William I Barr
WILLIAM I. BARR was born and reared upon the farm in West Franklin township, Armstrong county, where he now resides, and is a member of one of the old families of this section of Pennsylvania.
James Barr, his great-grandfather, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1749, of Scotch-Irish parentage. Prior to 1773 he settled in Westmoreland county, Pa., and he began to aid the cause of the Colonists at the opening of the Revolutionary struggle, in the organization of what was then called the Associated Battalions of bodies of Associators raised not only for the defense of the frontier but also to protect the whole state and assist the country. He was a member of the constitutional convention held in the State in 1776 which framed the first constitution of the State of Pennsylvania. From 1787 to 1790 he was a member of the General Assembly of the State. In 1790 he was appointed associate judge of Westmoreland County. He was one of the first settlers of Appleby Manor, in Manor township, in 1791, and later moved to West Franklin township where he died in 1820 at the age of seventy-one. He married Mary Wallace, and their children were: Jean, who married John McDonald; James, Jr., who married Nancy Stephenson; Peggy, Mrs. Chambers; William, who married Peggy Kerr; Thomas, who married Mary McDowell; David, who married Betsey Titus; Betsey, who married James Hill; Ibbie; Mrs. Vonosdill; and Mary.
James Barr, Jr., son of James and Mary (Wallace) Barr, was assessed as a schoolmaster in Buffalo township in 1806-07. He laid out the town of Worthington in 1829, and died Aug. 15, 1832, at the age of fifty-one years, as the result of an accident. To him and his wife Nancy (Stephenson) were born six children: James; Nancy, who married James B. McKee; David; Margaret, who married Samuel Scott; Jane, and Johanna.
David Barr, son of James, Jr., was born Sept, 20, 1825 in West Franklin township, and learned the trade of millwright, which he followed off and on until 1890. He was also interested in farming, and in 1864 purchased the farm of 128 acres now owned and occupied by his son William I. Barr. There he resided until his death, which occurred Oct. 21, 1893. His wife, Eleanor M. Clark, was a daughter of Robert and Sally (Wykoff) Clark, pioneers of Crawford county, and they had three children, two of whom grew to maturity, Robert C. and William I., the former now a resident of Texas.
William I. Barr was born May 25, 1864, in the house where he now makes his home. He was educated in the common schools of the locality and learned the trade of stationary engineer. However, he has been principally engaged in farming, and he has proved himself one of the progressive agriculturists of his section, having conducted his farm successfully along modern lines.
On July 20, 1893, Mr. Barr married Annetta L. Armstrong, daughter of John and Jane (Hindman) Armstrong, of East Franklin township, and to them have been born six children: Nellie J., John D., Joanna M., James I., Frank H. and Gladys M. Mr. and Mrs. Barr are members of the Presbyterian Church of Worthington. Politically he is a Republican.
Source: Page 752, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed February 1999 by Doris Rizza for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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