BARBER, Charles Marr "Charlie"
JOHNSON, BARBER, ANDERSON, TAYLOR, DEWSNUP, HILL
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/6/2016 at 06:09:04
Biography ~ Charles Marr "Charlie" Barber
August 13, 1875 ~ January 06, 1943Charles Marr Barber was born in De Bank, Ontario, Canada on August 13, 1875, the son of James Marr and Emma Margaret (Johnson) Barber. He attended the University of Toronto prior to emigration to the United States. He emigrated to the United States from Windsor, Ontario, Canada on or about September 7, 1898, arriving at the port of Detroit on the Carr Ferry. He attended the University of Chicago from October 1898 through the summer quarter 1900, and returned for classes in the summer quarter of 1901. Mr. Barber then assumed a position as professor of history and economics at Louisiana State Institute.
Early in 1903, the president of the University of Chicago, Dr. William Rainey Harper, referred Mr. Daniel Anderson, the Chairman of the Board of Graceland College (present-day Graceland University), Lamoni, Iowa, to Mr. Barber. Graceland College was in need of an interim president and after a conference with Mr. Barber, the search committee engaged him without interviewing any other candidates.
Mr. Barber served as acting president of Graceland College, Lamoni, Iowa, from January through June 1903, the second shortest period of time anyone held the college's top administrative position. In addition to his role as Graceland's leader, Barber was the coach for the 1903 baseball team, succeeding Clifton Taylor and followed by Ernest Dewsnup when Dewsnup assumed Graceland's presidency for the second time. Barber's presidency was remembered for the establishment of the college athletic programs, consisting of the Graceland Athletic Association for Women and the Athletic Association for Men.
Since its establishment, the college had experienced considerable difficulty in attracting students and in financing the cost of higher education. In June of 1903, Mr. Barber resigned and returned to the University of Chicago for the Summer quarter, completing the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy on September 3, 1903.
Following a period of travel in Mexico and lectures on the subject at Louisiana State University, he moved to Lansing, Michigan, in 1904, where he was head of the department of history and athletic director at Lansing high school. Among his students was 17-year old Carrie Antoinette Hill. Barber filed a petition for U.S. citizenship on January 9, 1905. He married Miss Hill on November 1, 1905, and they resided with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hill, at 411 Michigan Avenue, Lansing. He declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States on April 11, 1906, at Lansing, in the Circuit Court of Ingham County, Michigan. His citizenship was granted on September 25, 1913, and a certificate of naturalization was issued on January 30, 1914.
Charles and Carrie were the parents of three sons: Charles Hill Barber, born September 9, 1906, Lansing, Michigan, died January 4, 1973, Kowloon, Hong Kong; and, John Marr Barber, born June 19, 1911, Lansing, Michigan, died Spetmeber 4, 1972, Albuquqerque, New Mexico; and George Barber, born ca. 1915.
Between 1905 and 1918, Mr. Barber worked as an automobile dealer in Oklahoma City, El Paso, and Albuquerque. In October, 1908, he was operating a business known as C. M. Barber Garage at Franklin and Santa Fe streets in El Paso, Texas.
Inn 1918, the Barber family relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here Barber engaged in automobile sales, home construction, and built two apartment buildings in the 1400 block of East Central Avenue. He was active in the community, having raised the funds for the Maytag Research Building at Presbyterian Hospital from the Maytag (appliance) family of Iowa, serving as president of the Rotary Club and governor of the Rotary district. Carrie served as President of the YWCA.
Charlie Lembke, a long-time resident of Albuquerque, remembered "Charlie" Barber as a "raconteur and a real organizer."
He served for a period as Lecturer on Medieval History at Culver Military Academy, Culver, Indiana.
NOTE: Charles Barber died January 6, 1943. Carrie Antoinette (Hill) Barber was born April 13, 1886, and died September 20, 1960. They were interred at Mount Hope Cemetery, Lansing, Michigan.
SOURCES: Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” Pp. 390-91. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.
genealogy.com/ftm/b/a/r/Valerie-barber-B-Barber/BOOK-0001/0002-0019.html
Transcription and notes by Sharon R. Becker, January of 2016
Decatur Biographies maintained by Constance McDaniel Hall.
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