West Liberty History 1838-1938

Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
PIONEER BARCLAY

In 1853 James S. Barclay came to Iowa from New York to work at the carpenter trade. He worked at his trade for a time but concluded to go to farming, and on July 17, 1854, bought the west half of the of the southwest quarter of section 9, Wapsie Township. This land at that time was virgin prairie.

In 1855 he built a house which is still on the farm and used as a store house. December 16, 1855, he and Hannah Mosher were married and started a new home. They reared a family of three children, Kate B., Marcus M., and Winifred J. Barclay. All have passed on except the last named.

They continued to live on the same farm until their deaths: James S. Barclay, March 16, 1896; Hannah M. Barclay, December 8, 1904.

In August, 1905, W. J. Barclay purchased the farm from the other heirs and continued to reside there until March 1, 1935, when he moved to West Liberty.

This piece of land is one of the few in Muscatine county that has never been mortgaged.

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