William I Barr


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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
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)

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