James M. Barr
Not only has James M. Barr seen Allamakee county grow from a
wilderness with only a few inhabitants into a rich agricultural
district containing thousands of good homes and a number of
growing towns, but he has participated in the slow, persistent
work of development which was necessary to produce the change
which has been so complete that Allamakee stands in the front
ranks of the leading counties of the state of Iowa. Mr. Barr is
numbered among its most honored pioneers and is further entitled
to a place in this volume as a veteran of the Civil war, to whom
the country owes a debt of gratitude that can never be forgotten
and never fully repaid.
Mr. Barr was born in Glasgow, Scotland, June 26, 1843, and is a
son of John C. Barr, of English ancestry but a native of the
north of Ireland. The father was reared in Scotland and there
married Katherine Allen, also a native of that country, coming
from a long line of Scotch ancestors. John C. Carr emigrated to
America in 1852 and went by way of New Orleans up the Mississippi
river to Dubuque, where he worked in the lead mines for some
time. He later came to Allamakee county, locating in Hanover
township, where he took up two hundred and forty acres of raw
land, which he cleared, fenced and improved opening up a new
farm, upon which he resided until his death.
James M. Barr’s childhood was spent amid pioneer conditions
and it was he who aided his father in breaking the raw prairie
land. He had a five yoke team of oxen and a large breaking ploy,
which cut an eighteen inch furrow, and with this he accomplished
a great deal of the initial work in the improvement of the
homestead. When he was eighteen years of age, in August, 1861, he
joined the Union army, enlisting in Company H. Ninth Iowa
volunteer Infantry, as a private. With his command he went south
to St. Louis and into Benton Barracks, where the regiment was
drilled and its organization completed in preparation for active
field duty. It later followed General Price through Missouri and
was first under fire at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, under command of
General Curtis. There Mr. Barr received a slight gunshot wound in
the left shoulder and the next day was wounded in the right leg.
Though disabled for a time he did not leave the field. During his
term of service he participated in thirty-tree different battles
besides the guerilla fights through Arkansas to Helena. He was in
the thick of battle at Vicksburg, Jackson and Meridian, met the
enemy again at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge and under
General Sherman marched to the sea, fighting every day until
Atlanta was reached. The regiment helped to drive General Johnson
out of Resaca and was in the battles of Rome and Kenesaw
Mountain. In the latter engagement Mr. Barr was wounded for the
third time when a cannon ball struck the top of the rebel
fortification knocking down a large log which struck Mr. Barr,
causing serious and almost fatal injuries. He was confined to his
tent for six weeks under treatment and was at death’s door a
number to times. However, he responded to roll call every day,
his captain and comrades nursing and caring for him and answering
to his name. This was not the only time Mr. Barr just escaped
death, for in the charge at Vicksburg he received five bullets
through his clothing, the shots coming so close that his skin was
burned but not broken. He aided in taking Jonesboro and Atlanta
and participated in the Carolina and Virginia campaigns. After
Lee’s surrender the troops marched to Richmond and thence to
Washington, where they took part in the grand review at the close
of the war. Mr. Barr was later sent to Louisville, Kentucky,
where he was mustered out, receiving his honorable discharge at
Clinton, Iowa, July 26, 1865.
After the war Mr. Barr returned to Allamakee county and purchased
a threshing machine outfit, which he operated here, wearing out
three machines before he abandoned that line of work. Eventually,
however, he purchased land in Hanover township and opened up a
new farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he continued
to reside for a number of years. When he disposed of it he
removed to Howard county, where he purchased a wagon and
blacksmith ship, which he conducted until 1900, when he refitted
the place for his sons, who now carry on the business. Mr. Barr
resided in Howard county nineteen years but at the end of that
time sold his interest there and removed to Duluth, where for two
years he made his home with his daughter. At the end of that time
he purchased forty acres of wild land in Douglas county,
Wisconsin, on Eau Claire lake, a body of water clear as crystal,
five mile in length, with a smooth and beautiful shore. Mr. Barr
built a neat cabin near the lake and furnished it completely,
making it an ideal summer retreat. He spends every summer on the
lake shore, fishing in Eau Claire lake and hunting in the
adjoining woods. In 1911 he purchased a lot in Waukon and upon it
built a neat and comfortable home, in which he now resides,
taking great delight in working upon and improving his place. He
is his own housekeeper and has proven an excellent one, keeping
his home neat and attractive in every respect. His leisure hours
are spent in reading and his life is quiet, peaceful and happy, a
fitting crown to his many years of honorable and useful labor.
In Hanover township, in 1871, Mr. Barr married Miss Anna
Anderson, who was born in Christiania, Norway, but who was reared
in Iowa. They became the parents of seven children. John C. is an
extensive landowner in Wisconsin, Robert T, is a plumber in
Osage, Iowa. Alfred is engaged in merchandising in Leonard, North
Dakota. Ella K. gew to maturity and married, but has passed away,
leaving two daughters, Mabel and Mary Flo. James died at the age
of twenty-five years in Denver, Colorado, and Nellie died in
Wisconsin at the same age. Aldine died December 1, 1910, when he
was also twenty-five years of age. Mrs. Barr passed away in
Howard county, July 26, 1903.
Mr. Barr was formerly a member of the Knights of Pythias, having
helped to organize the lodge at Elma, Howard county, and he was
also at one time identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He belongs to John J.. Stillman Post, G. A. R., and thus
keeps in touch with his comrades of the Civil war. His life
record has at all times been a creditable one and in matters of
citizenship he has displayed the same patriotic spirit which he
manifested as a soldier on the battlefields of the south. In
politics he has always been a stanch republican since reaching
manhood.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
Return to 1913 biographies index