Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery
p. 354
Surnames: BANKS, PORTER
John Banks, the fifth President Judge of Berks county, serving from
1836 to 1847, was born near Lewisburgh, Juniata county, in the year
1793. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Scotland. His father
being a farmer, his youth was spent mostly on a farm, but the
advantages of a liberal education were not denied him. He entered
upon the study of law, was admitted to the Bar in 1819, and soon
after removed to the western part of the State. He located in
Mercer county, and there attained eminence at the Bar. Without any
solicitation on his part he was nominated and elected a
representative in Congress, and twice re-elected, serving from 1831
to 1836. He won distinction in Congress by his treatment of
contested election cases. In the spring of 1836, he vacated his
seat in Congress to accept the appointment of president judge of
the Third Judicial District of the State, composed of the counties
of Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton. His superior qualitites soon won
for him the full confidence of the people. No man was ever more
obliging and condescending to his juniors than he, and no man ever
lived in Reading whose companionship was more highly prized by so
varied a circle of friends. Having spent eleven years as president
judge of the court, he resigned the position in 1847 and accepted
the office of State treasurer of Pennsylvania, in which he served
one term. In 1841, while judge of the courts, he was nominated by
the Whig party for the office of governor of Pennsylvania, but was
defeated by David R. Porter, the Democratic nominee. He was
subsequently nominated by the Whig members of the State
Legislature, when in the minority, as their candidate for United
States senator. Upon his retirement from the Bench, Judge Banks
resumed the practice of the law, and soon became the acknowledged
leader of the Berks county Bar. He continued in his profession
until his death, April 3, 1864, enjoying a very extensive and
lucrative practice.
p. 1109
Surname List: BARBEY, FASIG
Jacob Barbey, proprietor of the "Barbey Hotel and Caf?at 435 Penn
Square, Reading, is of German parentage and ancestry, although he
himself was born in Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 9, 1837, son of Jacob
Frederick Barbey. He is one of three brothers, the others being
John of Portland, Ore.; and Daniel, of Saratoga Springs, New York.
Mr. Barbey married Catherine C. Fasig, daughter
of the late James A. Fasig. Their children were: Paul F. died in
infancy; George D., a graduate of the Reading high school, class of
1904, is now engaged as an electrical engineer; Grace Catharine was
valedictorian of the class of 1906, Reading high school; Jacob W.,
valedictorian of the class of 1906, Reading high school, is now a
member of the mining Engineering Department of Pennsylvania State
College, class of 1910. The family are connected with Grace
Lutheran Church. Mr. Barbey is a member of Teutonia Lodge, No. 367,
F. & A. M.; Excelsior Chapter, No. 237, R. A. M.; Reading
Commandery, No. 42, K. T.; Reading Lodge of Perfection, 14th
degree; and Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; Germania Lodge, No.
158, I. O. O. F.; Camp No. 89, P. O. S. of A.; and Reading Castle,
No. 49, K. G. E.
p. 585
Surnames: BARBEY, KUNTZ, GARST
John Barbey, son of Peter
and Rosina (Kuntz) Barbey, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 19,
1850. When he was four years old his parents moved to Reading,
where his father became engaged in the manufacture of malt liquors.
He was educated in the local schools, taking an extra course in a
business college, and was then placed in his father's brewery for
the purpose of learning all the details of the brewing business. In
this he was very successful, and in 1880 the father admitted him
into partnership, and they traded under the firm name of P. Barbey
& Son. The father died in 1897, but the son has continued the
business under the same name with increasing success up to the
present. In 1906 the capacity of his large plant was the greatest
of any at Reading, a fact which evinces the superior judgment of
the son in conducting the complicated affairs of the brewery for
the years it has been under his management.
Mr. Barbey has become largely interested in a
number of the financial institutions of Reading, particularly the
Keystone Bank, Farmers Bank, Colonial Trust Company, and several
industrial institutions, in a number of which he is a director. He
has been prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity at
Reading since 1876, becoming a Mason in Chandler Lodge, No. 227,
and a Knight Templar in the Reading Commandery, No. 42, of which be
was Eminent Commander in 1886. He has reached the thirty-second
degree.
Mr. Barbey married Mary Ellen Garst, daughter of
George W. Garst, of Reading, a prominent building contractor for
many years. They have seven children, six daughters and one son,
John.
p. 584
Surnames: BARBEY, LAUER, KUNTZ
Peter Barbey, the founder of
Barbey's Brewery at Reading, Pa., was born Nov. 9, 1825, in
Dierbach, Canton of Bergzabern, Rhinepfalz, Bavaria, son of
Christopher Barbey. He attended the schools of his native place
until he was fourteen years of age, when he entered the brewing
establishment of his uncle, Peter Barbey, for the purpose of
learning the business. After remaining there three years, he found
employment in France and Switzerland in different brewing
establishments during the next four years, in observance of a
German custom to increase his knowledge of the business in this way
by practical experience. He then returned home, and being
twenty-one years of age, entered the army in a cavalry regiment
where be served as a soldier for four years. At the expiration of
his term of service, be emigrated to America, proceeding
immediately to Philadelphia, and for several years he was engaged
there in different breweries; he then located at Reading, and
entered the employ of Frederick Lauer, also a German, who had by
this time established himself in the brewing business at Third and
Chestnut streets. In 1860 Mr. Barbey embarked in business for
himself as a brewer, and carried his affairs on with increasing
success until his decease in 1897.
Mr. Barbey was a Democrat in politics, but never
inclined to fill any public offices. He assisted in organizing the
Keystone National Bank in 1883 and served as a director until his
decease in 1897. He was prominently identified with Teutonia Lodge,
No. 368, F. & A. M., in which he was a past master, and with
Germania Lodge, I. O. O. F.
Mr. Barbey married Rosina Kuntz, daughter of
Philip Kuntz, of Rhenish Bavaria, and they had two children:
Katrina, who died in infancy; and John, who, after arriving of age,
engaged with his father in the brewing business under the name of
P. Barbey & Son. Notwithstanding the decease of his father in
1897, the firm name has been continued until the present time.
p. 410
Surnames: BARD, SCHLOTT, KRAMER, REBER, WUMMER, SHEARER
A. Raymond Bard, a member of the firm which makes up the well known
business house of Reading, the Bard Hardware Company, was born at
Tremont, Pa., in 1873, son of George W. and grandson of Adam Bard.
Adam Bard was the founder of this large and
important business of the city of Reading. Originally the firm was
made up of Adam Bard and James T. Reber, and the location was at
No. 741 Penn street. The business was organized in 1856, and was
continued at the original location until 1878, at which time the
firm bought property at the corner of Penn and Eighth streets. Adam
Bard remained a member of the firm until 1878, after which the
members of the firm were George W. Bard, D. P. Schlott, A. F.
Kramer and James T. Reber. The latter retired in 1893, and at the
same time James M. Bard was admitted to the firm, and in 1897 A.
Raymond Bard became a partner.
George W. Bard was born near Ephrata in 1841,
but moved to Reading in early childhood. He was still a student
when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering the 93rd
Pa. V. I., and for three years he honorably wore the Union blue and
took his chances as a soldier. He then entered into the hardware
business at Tremont, in Schuylkill county, and when his father
retired he took his place in the firm of Bard, Reber & Co. The
company owns a four-story building which extends from Penn to
Cherry streets. Their business is both wholesale and retail, and
the house is known for its reliability all over the State. George
W. Bard married Irene Barbour Wummer, a resident of Reading, who
graduated from the Reading high school in 1868. They have these
children: Alma, wife of Dr. C. H. Shearer; A. Raymond; Charles W.;
Claude M.; George P.; Mary E.; R. Lynn; Warren; Margaret A. and W.
Hugh. Mr. Bard is a director in the Penn National Bank (chartered
March 12, 1883) of which his father was one of the founders. He is
also a director in the Reading Trust Company and of the East
Reading Electric Railway Company. Mr. Bard and family reside at No.
27 South Ninth street.
A. Raymond Bard attended the public schools of
Reading and was graduated from the Boys' high school in 1889. He
then entered a business house in the capacity of cashier, and spent
one year in Philadelphia, connected with the Phoenix Bridge
Company. Since he entered the firm of Bard Hardware Company he has
been in charge of the office, as well as purchasing agent for
cutlery, paints, bolts, etc., and is a competent and shrewd man of
business. He is a very popular citizen. During the Spanish-American
War he was in the service for nine months, a member of Company A,
4th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and spent five months in Puerto Rico,
being acting Hospital Steward in the Reserve Medical Corps. He has
numerous business connections, one of these being treasurer of the
East Reading Electric Railway Company of Reading. He is
superintendent of the Sunday school of Trinity Lutheran Church, and
treasurer of the Humane Society of Berks County. For five years he
was president of the Luther League of Pennsylvania, and for two
years was president of the Reading High School Alumni Association,
during which time he founded a Free Scholarship Fund, of which he
is treasurer.
p. 1601
Surnames: BARE, ERB, GOUGLY, BOLLINGER, BRUBAKER, KLINE, BOWMAN,
GARNAND, HUNTER, FABER, PETERSON, KINTZER, MAYS, POTTEIGER,
SEITZINGER, HAIN, HILL, RUTH, MOYER, FINK, GOODMAN, MILLER, HAUSE,
FEICK, EBLING, DREY, KURTZ, BENDER
The branch of the Bare family now well represented in Berks county
has been for the most part a Lancaster county family since its
foundation in this country almost two centuries ago. Like many of
the old Lancaster families the Bares are of Swiss Mennonite origin,
and some members of the family were ministers of the Mennonite
Church. John Bare (or Bear), a native of Switzerland, came to
America prior to 1730 and had sons who settled in York, Adams,
Cumberland and Perry counties, Pa., where their descendants are
still to be found.
Stephen Bare, son of the emigrant John Bare, was
a farmer of Lancaster county, where he died.
Abraham Bare, son of Stephen, was born in
Lancaster county about 1780, and died there in 1857. He spent his
life in agricultural pursuits, and owned several farms of more than
150 acres each. Abraham Bare married Nancy Erb, and among their
children were: Abraham lived and died on the homestead; Samuel is
mentioned below; Sally m. Samuel Gougly; Anna m. Samuel Bollinger;
Maria m. John Brubaker; Elizabeth m. Daniel Kline; and Polly m.
Joseph Bowman.
Samuel Bare was born in 1807, on the homestead
in Lancaster county, and his death occurred in August, 1865. He
served during the Civil war for three years as a private of Company
E, 79th Pa. V. I., and his war record was that of a faithful, brave
and efficient soldier. He married Susanna Garnand, born May 11,
1811, who died April 14, 1900, in her eighty-ninth year, and they
had the following children: Henry G., born Oct. 20, 1836; John G.,
born April 13, 1839; and Abraham G., born July 26, 1841, who
resides in his own home in Reading (he and his wife had six
children, Ellen, Nora, Kate, Willis, Luke and Chester, of whom Luke
is deceased).
Henry G. Bare is now retired from farming, and
since 1899 has lived on a neat little place located along the
trolley line, near Wyomissing, in Spring township. He was born Oct.
20, 1836, near Stevens, in East Cocalico township, Lancaster
county, and from his youth was engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Coming to Berks county with his parents in 1843, he spent his
boyhood days in Cumru township, and continued to live there until
he bought the tract on which he now resides. He obtained a fair
education in the pay schools in Cumru, leaving school for good when
about twenty years of age. During his youth the school terms were
very short, lasting only two months, Mr. Bare began farming for
himself in 1862, while the Civil war was in progress, and followed
that occupation with good average results until he retired, in
1899. He makes his home at present upon a small tract of six and a
quarter acres, where he has a substantial dwelling and is very
comfortably established. However, he still retains ownership of the
ninety-acre farm in Cumru where the greater part of his life was
spent, and which is now being cultivated by his son Harry F. It is
located along the Wyomissing creek. By steady industry Mr. Bare
managed to accumulate a competency, which he is well able to enjoy,
for he is a man who takes an interest in life and in books, and has
made a success of his own career in more ways than in a worldly
sense.
In 1860, Mr. Bare married Elizabeth F. Hunter,
who was born in 1839, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Faber)
Hunter, of Yellow House, Berks county. Six children have been born
to this union, as follows: John M., a dairyman of Cumru township,
is mentioned below; Howard H., mar. Dora Peterson, and died in
1906, at Ottawa, Kans., in his forty-third year; Addie L., is the
wife of Wilson Kintzer; Harry F., who conducts his father's old
farm in Cumru, mar. Annie Mays; Irwin D. mar. Hettie Potteiger;
Calvin H. died young. Mr. Bare and his family are members of St.
John's Reformed Church at Sinking Spring. He is a Republican in
political sentiment.
