Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah July 15, 2020

The owner of a highly productive farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Arcadia township, Matthew R. Barr, now living retired at Carroll, is amply fortified against the possibility of material want. He has spent nearly forty years in Carroll county and through his self-reliance and earnest effort gained standing as one of the prosperous and substantial men of this section. He is a native of Scotland, born at Paisley, April 15, 1843, and a son of Andrew and Margaret (Reid) Barr. The father was born in the little village of Houston, Scotland, and gained his education at a night school. He went to Paisley as clerk in a cotton mill, continuing with that concern until he became manager of the mill. Notwithstanding the responsible position which he had secured he was attracted to the new world in 1856. He came to America with his family and took up his home in Frontenac county, Canada, at the village of Flinton, engaging in farming in the vicinity. In 1872 he came to Iowa and located on a farm five and one-half miles southwest of Carroll. He attained a position of acknowledged responsibility in the agricultural community. He passed away in 1903, at the venerable age of ninety-four years. His wife died in 1848, at the age of thirty-five. Both were sincere members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Barr devoted his attention principally to his business and was never a seeker of public office but in Canada served as assessor and collector. There were six children in the family, four of whom grew to maturity: John, deceased; Matthew R., of this review; Margaret, also deceased; and Duncan, who now lives at Hartington, Nebraska. John Barr was the paternal grandfather. He was a stone mason and a weaver and his wife was Ann Houston. In their family were three sons and one daughter, Archibald, John, Andrew and Janet, the latter of whom married a Mr. Gilmour. Andrew Barr, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born in 1763 and died in 1834, at the age of seventy-one. His wife, Jean Speirs, was born in 1759 and died in 1849, having reached the advanced age of ninety years. The maternal great-grandfather, Archibald Houston, was born in 1745 and was an architect by profession. He died in 1817, at the age of seventy-two. His wife was Janet Burr, who died in 1797 at the age of forty-one years.

Matthew R. Barr passed the first thirteen years of his life in his native land and received his education in the common schools. He came to America with his father at the age of thirteen and was married in Canada. In 1872 he arrived in Carroll county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Arcadia township, which he greatly improved by the erection of buildings and fences and by setting out shade and ornamental trees, making it one of the pleasing features of the landscape. He prospered in his business and continued upon his farm until March, 1907, when he moved to Carroll. He now resides with his wife in a beautiful home which he erected at 715 North Crawford street. He has not entirely given up his interest in agricultural pursuits as he still owns his farm.

In November, 1866, Mr. Barr was united in marriage to Miss Mary Thompson, a daughter of Archibald Thompson, of Canada. Three children were born to this union: Agnes, now living in Canada, who married Harry Shartell and has three children, Agnes, Richard and Matthew Reid; Andrew, who is a carpenter and lives at Brunswick, Nebraska; and Mary Jane, of Toronto, Canada, who married Ward Snyder and has three children. The mother of these children having been called away, Mr. Barr was married in the fall of 1874 to Miss Mary Gardner Hunter, a daughter of William and Mary (Struthers) Hunter, and five children have come to bless this union: Elizabeth, now living three miles from Carroll, who married F. A. Myers and has one son, Vernon; Margaret, living four and one-half miles southwest of Carroll, who married Rollo Pascoe and is the mother of three children, Lois and Donald and Evon, twins; William, who is now a practicing physician at Wells, Minnesota; Matthew, at home, who married Ruby Ingram and has one daughter, Helen; and James, now engaged in the practice of law at Waterloo, Iowa. Mrs. Mary G. Barr was born in Leeds county, Canada, near Smith Falls, May 24, 1845. Her parents were natives of Scotland her father having been born in Paisley and her mother in Glasgow. The family came to Iowa in 1873 and located in Arcadia township, Carroll county, the mother being called from earthly scenes in the year following at the age of sixty-two. The father died in 1878, at the age of sixty-four. There were three children in the family, Robert, James and Mary. Robert Hunter, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Barr, married Elizabeth Campbell in Scotland. They emigrated to Canada and there spent the remainder of their days. The maternal grandfather was James Struthers.

Mr. Barr of this review trained his children to habits of industry and usefulness, thus enabling them to become intelligent and progressive members of society, capable of assisting in the advancement of those with whom they are associated. He has always been a friend of education and good government and by his example has advanced the cause of peace and prosperity. A patriotic citizen of his adopted state, he has no reason to regret selecting Carroll county as his home, for here he has found friends and also a competency.

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