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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
George H. Barbour, who for twenty years has been engaged in the lumber business in New Sharon, was born in Reinersville, Morgan county, Ohio, August 18, 1853, a son of John Wilson and Jane (Macklem) Barbour, the for- mer born in Pennsylvania in 1814 and the latter in Delaware in 1818. The father was a farmer by occupation and spent a number of years in Ohio, where he owned and operated a tract of land until 1854. That year witnessed his ar- rival in Washington county, Iowa, where he purchased one hundred and seventy acres of land. It had been entered from the government some years before but was still unimproved when it came into possession of Mr. Barbour, who began its cultivation and improvement and later added to it a tract of forty, acres, which was improved. He made his home thereon un- til his death, which occurred in 1877, while his wife passed away in Washington, Iowa, in 1890. In their family were three children, of whom, George H. is the second in order of birth and the only one now living. His elder brother, John William, a carpenter by trade, died in Washington county, Iowa, in 1886, leaving a wife and children. Ann Elizabeth died in Washington county, in 1883. Following the father's death the mother and her daughter removed to the city of Washing- ton, while George H. Barbour remained upon the home farm, which he conducted until 1880. He then engaged in the lumber business at Ainsworth, Iowa, where he remained for a year and in June, 1882, he established a lum- ber business at Sully and also conducted a lum- beryard at Lynnville and Killduff, in Jasper county, being connected with those interests for three years. In 1884 and 1885 he was engaged in the lumber business at Oskaloosa, and in March, 1886, he removed to New Sharon, where for twenty years he has conducted his yard. Until a year ago he also conducted an ele- vator and purchased and shipped grain but gives his attention now only to the lumber trade, being the senior partner of the firm,of Barbour & Younkin, the latter being his brother-in-law. They handle a large line of lumber of all kinds together with building materials and they are also interested in a lumber business at Gilman and at Barnes City. Their trade in all three places is extensive and their annual sales return to them a gratifying income. The yard is lo- cated near the railroad thus furnishing excel- lent shipping facilities and the business has been carried on here since its establishment more than twenty years ago. In 1880 Mr. Barbour was united in marriage to Miss Ida Younkin, and unto them have been born five daughters, Laura, Florence, Edna, Edith and Gladys. The family circle yet re- mains unbroken by the hand of death, and all are yet under the parental roof. In his political views Mr. Barbour has been a stalwart republican since age gave to him the right of franchise. He has served as a mem- ber of the city council and on the school board, and is the advocate of all measures which have their rise in the demands for public improve- ment and progress. He and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and he is a Mason, having taken the degrees of the blue lodge of New Sharon, the chapter and commandery at Oskaloosa and the Mystic Shrine at Davenport. Both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star and in social relations have occupied an envi- able position, enjoying the warm regard of many friends. Since starting out in life on his own account after the death of his father, Mr. Barbour has made continuous progress, care- fully considering each step and then advancing in the path that leads to substantial prosperity.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy