Abraham A. Barker’s ties to Lovell Maine
Few people driving through Ebensburg’s present-day Lovell Park would recognize the town’s first housing development. Only a handful of the 1890’s cottages remain with some semblance of their original design.
Lovell Park was one of the many business ventures initiated by the industrious Barker family who immigrated “out West” from Lovell Maine in 1854.
The Barker Family’s legacy is evident in such local names as Vintondale (Augustine Vinton Barker), the Barker Brother’s Building and Lovell Avenue in Ebensburg. A.V. Barker was apparently so taken with the town of his birth that he named one of his daughters Lovell Maine Barker.
However, few of the Barkers remained in Cambria County having moved on to Bradenton Florida and New Jersey.
Through the wonders of the internet, it is quite easy to make contact with historians from almost any locale. Robert C. Williams, curator and museum director of the Lovell Historical Society, was quite helpful tying together the Barker family connection between Cambria County and Lovell, Maine. He is a retired historian, having taught at Harvard, Williams, Washington U., and Davidson College in NC.
Mr. Williams wrote this biography of the Barker Family for our newsletter.
Abraham Andrews Barker and Oxford County Abolitionism
Did you know that Lovell was home to a famous abolitionist and personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln? Abraham Andrews Barker of Lovell was a timber merchant, abolitionist and Republican politician.
He was born 30 March 1816, the son of Stephen Barker (1773-1852) and Betsey Andrews (1777-1844), children of John Barker and Capt. Abraham Andrews, early settlers of the town. Descended from Mayflower passenger Robert Barker, Abraham was known in his youth as the strongest man in Lovell. He and his brother John had five sisters, one of whom, Eliza Ann, married Obed Stearns (1804-91), another Lovell abolitionist.
Abraham grew up learning the shook trade, making barrel staves, and thriving in the logging and timber business.
In 1842, he married Orsina Little, 21, the daughter of Lovell's first permanent minister, Valentine Little, and in 1845 built a farmhouse on Old Stage Road in Center Lovell. From 1830 to 1860 antislavery and abolitionism gathered strength in the North as the nation moved toward Civil War. The Maine Antislavery Society was organized in 1834, the Oxford County Male Antislavery Society in 1841. In 1841-2, Barker's brother-in-law, Obed Stearns of West Lovell, led a campaign in the Lovell congregational church (of which Barker was a member) to declare slavery a sin against God, denying "good standing" transfer of church membership to a former Lovell resident who had moved to Georgia and owned slaves. (Stearns also named his sons after famous abolitionists--Charles Sumner, Lyman Beecher, and Arthur Tappan--so his abolitionist sympathies were no secret in Lovell.)
There is good reason to think that Barker and Stearns, together with their wives, were perhaps the leading abolitionists of Lovell.
After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1851, Barker served as 'station master' of an underground railroad 'station' in his home. Prior to the Maine Law of 1851, he also became a Prohibitionist, giving speeches against demon rum throughout the state in the 1840s. In 1852, Barker appeared on the antislavery Free Soil Party ticket in Maine as one of six district electors.
An early test of the Fugitive Slave Act, part of the Compromise of 1850, came in 1851, when an African-American waiter in Boston, Shadrach Minkins, was pursued by federal slave-catchers but escaped trial and capture when a group of friends spirited him out of a Boston courtroom and on to Canada. One of Shadrach's friends, known as "Brown," escaped to Portland by train, then on to South Paris, where Barker met him and took him by sleigh to his home.
For two weeks, Brown was a local celebrity, meeting with abolitionists, helping collect money and clothing, and finally getting his wife from Boston to Portland, then on to Canada themselves.
"My house," wrote Barker, "was a home for fugitives as long as I lived in Maine, as it was afterwards in Pennsylvania."
Barker was in close touch with another leading abolitionist in Bridgton, Nathaniel Pease (1800-1866), a physician, trustee of Bridgton Academy (where Valentine Little had taught), and later state legislator. Pease was a radical antislavery man. "He and I used to work in concert," wrote Barker. Dr. Pease's home on South High Street was another station for fugitive slaves on their way North to Canada. Pease and Barker worked together, giving speeches, distributing antislavery pamphlets, and trying to convert others to their cause.
Escaped slaves would come up to Portland, then via Lake Sebago to Bridgton, then on to Sweden and Lovell, before heading North. All of this was, of course, in violation of federal law and at great personal risk.
The Barker story does not end in Lovell, but in Pennsylvania. Abraham and Orsina Barker had four children: Valentine (b. 1843), Florentine (b. 1847), Augustine (b. 1849), and Constantine (b. 1854) (known naturally as 'the -tines').
In November 1854, Abraham "went West" and (penniless) moved his family from Lovell to Cambria County, in western Pennsylvania, where the timber business was more profitable.