John M. Bare, son of Henry G., was born Feb. 14,
1862, in Cumru township, and was there reared on the home farm. He
received his education in the public schools of the township, which
he attended until seventeen years of age. Farming has been his life
work, and he began for himself in the spring of 1887, in Alsace
township, where he remained one year. Returning to Cumru township,
he settled on the well-known Seitzinger farm, which he cultivated
for the next sixteen years, in 1904 locating on his present
property near the "Five Mile House," a fertile tract of
seventy-five acres which is considered one of the finest places in
Cumru. He purchased this land in 1898, and it has been brought to a
high degree of cultivation under his care. Mr. Bare has good,
substantial buildings and the latest improved machinery, and he is
a man of enterprise and progressive ideas, being regarded as one of
the intelligent farmers and successful dairymen of his township. He
keeps fine live stock and runs a daily milk team to Reading. In
politics Mr. Bare is a Republican, and he and his family are
Reformed members of Sinking Spring Church.
Mr. Bare married Agnes H. Hain, born June 5,
1864, daughter of Adam and Mary Ann (Hill) Hain, and two children
have come to this union: Gertrude May, born May 14, 1886, who died
Oct. 12, 1901; and John Adam, born July 22, 1904.
John G. Bare, son of Samuel, was born April 13,
1839, in Lancaster county, near Stevens, but since his marriage has
lived in Berks county, owning a farm of 139 acres in Upper
Tulpehocken township. Since 1902 he has lived retired, his son
Milton now operating the home farm. Mr. Bare married Harriet Ruth,
born April 4, 1844, who died March 11, 1903; she was a daughter of
Francis Ruth. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bare, namely:
Edwin, a section foreman living in Iowa, m. Jennie Moyer; Susan and
Peter died in childhood: Allen died in infancy; John H.; Milton m.
Sallie Fink; Irwin m. Sallie Goodman; Paul m. Sallie Miller; and
Lydia Ann m. Samuel Hause.
John H. Bare, son of John G., a successful
agriculturist and dairyman of Cumru township, was born Feb. 28,
1869, in Lower Heidelberg township. He received his education in
the district schools, which he left at the age of seventeen years,
at which time he started to work on his father's farm in Berks
county. In 1889 he went to Frontier county, Nebr., where he worked
on a farm for one year, and then engaged in bridge carpentering for
the Burlington Railway Company for two years. After one year spent
in farm work in Illinois Mr. Bare returned to Berks county, in
1894, and for about a year carried on huckstering in Upper
Tulpehocken township. After his marriage he began farming in Lower
Heidelberg township, on the property of his grandfather, Francis
Ruth, a property of nearly two hundred acres, and in 1899 he came
to Cumru township, where for the past three years he has been
operating the old Kurtz farm. In the fall of 1906 Mr. Bare
purchased the old Franklin Bender estate in Lower Heidelberg
township, which consists of 106 acres of good, fertile land,
furnished with running water and including a productive orchard,
and this property he has rented to his brother, Paul Bare.
Mr. Bare's farms are supplied with the latest
and most highly improved farming machinery, and under skillful
management yield large crops. He operates a milk route to Reading,
having over 120 customers on the south side of Penn street, has a
fine, modern dairy, and keeps an average of twenty milk cows the
year around.
On April 6, 1865, John H. Bare married Miss
Rebecca Feick, born May 26, 1874, daughter of Gabriel and Mary
(Reichard) Feick, farming people of Upper Tulpehocken township. No
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bare. They are consistent
members of Sinking Spring Lutheran Church, and in political matters
Mr. Bare is a Republican.
Gabriel Feick, father of Mrs. Rebecca (Feick)
Bare, died June 27, 1885, aged seventy-two years, and is buried on
the old Feick homestead. His children were: Daniel R., Joseph R.
and Matilda R. all deceased; Rebecca; Mrs. Bare; Franklin R.,
deceased; and Annie R., who married Samuel Ebling, and died in
1908, leaving two children, Lizzie F. and Mary F. After the death
of Gabriel Feick, his widow married Benjamin F. Drey.
p. 1325
Surnames: BARLOW, LILLY, RHEINOLD, HENDEL, McDONNELL, MURPHY
George Barlow, one of the leading citizens of Reading, who has been
engaged in the manufacture of hats in this city for some years, was
born March 5, 1840, in County Roscommon, Ireland, son of George and
Bedelia (Lilly) Barlow. and grandson of Robert S. Barlow.
