Comments to noarweb@mtnhome.com. Updated 14 May 1997.
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1. William(1) Barr was born 15 Aug 1742 (in Ireland, of Scottish descent) and died 15 May 1816 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio,[1] where he had moved in the early 1800s.[2]
Of the early Barr family, the Mary Barr Memoir says:
The family of Barr of Scotch origin, took their name from a place in Scotland, whence a branch of the family removed to the south [the word "south" is lined through and "north" written in] of Ireland, at the time of the great emigration thither; carrying with them, the religious forms and faith of the Scotch Presbyterian church. Some members of this family came to Pennsylvania at the time of the first Scotch-Irish emigration...
William Barr, Senior, as he was called...was one of seven children that grew to maturity; five of them sons, William, John,[3] Robert, Samuel, and Andrew, and two daughters, Jane, who married a McWhorter, and Sarah, who married a Grafton, all of whom, but Robert, had families.
He is probably the William Barr who served in the Cumberland County Militia during the Revolution as a Private in Captain Robert Shannon's Company in 1777 and Captain Robert Reed's Company in 1779[4] and is mentioned on the memorial at Middle Spring Presbyterian Church just outside Shippensburg.[5] A descendant through the Ellison line (see Susan Barr Ellison) may have been a DAR member many years ago, and her membership may have been based on William's service.
He is also probably the William Barr who was a subscriber, along with John and Samuel Barr, to the building fund of the church in 1781.[6]
William was married on 8 January 1782 to Mary McKnight[7] of Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania {born near Carlisle on 12 June 1753,[8] the daughter of John and Mary (McAllister) McKnight of Middleton Township, Cumberland County;[9] died 16 July 1818 in Cincinnati[10]}. She is probably the Mary Barr who is listed among the women who contributed to the pulpit fund in 1786[11]. Mary (McAllister) McKnight was the daughter of Archibald and Jean (McClure) McAllister[12] of Carlisle and West Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County. Both John McKnight and Archibald McAllister are among the holders of original lots in Carlisle.[13]
It is believed that William and his family lived in Shippensburg, or nearby, until shortly after 1810, and that he was a merchant. He is mentioned in census records, land records, and court records. Merri Lou Scribner Schaumann in Indictments -- 1750-1800, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Dover, PA: 1989), page 108, says:
Case #1459 - "Catharine Shannon stole 1 piece of light cotton chintz, 7 black shawls, 6 silk handkerchiefs, 1 piece of light muslin chintz, 1 piece of brown Joan spinning, and 1 piece of green tape from William Barr of Shippensburg. Test: Mary Barr. Catharine Shannon confessed and was sent to jail. (May 8 & 10, 1790).
This compiler examined the original documents in this case at the Cumberland County Historical Society on 28 October 1993. The total value of the goods was given as fifty pounds, and Catherine Shannon was sentenced to two years in jail for "the Clendestin takeing" of these goods and "Sundray other Small articles, the property of William Barr of the Town of Shippensburgh." Since William was a merchant in Shippensburg,[14] this may have been a shoplifting case on a grand scale, but no further details are available.
Another case examined in which William was also indicted in August of 1797 reads as follows:
The Grand Inquest for the County of Cumberland upon their oaths and affirmations respectively do present That whereas There is one of the Commonwealth's Highways at the Township of Shippensburg in the said county beginning at the North-west end of Queen's street in the Town of Shippensburg in the Township and county aforesaid, thence through the said Township of Shippensburg in the said county to the Middle-spring Meeting house in Southampton Township in the said county -- where the liege subjects of the said Commonwealth, and their horses, carts, and carriages without any hindrance, impediment or stop, by any fence, Hedge, or Ditch, or obstacle whatsoever used to pass and repass -- Nevertheless William Barr and Robert Peebles both of the said county yeomen on the tenth day of April in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven with Force and arms, at the Township of Shippensburg in the county aforesaid, a certain fence of the height of six Feet, and of the breadth of five Feet, and of the length of Four hundred Feet in and upon the said Commonwealth's High-way, did erect and place, to the great Hindrance, Impediment and stop of the liege subjects of the said Commonwealth about the necessary business by the aforesaid Commonwealth's High-way with their cattle and carriages passing and repassing. And the same fence on the Commonwealth's HighWay aforesaid placed and erected do still keep, to the evil example of all others in such cases offending, and against the Peace and Dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The disposition of this case is not known, but it sounds really interesting!
