Revisions to Barbour bio.

Those of you who regularly read this blog know that I'm revising Nelson Barbour: The Millennium's Forgotten Prophet. Here is a snippet of current work. This will change as I add additional detail. But I'm posting it now for your comments, observations and critiques.

The Barbour last name is frequently spelled as ‘Barber’ in early records, though the family’s historic name is as Nelson spelled it.[1] Nelson Barbour’s family settled in Connecticut early in the Colonial Era. Barbour’s grandfather purchased a homestead in Throopsville, near Auburn, New York, in 1801.[2] By the time Barbour was born on August 21, 1824, Throopsville was a small manufacturing village.[3] A Gazetteer published in 1836 said it had a flouring mill, a saw mill, a carding and cloth dressing mill, one tavern, two stores, and from 20 to 25 dwellings.[4] A small Baptist Church, to which some of his family belonged, and later a Presbyterian Church were formed there.[5] The Throopsville Baptist Church drew attendance from surrounding villages, and was the seed church for Auburn and Port Byron.

His closest living relative, a half-uncle lived there, and when Barbour died in 1905 of “exhaustion” he was buried there.[6] During his childhood the village was so small that he would have known everyone in it.

Though the usual references to her are as “Mrs. Barbour” or “Mrs. N. H. Barbour,” he was married September 27, 1877, to Emeline Jobes. Emeline B. Barbour was born in September 1831 and died while on a trip to Florida on November 20, 1901.[7] The Library of Congress catalogue suggests that his middle name was Homer. This is incorrect. His middle name was Horatio and is so noted on the British patent for one of his inventions.

A newspaper article appearing in The Auburn, New York, Citizen of October 30, 1905, and his grandfather’s will make it clear that Barbour was the nephew of Delecta Barbour Lewis, the radical anti-saloon crusader. A Barbour descendent says that his father was David Barbour, the son of Friend Barbour. Though the person relaying this information had much information on the early Barbour family, and this seems correct based on Census data, it needs greater verification. Little is known about David Barbour beyond the fact that he was a farmer. More is known about Nelson Barbour’s grandfather, Friend Barbour, and his other children. Both Friend Barbour and his second wife were interested in the Temperance Movement, and letters from and about them appear in various New York newspapers. Nelson Barbour would not have known his grandmother, but his step-grandmother was “a woman of remarkable endowments and fine educational attainments.” Noted in her early life “for her accomplishments,” she “became a well recognized oracle in the neighborhood.”

A brief description of Friend Barbour and his family appears in Mary F. Eastman’s Biography of Dio Lewis:

Friend Barbour was one of the largest men, weighing three hundred pounds. He was well-proportioned, of erect carriage, and of great strength of body and mind. His voice was so loud and clear that he never used a horn to call his men, as was the custom, for his shout could be heard anywhere on his farm of seventy-five acres. ... Dr. Peter Clark used to say that at a house-raising, when the frame was lifted with the cry of “he-ho heave!” he had heard Mr. Barbour’s voice a mile away.

He was a master builder and pushed work with such vigor that when ... he wished to substitute a frame house for the log-house in which he lived, he moved his family into the church across the street on Monday morning, took away the log-house, built a new frame house with three rooms on the ground-floor, and moved his family into it on the next Saturday afternoon.[8]

            A toll road built by the Montezuma Turnpike and Bridge Company sometimes about 1817 started at Friend Barbour’s residence. Nelson would have seen the traffic on what was, though only a dirt track, a semi-major roadway for the era. It appears that Friend Barbour took the tolls for the company.[9] Members of the extended family were prominent both in business and politics in the Auburn and Throopsville area. Josiah Barbour, a carpet maker, also manufactured “cheap flannels” in Throopsville, and starting in 1829 used local prison labor to manufacture silks.[10]

            We can infer from a newspaper interview that his parents, despite Friend Barbour’s Baptist affiliations, became Presbyterians. This was not a major doctrinal change since many Baptist churces were Calvinist in doctrine. Other than a family move to Cohocton, New York, when Barbour was young, nothing is known about his life until he is fifteen and enrolled in Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo, New York.[11] The Academy was founded in 1827 and chartered by the New York Legislature. It was “an institution combining classical instruction with that of the useful arts, and at a moderate expense.”[12] The trustees promised “to throw around it those healthful, moral, and religious influences which cannot fail to inspire confidence in the minds of parents and guardians, and make it a seat of Literature and Science, as desirable, as its location is distinguished, for its grand and beautiful scenery.”[13] Temple Hill’s management was eventually entrusted to the Presbyterians. Barbour attended from 1839 to 1842.

Temple Hill Academy Photo here.

            From his frequent use of illustrations drawn from engineering, the Doppler Effect, and scientific analysis one can, I believe, conclude that Barbour concentrated on the science curriculum. While there, it is likely that he met Owen Russell Crozier who was four years older than Barbour, a school teacher and a student at the Methodist seminary at Lima, New York. Crozier belonged to the Amphictyonic Society, a debating society that met at Temple Hill Academy in 1842, and Crozier enrolled in Temple Hill in 1842. Crozier would become an influential writer whose work affected Adventists and other interested in millennialist subjects.