George Barlow, father of George of Reading, was
a native of Ireland, where he spent his life in agricultural
pursuits and died about 1862, aged seventy-five years. He married
Bedelia Lilly, and to them were born these children: Mary, who
remained in the old country; James, who came to America about 1845;
William, who came several years later; Jane, who came still later;
Ann, who remained in the old country; a George; and Ella, who came
to America with Jane.
George Barlow was reared in a country town in
his native country, where he attended the local schools, and in
1852 came to America, settling thirty miles up the Hudson river, in
New York. In 1853 he learned the hatting trade in Greene county, N.
Y., which he followed there until 1856 when he came to Reading, in
which city he has since made his home. He came here to superintend
the William H. Rheinold & Company hat factory, and in this
capacity he was employed for eighteen years, when the company
suspended business, and Mr. Barlow became superintendent of John R.
Hendel's hat factory at Montello. The following year the factory
was brought to Reading, where it has since been located. Mr. Barlow
is well known to the people of his community as a kind, and
obliging neighbor and a good citizen, while in business circles he
is recognized as a man of much ability. In political matters he is
a Democrat. He and his family attend St. Peter's Catholic Church of
Reading, and Mr. Barlow was one of the liberal contributors towards
the erection of the beautiful new edifice in 1905.
On Dec. 31, 1862, Mr. Barlow was married to
Ellen McDonnell, daughter of James and Mary (Murphy) McDonnell, the
former a native of Ireland, who followed carpentering in New York
and there died. Mr. and Mrs. Barlow have these children: James F.,
a skilled mechanic who has charge of one of the departments of Mohn
Bros. establishment, Reading; Mary J., single, at home; George F.,
clerk for the Reading Iron Co.; Lillian F., single, at home; and
William L., an employee of the Reading Iron Company.
p. 1581
Surnames: BARR, REBER, GICKER, HIMMELBERGER, BOHN, NOECKER,
HETTINGER, HARTMAN, BABB, PEFFLEY, ALBRIGHT, SNYDER
Isaac Barr, late of Bern township, Berks county, was born there
Jan. 19, 1819, and died Nov. 10, 1886. In his early manhood Mr.
Barr followed fence making, and he did so well at that occupation
that at the time he was married, when he was twenty-eight years
old, he had eight hundred dollars saved. After his marriage he
followed farming until his death, living in Bern township. He owned
what was known as the Conrad Reber farm, which comprised nearly two
hundred acres, which he sold off until only about 160 acres
remained. He is buried at the Bern Church, of which he was a
member.
Mr. Barr married Miss Annie Gicker, daughter of
Daniel Gicker and wife (whose maiden name was Himmelberger),
farming people of Bern township, and eleven children were born to
this union: Joseph, of Slate Hill, Pa.; Jared, who died at the age
of thirty years; Mary Ann, born Oct. 21, 1851, wife of Jeremiah B.
Bohn; Thomas, of Sinking Spring; Matilda, m. to George Noecker;
Emma, who died unmarried at the age of twenty-four years; Isaac,
who lives near Mt. Pleasant, Berks county; Amanda, m. to John
Hettinger; Lydia m. to Horace Hartman; Adam, of Mt. Pleasant; and
Kate, m. to Pharis Babb.
Abraham Barr, father of Isaac Barr, was a
lifelong farmer in Bern township, where he owned land. He died in
1848, and is buried at Epler's Church, in that township. His family
consisted of seven children as follows: John, a resident of Bern
township; Isaac, previously mentioned; Joseph, of Lower Heidelberg;
Catharine, who m. a Mr. Peffley, a wealthy man, and lived a long
distance from her early home; Molly, m. to Jacob Albright; Sarah,
m. to Jared Snyder; and Abraham, who lived in Bern township.
p. 1251
Surnames: BARR, HENNINGER, SCHNOKE, METZ, LEIS, KRAMLICH, ZERBE,
WHITE, KLINGER, PRICE, CLEMENCE
Isaac Barr, junior member of the firm of Klinger & Barr,
proprietors of the Bethel Shirt Co., and the Bethel Creamery, north
of Millersburg, Bethel township, is a representative citizen of
Berks county, and has been prominent in business, public and
fraternal circles. He was born Dec. 23, 1857, in Bethel township,
son of Adam and Rebecca (Henninger) Barr.