Together with his brother John, he formed Barker Brothers Mills and became a well-to-do lumber merchant. They manufactured white oak "Tight Cooperage Shook" for barrels. In 1856,
Barker moved from Carrolltown to Ebensburg, where the railroad then ran, and expanded his business. He also served again as a 'conductor' and 'station master' for the Underground Railroad, helping hundreds of fugitive slaves escape North to Canada.
And he exchanged his youthful Lovell Congregationalism for the Presbyterian Church. In 1860, Barker was elected a delegate to the Republican national convention in Chicago that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. During the Civil War, he served in Company E, Fourth Regiment, of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He also helped raise $30,000 for the Bureau of Colored Troops in Philadelphia in 1863.
A personal friend of Lincoln, he attended the Gettysburg Address in November 1863, and held Lincoln's umbrella for his second inauguration. In
March 1865, he was elected as a Union Republican to represent Pennsylvania in the 39th U. S. Congress. He was not reelected, but served out his term until 1867. He ran unsuccessfully again in 1872, then returned to the lumber and shook business until 1880, when he retired.
He left the Republican Party in 1876 to become a radical Prohibitionist. Abraham Barker died March 18, 1898, and is buried in Lloyd Cemetery, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.
Of his children, Valentine served in the Civil War and then worked for his father. Florentine likewise worked for his father, fought in the war, and became an active Republican, Prohibitionist, and treasurer of Cambria County. Augustine attended Dartmouth College and became an attorney and Pennsylvania district court judge. Constantine joined his father's lumber business, founded the Ivory Hill Coal Company, and became, not surprisingly, a Republican and Prohibitionist.
The story of Abraham Barker's abolitionism shows how closely Lovell was linked to the wider world of Oxford County, Maine, and the nation. The fact that Abraham Barker and his family became famous and wealthy in Pennsylvania does not detract from the important role he briefly played as a young man in Lovell, Maine, fighting slavery, the issue that divided the country and caused the Civil War.
And like so many young Lovell men who "went West," Abraham Barker made his reputation elsewhere, but never forgot the town and county from which he came. Because of him and his family, there is still a Lovell Park in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.
Sources: Austin Willey, The History of the Antislavery Cause in State and Nation (Portland: NY Tribune Association, 1860), 95-6, 369; Bridgton, Maine, 1768-1968 (Bridgton: Bridgton Historical Society, 1968), 402, 459, 545. Cambria County Pennsylvania Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia (Philadelphia: Union Publishing Company, 1896), 434-7.. Pauline Moore, Blueberries and Pusley Weed. The Story of Lovell, Maine (1970), 153. Records of the Lovell United Church of Christ. Special thanks to Dave Huber, Cambria County Historical Society, for information about the Barkers in Pennsylvania.
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In the News-
Information Please!
We are preparing an article on the early telephone system in Cambria County and we need your help. We are looking for the following missing telephone exchange names:
(ex: Cresson-886– was Turner-6)
Johnstown— 539
Nanty-Glo– 749
Richland– 266
South Fork– 495
Westmont– 255
If you have the answers or any interesting “phone” stories or party line memories please call Kathy at Greenleaf-2 6674 or email us at
info@cambriacountyhistorical.com. Former curator Amy Gates remembers that they were on a party line with nine other families.
Lilly-Washington Historical Society— This organization is getting a jump on their 2006 bicentennial celebration. They have posted a great website on the internet at
www.l-whs.com. More so than its obvious railroad history, Lilly was the site of a tragic house fire that killed 28 Italian immigrant workers in 1903 and it was the site of the 1924 riot between townsfolk and the KKK. Jim Salony is the president of this organization, which represents the borough of Lilly and surrounding Washington Township.
Goodbye ‘04
What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the US statistics for the year 1904.
• 8% of homes had a telephone.
• A 3-min. call from Denver to NYC was $11.00.
• Only 8,000 cars in the US.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
• Annual US wages were $200-$400. Dentists- $2,500.
• 95% of births were at home.
• 90% of physicians had no college education.
• Most women washed their hair once a month.
• 6% of US adults had graduated from High School.
• Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at drugstores.
• 18% of households had at least one servant or domestic.
They don’t write them like that
anymore-
The following is found in an 1869 Cambria Freeman wedding announcement between Thomas Glass of Ebensburg and Alice Fox of Washington Township.
“We congratulate Tom on the happy result of his Fox chase, and sincerely hope that the fair creature whom he has promised to love and cherish while life lasts will ever find in her own Glass the reflection of all those charms and graces which pleases the eye and gladdens the heart of all true and devoted spouses, and makes them cling more fondly and affectionately to their chosen mates.”
