Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User information
Historical sketch
Scope and Content note
Cataloguing information
Processed by
Charles Latham
15 December 1993
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 21 items
COLLECTION DATES: 1856-1864
PROVENANCE: Peter J. Jeffers, United Kingdom, 30 October 1993
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION NUMBER: 94.0027
John Barker (1798-1858) was born in Lincolnshire, England, and moved to the United States with his family in 1853. They settled near Connersville, Indiana, but later moved about the state. Sons who appear in the correspondence are Thomas, William, and Barton; daughters are Frances (who married William Ridge) and Mary (who married Edward Widdup). The men of the family were blacksmiths, sometimes combining their work with farming.
This collection consists of photocopies of twenty-one letters written by John Barker and his family in Indiana to relatives in England. The letters have been numbered, and a key to the letters, along with a family tree, is part of the collection.
Much of the subject matter of the letters is news about family health, moves, marriages, and deaths. There is also quite a bit of material about the current prices of goods. One letter goes into detail about the rates charged for different jobs of blacksmithing; another contrasts "master"-worker relations in England and America; another shows an unsympathetic attitude toward the idea of freeing blacks during the Civil War.
MAIN ENTRY: Barker, John, 1798-1858
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Barker, John, 1798-1858
Blacksmiths--Indiana--Connersville
Blacksmithing--Prices--Indiana--Connersville
Prices--Indiana--Connersville
Immigrants--Indiana--Connersville--Family relationships
British--Indiana--Connersville
Slavery--United States--Public opinion
Connersville (Ind.)
Fayette County (Ind.)
END