John Barr, grandfather of Isaac, emigrated from
Germany to America and settled in Northern Berks, where be followed
the trade of charcoal burner for many years. He was a man of a very
high order of intelligence, and possessed an education far beyond
the average, having command of five languages. He and his wife had
eight children, Jacob, a shoemaker by trade, died in Pinegrove
township, Schuylkill county, aged ninety-three years; George, who
owned a small tract of land which he cultivated in addition to
working for his neighbors, died on his farm in Pinegrove township,
aged seventy-five years. His wife was a Miss Schnoke, from the same
neighborhood; Christian also lived and died in Schuylkill county;
Adam was the father of Isaac; David died young; Rebecca married
(first) Henry Metz, and (second) Harry Leis, and died childless,
aged about seventy-five years; Maria died single, aged about
eighty-two years; Kate married Mr. Kramlich, and died many years
ago.
Adam Barr, the father of Isaac, was born on the
old homestead in Bethel township, in 1813, and assisted in
preparing wood and burning charcoal with his father for many years,
continuing that occupation after his father's death. He married
Miss Rebecca Henninger in 1846, and to this union there were born
four children, as follows: John, who died single; Priscilla, who
married Israel Zerbe, of near Host Church, Jefferson township, and
has two children; Mary, who married John White, of Bernville, and
died aged thirty-nine years, leaving two children, Frank and
George; and Isaac.
Isaac Barr was reared in Bethel township, and
received his education in the common schools, and although the
school terms were very short and the distance to the school great
in his time, he inherited his grandfather's love of study and
obtained an excellent education. His father dying when Isaac was
quite young he was placed in charge of his uncle Henninger, with
whom he remained until about eighteen years of age, being engaged
in farm work. At this time he learned the trade of blacksmith, an
occupation which he followed for about ten years, and then evinced
a strong tendency towards machinery. He followed threshing and the
operation of engines until 1897, in which year he and Mr. Klinger
formed a partnership under the firm name of Klinger & Barr, a
connection which has continued to the present time, and which has
been very successful. The firm are the proprietors of the Bethel
Shirt Works and the Bethel Creamery, north of Millersburg. Mr. Barr
is a very able business man, and has been a promoter of various
enterprises, being a stockholder and director in the Blue Mountain
Electric Company, and other large concerns.
In 1885 Mr. Barr was married to Miss Laura J.
Price, and to them there have been born three children, as follows:
Sadie, who died, aged twelve years.; Minnie, who married Charles C.
Clemence, and resides at home, having one child, Gerney; and Emma,
who died at the age of four years.
Mr. Barr is an active Democrat in politics, and
has been on a number of occasions honored by his party. He held the
office of town clerk for seventeen years, has been delegate to
numerous county conventions, was county committeeman for four
years, and in 1906 was elected to the responsible position of
County Jury Commissioner, which office he now fills with credit. He
takes an active interest in secret and benevolent organizations,
and is an active member of Lodge No. 820, I. O. O. F., in which he
has passed all of the chairs, and in 1905 was representative of the
lodge at Scranton. He has also been through all the chairs in
Washington Camp No. 214, P. O. S. of A., of which he is a member.
He is also connected with the Ridgely Protective Association, of
Massachusetts. Mr. Barr and his wife have always been active in
church and charitable work, he being connected with the "Old
Lutheran Church," of Rehrersburg, Pa., while she is a member and
regular attendant of the Salem Reformed Church at Bethel
(Millersburg). Both have a wide social acquaintance, and are well
known and highly esteemed in this community.
p. 339
Surnames: BARR, JONES, HOLMES
Robert M. Barr was born at Lancaster, Pa., and was admitted to the
Bar of Berks county on Jan. 3, 1831, about which time he moved to
Reading. He acquired an extensive practice and was recognized as a
superior lawyer. A man of fine appearance, he was possessed of a
high order of eloquence. He represented Berks county in the
Assembly for the year 1841, and in 1845 received the appointment of
State reporter from Governor Shunk, the office having been created
in the year named. The prescribed term of office was five years. He
died whilst filling his appointment, having compiled and published
the first ten State reports commonly known as "Barr's Reports." His
friend, J. Pringle Jones, Esq. (who subsequently filled the office
of president judge of Berks county), completed the compilation of
the cases adjudicated during his term and published them in two
volumes, commonly known as "Jones' Reports." He died at Reading,
Dec. 25, 1849, aged forty-seven years.
Mr. Barr married a daughter of Dr. Holmes, of
Lancaster, Pa., and left a daughter.