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RECENT
ACCESSIONS
Artifacts
·
1907 Diploma from Cambria County Public
Schools -
Merle Miller
·
Painting of Toll House marker at
Lake
Rowena
-
Dave Thompson
·
Tom Gibb cartoon – Dave Thompson
·
Toy dial telephone – Lois Gruver
·
Wooden alphabet blocks – Lois Gruver
Books
·
Juniata,
River
of
Sorrows
: One Man’s Journey into a River’s Tragic Past – Dennis
P. McIlnay
·
History of
Huntingdon County
,
Pennsylvania
–
Ida D. Krug
·
History of
Blair County
,
Pennsylvania
–
Ida D. Krug
·
Guide to Genealogical and Historical
Research in
Pennsylvania
– Ida D. Krug
Genealogies
·
Folckemer Family -
Mildred (Folckemer) McEvoy
Your Family Tree 1972-1983 published by
Hoenstine -
Ida D. Krug
Photographs
·
Johnstown
Sani-Dairy Plant 1982 -
Frank and Betty
Seymour
·
1922 Wedding photo of Erma G. Boehm and Edward
E. Dunkle – Jan D. Reynolds
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National Registry of Historic Places in Cambria County
The following sites were listed at www. nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. The Allegheny Portage Railroad site is listed under Blair County.
Historic Districts:
Berwind--White Mine 40 Historic
District— also known as Eureka Mine No. 40; Mine 40
Roughly bounded by the boney pile, Eureka No. 40 mine site, Scalp Level Borough line and Berwind--White Farmstead, Scalp Level
Cambria City Historic District
Roughly bounded by Broad St., Tenth Ave. and the Conemaugh R., Johnstown
Colver Historic District
Roughly bounded by Ninth Ave., the Ebensburg Coal Company Power Building and Bakerville, Cambria Township, Colver
Downtown Johnstown Historic District Also known as Johnstown Central
Business District;
Bounded by Washington, Clinton, Bedford, Vine, Market, Locust and Walnut Sts., Johnstown
Minersville Historic District
Roughly, along Connelly Ave., Honan Ave., Garvey Pl. and Iron St., Johnstown and West Taylor Townships, Johnstown
Moxham Historic District
Roughly bounded by Dupont St., Linden Av., Village St., Park and Coleman Avs., Johnstown
Old Conemaugh Borough Historic
District
Roughly bounded by Railroad, Adams, and Steel Sts., and Church Ave., Johnstown
Patton Historic District
Roughly bounded by 5th, Beech, 6th, Palmer Aves. and Terra Cotta St., Patton
Portage Historic District
Roughly bounded by N. Railroad Ave., Prospect St., Johnson Ave. and Vine St., Portage Township
Revloc Historic District
Roughly bounded by Highland Ave., Fourth St., Penn Ave. and Eighth St., Cambria Township, Revloc
South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club Historic District
Roughly bounded by Fortieth, Main, and Lake Sts., St. Michael
Westmont Historic District also known as Old Westmont
Roughly bounded by Clarion St., Edgehill Dr., Blair and Wayne Sts., Diamond Blvd. and Stackhouse Park, Westmont
Windber Historic District
Roughly bounded by the borough line, Cambria Ave., 28th St. and the Big Paint Cr., Scalp Level Borough (part of Cambria County)
Historic Sites:
Bridge in Johnstown City
Also known as See Also: Johnstown Inclined Railway
LR 525 spur over Stoney Creek, Johnstown
Bridge in Portage Township (APRR)
PA 53 over Bens Creek, Oil City
Buck, A. W., House
(1889– Queen Anne architecture, Cambria County Historical Society)
615 N. Center St., Ebensburg
Cambria County Courthouse (1882, Second Empire architecture, Gordon Annex added in the 1920’s)
200 S. Center St., Ebensburg
Cambria County Jail (1872 and 1911 annex, Italianate architecture)
N. Center and Sample Sts., Ebensburg
Cambria Iron Company Also known as Cambria Iron Works; Lower Works, Gautier Plant, Franklin Plant,
Along Conemaugh River in the Johnstown vicinity, Johnstown
Cambria Public Library Building Also known as Carnegie Public Library (Johnstown Flood Museum, Gothic style)
304 Washington St., Johnstown
Eliza Furnace Also known as Ritter's Furnace
Lower Main St.,Vintondale, Buffington (Indiana Co.) and Blacklick Townships.
Grand Army of the Republic Hall
132 Park Pl., Johnstown
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Jct. of U.S. 219 and PA 869, Johnstown
Johnstown Inclined Railway Also known as Inclined Plane;
See Also: Bridge in Johnstown City
Johns St. and Edgehill Dr., Johnstown
Jones, Benjamin F., Cottage Also known as Braemar Cottage (Queen Anne architecture) Third St., Cresson Township, Cresson
Lilly Bridge (APRR)
PA 53 over Burgoon Run, Lilly
Nathan's Department Store
426-432 Main St, Johnstown
Noon, Philip, House
Also known as YMCA Building of Ebensburg; Phillip Collins House; Noon-Collins (1834, Federal architecture, 1907 YMCA annex)
114 E. High St., Ebensburg
Staple Bend Tunnel Also known as Allegheny Portage Railroad Tunnel
Jct. of PA 3035 and Mineral Pt., Conemaugh
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The
Heritage is published quarterly and mailed to CCHS Members. A few
of the articles will be published here.