christian Church and she of the Presbyterian.
Source: History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana
Update, 2019: Hugh's grandfather was also Hugh Barr (1758-1842), also known as "O'Barr". Hugh the elder's son succeeded in getting the Revolutionary War pension (finally in the 1850s) that Hugh would have been entitled to. He testified that his father's name was O'Barr. A cousin of this Hugh was Treasury Secretary under LBJ, named Joseph W. Barr. His bio in the Dictionary of Treasury Secretaries states that the O'Barrs emigrated from Ireland in the 1760s. And there is a headstone for the elder Hugh Barr in the Barr-Johnson cemetery in Bell Ridge, Edgar County, IL, that was dedicated by the DAR on 11-11-57, that states Ireland was the county of origin for the Barrs
The above article from Knox County Genealogy and History is one of several articles that appeared in Indiana newspapers, many of which were written in Hugh's dotage to commemorate his prosperous life.
In boyhood he enjoyed very limited educational advantages, not having attended school in all more than five months, and during that time scarcely learned to read and write. At the age of sixteen he was hired out to work in a still-house, in which he remained seven years, notwithstanding which experience he did not contract a bad habit.
Having accumulated a capital of $281, he desired to engage in merchandising. During the seven years he worked in the still-house he so won the confidence of his employer that now he invested some $600 with Mr. Barr's $281, and entrusted the management to him. With this small capital he stocked up in 1840 in Bruceville. Two years later Mr. Barr became sole proprietor. Some time after he engaged
in flat-boating to New Orleans, making eight trips. For thirty years he continued the mercantile business in Bruceville, and for two years he ran a store at Bicknell.
About 1846 Mr. Barr purchased seventy acres of land, and by close attention to business and good management he increased the number of acres to 350. In 1842 Mr. Barr was married to Martha B. McClure, a native of Washington Township, Daviess County, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gowens) McClure. Both parents were from Kentucky, being among the early settlers of Knox County.
To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born eight children: Daniel J., Robert N., Alice, Henry C, Ann B., Mary R, Joseph H. and John L. Mrs. Barr died in 1882. Three years afterward Mr. Barr was married to Kate (Beckes) Nugent, who was born in 1833 in Johnson Township.
Mr. Barr is a staunch Republican, and cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison for President. Both himself and wife are professing Christians, he being a member of the Christian Church and she of the Presbyterian.
Source: History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana
Update, 2019: Hugh's grandfather was also Hugh Barr (1758-1842), also known as "O'Barr". Hugh the elder's son succeeded in getting the Revolutionary War pension (finally in the 1850s) that Hugh would have been entitled to. He testified that his father's name was O'Barr. A cousin of this Hugh was Treasury Secretary under LBJ, named Joseph W. Barr. His bio in the Dictionary of Treasury Secretaries states that the O'Barrs emigrated from Ireland in the 1760s. And there is a headstone for the elder Hugh Barr in the Barr-Johnson cemetery in Bell Ridge, Edgar County, IL, that was dedicated by the DAR on 11-11-57, that states Ireland was the county of origin for the Barrs
The above article from Knox County Genealogy and History is one of several articles that appeared in Indiana newspapers, many of which were written in Hugh's dotage to commemorate his prosperous life.
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