Sometime between 1810 and 1816, William and his family moved to Cincinnati. A William Barr is mentioned as a partner in business with John T. Barr in Chillicothe, and a William Barr & Company was in business in Cincinnati; but in both cases, it was probably this William's nephew and son- in-law.[15]
William Barr died in Cincinnati on 15 May 1816.[16] A link to his will is in the Table of Contents. The Mary Barr Memoir says of him:
He was a man of ardent piety, and is still remembered in Cincinnati for his tall upright figure and his long white flowing hair. He had been a successful merchant in Shippensburgh, and was a man of independent fortune to the end of his life; and his will, recorded in Hamilton County Records, shows his characteristic caution, in the disposal of his estate, and his abundant provision for his wife.
The Mary Barr Memoir states that William and Mary "had six children, four of whom reached maturity and had families." There is no record of the names of the two who died early. All of the children were probably born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Issue: 5. i. Mary Barr. 6. ii. John McKnight Barr. 7. iii. Jane Barr. 8. iv. Susan Barr.
2. Samuel(1) Barr, brother of William(1), married Margaret Robinson[17] (born about 1760, died about 1844 -- see first note from Draper Papers below). The 1992 International Genealogical Index of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS IGI) shows that the marriage occurred on 27 March 1777 in Lancaster Co., PA, but the source for this information has not yet been checked. They moved to Kenton's Station (now Maysville), Kentucky, in 1791. In April of 1792 he was killed by Indians while with Simon Kenton's Little Miami Expedition into Ohio.[18]
A photocopy of a section from The Lyman Coleman Draper Papers (Series S, vol. 19, page 143) was sent by Henrietta.
From Mrs. Ann Ellison, Manchester, Ohio, mother of John Ellison, banker there - & daughter of Saml. Barr - born in 1790:
Samuel Barr came to Kenton's Station in fall of 1791 from near Shippensburg Pa: This his first service in Kenton's Little Miami Expedition, Apl. 1792: In the fight, he had shot once or twice, had loaded again, & stepped out a little too far -- & thus exposed, was shot.
Kenton was the last to get back - thence there was uneasiness lest he was killed in the flight.
Mrs. Barr & five children were left - Mrs. Ellison, next to youngest, only surviving: Mrs. Barr married John Thompson (not of family of Maj. John Kenton's wife) & survived till abt. 1844, aged 84.
Mr. Eckert[19] says that Samuel Barr was killed on 10 April 1792. Notes sent by Mr. Eckert to Henrietta cite other Draper Paper entries, including the following from Jemima Hankins, daughter of Cornelius Washburn, who was on the expedition, from Draper Series S, Vol. 19, pages 43 & 44:
The fight occurred, as Washburn himself pointed out to Mrs. Hankins, on the eastern bank of the East Fork, about 4 miles above present Williamsburg in Clermont County, Ohio, opposite Hutchinson's Riffle:...Barr's body was taken over the East Fork and buried on the brow of the hill or western bank, about a mile above the riffle and battleground...
All the children of Samuel and Margaret were probably born in Pennsylvania. The birth order as given below is not confirmed.
Issue:[20]
9. i. William Barr.
10. ii. John T. Barr.
iii. Mary(2) Barr {Samuel(1)} Married a Mr.
Robinson.[21]
11. iv. Anna Barr.
12. v. Margaret Barr.
3. Jane(1) Barr, sister of William(1), married William McWhorter. A descendant, Robert Gibbs of Portland, Oregon, who provided all information on this family, believes that Jane may have been born in Philadelphia in 1756. He spells William's name McWhirter or Mewhirter and shows their marriage date as 14 June 1774 in Lancaster County. He also believes that the father of the original immigrant family may have been named John Barr.
Issue (from Robert Gibbs):
i. Susanna(2) McWhirter {Jane(1)} Married
William McDowell on 10 August 1810.
ii. William(2) McWhirter {Jane(1)} Married Mary
Jane McChesney.
13. iii. John Barr Mewhirter.
4. Sarah(1) Barr married a Grafton, according to the Mary Barr Memoir. There were no Grafton families listed in the 1790 and 1800 census indices which were consulted at the Cumberland County Historical Society by this researcher in October of 1993.
