Nathaniel C. Barker

Albany, NY ca 1850

Nathaniel C. Barker, was born in Middletown, Newport county, Rhode Island on July 14, 1817.  His father died when Nathaniel was 4 years old, and his mother when he was 16.  He moved to Albany, NY in the late 1830's and took a job as a carpenter.

Albany in the 1830's - 1850's was a transportation hub for the region.  Robert Fulton had successfully begun a steamboat line from Albany to New York, and railroad were being completed from Albany to NY, Buffalo, and Boston.  Albany's first telegraph office was opened in 1845.  It was here that Nathaniel likely met his future wife Catherine Grogan who was born in New York City in 1824 and was living near Albany as a young girl.  They married September 14, 1841 in Albany.  He was 24, she was 17.  Their first 3 children, Malburn, John and Henry Turbush were born in Albany.  Around 1850 they moved to Bethel, NY (the site of the Woodstock festival 128 years later), and then to Hunter, New York.  He worked as a farmer in these small rural towns.  They added 6 more children while in upstate NY, James, Nathaniel, Mary, Burling, Charles, and Alonzo.

Between 1862 and 1865 the family moved to Illinois, settling in Ford county in a newly formed town called Lyman (in Central Illinois) where they added their last child Thomas for 8 in all.  He continued to farm and work as a carpenter until 1884 when he moved with several children to Lone Pine in Nebraska.  Eventually he and his wife moved to Fairmont, Nebraska.  They are buried along side their son Henry and his wife Matilda in Fairmont.

The Barker family of the 1800's typify the pioneer spirit of America.  They partook in the great westward migration of their time, beginning in the settled areas of New England and following the frontier looking for fresh opportunites and trying to raise a family.

Below is a sketch from a book called Reminiscence and Biography of Western Nebraska (1909).  It depicts the farm of Alonzo Barker, one of the younger sons of Nathaniel (upper picture).

Relationship Key:

My wife ----> her father ----> Lloyd Barker ----> Henry Turbush Barker ---> Nathaniel C. Barker