Footnotes:
[1]Spring Grove Cemetery Records, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, shows 15 August as his birth date and 15 August as his death date. Hereafter, Spring Grove Records. However, The Western Spy of Friday, May 17, 1816, reports his death "---- On Wednesday last, Mr. William Barr sen. aged 74 years." Note thatMary Barr Memoir states that his age at death was 75. The Barr plot is Lot 3 in Section 81.Back
[2] _______, Memoir of Mrs. Mary Barr (Cincinnati: Printed for Private Distribution, January 1863), page 4. Hereafter, Mary Barr Memoir. The photocopy of this small book has the name Miss Margaret Ellen Spencer written on what appears to be the cover. The move to Cincinnati took place sometime after 1810, because William is still listed in the Pennsylvania census (Shippensburg, Cumberland County) in that year. There is a link to this work in the Table of Contents.Back
[3] The will of a John Barr is mentioned in Abstracts of Wills and Administrations of Franklin County Registered at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Vol. B. Cited from page 292 of that will book is the following abstract: "John Barr of Letterkenny township, farmer; dated October 10, 1805; proved May 20, 1806; wife Susanna one-third of profits arising from the plantation on which I live; son William two hundred dollars; daughter Margaret Barr one hundred thirty-three dollars to be paid into the hands of her brother William, and if Margaret dies without heirs, then to her brother William; son Robert fourteen dollars; daughter Mary Barr one hundred seventy five dollars and at her death to her full brothers; three sons: Samuel, Andrew and John a tract of land whereon I live and if they should die before they are twenty one years old, then to their full brothers and sister; two loving sons, Samuel and Andrew, executors: Wit: Robert Shannon, John McCune." Could this John Barr be the brother of William? The names are certainly potentially interesting.
[4] William Henry Egle, Editor, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series (Harrisburg: State Printer, 1897), Vol. XXIII, pages 614 & 667.
Back[5] Belle McKinney Hays Swope, History of The Middle Spring Presbyterian Church, Middle Spring, Pa., 1738-1900 (Newville, PA: Times Steam Printing House, 1900), page 209. Hereafter: Middle Spring.
Back[6] Middle Spring, page 43.
Back[7] Mary Barr Memoir, page 3.
Back[8] Spring Grove Records.
Back[9] To determine her parentage, see the wills of John McKnight and Archibald McAllister in the appendix and Mary Catharine McAllister Descendants of Archibald McAllister of West Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 1730-1898 (Harrisburg, PA: Scheffer's Printing and Bookbinding House, 1898), page 85. Hereafter, McAllister Descendants. In this work, Mary (McKnight) Barr is called "Polly."
Back[10] Mary Barr Memoir says "Mary McKnight died July 16, 1818, at the age of 63"; Spring Grove Records say July 16, 1819. Note that if she was really 63, her year of birth in Spring Grove Records in incorrect; and her birth date is not given in Mary Barr Memoir.
Back[11] Middle Spring, page 45.
Back[12] McAllister Descendants, pages 10 and 85. Also of interest in this line is the work of Cicero Pangburn McClure and Roy Fleming McClure, Pioneer McClure Families of the Monongahela Valley, Their Origins and Their Descendants (Akron, Ohio: Press of The Superior Printing Co., 1924), pages 7-14.
Back[13] Merri Lou Scribner Schauman, A History & Genealogy of Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Dover, PA: 1987), pages 26, 38, 51, 61, 210 and 212.
Back[14] Mary Barr Memoir, page 4.
Back[15] Karen Mauer Green, Pioneer Ohio Newspapers, 1793-1810 (Galveston, TX: The Frontier Press, 1986) and Pioneer Ohio Newspapers, 1802-1818 (Galveston, TX: The Frontier Press, 1988). Hereafter, Ohio Newspapers. There are many listings in these newspaper abstracts for Barrs and other surnames related to the Barr family. On page 4 of the second volume, from The Scioto Gazette for 6 February 1811, "John T. Barr and William Barr, in Chillicothe, have dissolved their partnership and ask those indebted to them to pay Mr. Keys." Later entries indicate that John T. Barr, by May of 1811, was in partnership with a Mr. Keys. On page 313 of the first volume, from the 10 September 1810 issue of The Scioto Gazette and Chillicothe Advertiser, the marriage of John F. Keys of Baltimore and Miss Margaret Barr of Chillicothe is reported. The first mention of William Barr in Cincinnati appears in an abstract from the 20 April 1811 issue of The Western Spy, when William Barr was elected a corporation officer of Cincinnati and is mentioned in relation to the militia. The first mention of William Barr & Company was found on 6 June 1812.
Back[16] Spring Grove Records and Mary Barr Memoir, page 4.
Back[17] Mary Barr Memoir, page 4.
Back[18] Allan W. Eckert, The Frontiersmen (New York: Bantam Books, 1970), page 450.
Back[19] Ibid.
Back[20] Mary Barr Memoir, page 4.
Back[21] Ibid.
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