Barbour left his parent’s Presbyterian religion and “united with the Methodist Episcopal Church” at Geneseo.[14] [jen-ess-EE-oh] Again we are left with little record. The Methodist Episcopal Church in Cochocton was pastored by Stephen Daniel Trembley, occasionally spelled Trembly. [June 2, 1799 – June 28, 1868] Trembley was very active in the Methodist ministry, serving congregations in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota. If Barbour was interested in Methodist faith before attending Temple Hill academy, it is through Trembley that he learned the elements of it. He told a newspaper reporter that he “united” with the Methodist faith in Geneseo. By “uniting” with the church he meant formal membership, not initial interest.

There was one each of Methodist Episcopal, Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches in Geneseo serving a village of 2714 souls.[15] The Methodist clergyman assigned to the Geneseo church was John Parker.[16] He entered the Methodist Episcopal ministry in 1822 with most of his work centered in the Geneseo area. As was Trembley, he was committed to his faith. However, while we presume that Trembley taught orthodox Methodist doctrine, we know with certainty what Parker taught because he put his thought to paper. In 1857 he published The Upward Path, Or Brief Thoughts on Christian Salvation as Revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, and as Understood and Taught by the Great Body of Methodists Throughout the World.[17] There is nothing surprising in Parker’s book. His doctrine would have been heard in any Methodist church, not matter what the sect of Methodism.

Barbour began studying for the Methodist ministry “under Elder Ferris.” In the first edition of this book we noted that Elder Ferris was otherwise unnamed, but speculated that he was William H. Ferris, a prominent member of the New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a representative to the church’s annual national conferences.[18] This Ferris was one of the founders of Drew Theological Seminary and is named in the charter.[19] We wrote: “That William H. Ferris[20] was Barbour’s teacher is only an educated guess.” This was a very poor guess. Access to more complete records leads to another, firmer conclusion.

David Ferris [February 6, 1805 to May 27, 1865] was a long-serving Methodist Episcopal clergyman who was born in New York and died there. He held, among other appointments, a visiting professorship at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, a small village south of Rochester, New York.[21] When Barbour was at Geneseo, David Ferris was pastor of both the Groveland and Geneseo, New York, Methodist Episcopal congregations, replacing John Parker in late 1840 or early 1841. Parker became pastor at Livonia with oversight of the Groveland and Geneseo churches. By 1844 Ferris had moved out of Barbour’s life.[22] Identifying “Elder Ferris” with David Ferris has location and timing in its favor.

Whoever Elder Ferris was, Barbour’s association with him was brief. “Having been brought up among Presbyterians” a newspaper profile says, “and having an investigating turn of mind, instead of quietly learning Methodist theology he troubled his teacher with questions of election, universal salvation, and many other subjects, until it was politely hinted that he was more likely to succeed in life as a farmer than as a clergyman.”

Barbour told The Rochester, New York, Union and Advertiser that he began preaching independently when he was nineteen. This dates his preaching to 1843. Conversion to Millerism impelled Barbour into “independent” preaching. By the designator “independent preaching” he meant that he wasn’t recognized by any religious body as an authorized evangelist. We do not know how much before 1843 he found Millerism worth his attention. There is no detailed conversion narrative, and we are left to piece the story together the best we can. An letter from E. A. Hendrick of Lakeville, ten miles from Geneseo, to one of the Millerite journals tells us that Millerite Adventism was a growing force in Livingston County: “I am well pleased with the Signs of the Times you send me by Eld. L. D. Fleming’s address and shall be happy in using my feeble efforts to facilitate its circulation. The truth is gaining advocates in western New York.”[23]

Photo here

Barbour United with the

Methodist Church in Geneseo

Her brief letter tells us there was Millerite interest in Livingston County and that Elder L. D. Fleming, a clergyman turned itinerate Adventist, had furthered it. He had the reputation of overly frank, sometimes abusive speech. In 1837 Elizabeth R. Long, a young woman “of unblemished character” sued Fleming for slander and won – twice. The issue was a medical treatment chosen by Long to which Fleming objected. In stating his objections to the treatment he suggested things that defamed her and impugned her character. Fleming saw himself as a medical expert of sorts, and patented a medical device in later years.  [add footnotes]

Lorenzo Dow Fleming (1808-1867) has left us with an enlightening view of his faith as it was prior to the 1843-1844 disappointments. He wrote A Synopsis of the Evidences of the Second Coming of Christ, about A. D. 1843 to express his views of Christ’s near return. It went through three editions; the one coming down to us is the third edition, revised. When it was published Fleming had moved on to Newark, New Jersey. But his work represents the message he preached in Livingston County, New York. We do not know if Barbour attended his meetings in Geneseo but suspect that he did. Fleming turns up in New York City in the 1870s contemporary to Barbour’s residence there. They preached to the same congregation and had similar abrasive personalities.

Crozier says that a “Mr. Johnson,” a Millerite evangelist, lectured at Geneseo in the winter of 1842.[24] Though Crozier paid little attention to Jonas D. Johnson’s message,[25] by mid summer 1843, he was actively spreading Millerite end-times predictions, lecturing at the Canandaigua school house and elsewhere. Barbour, and Daniel Cogswell from Dansville, about 21 miles from Geneseo, also spread the Millerite message. It is apparent from the biographical sections of Barbour’s Midnight Cry booklet that Miller’s end-times calculations struck his fancy and convinced him. He saw them as flawless and inarguable. He memorized the math and the chronology upon which the calculations were based, and for fifteen years after the 1843-4 disappointment he could find no error in them, though the failure was self-evident.

Barbour gives us one snippet of his experiences as an active Millerite. He recalled that every Adventist had a Bible in his hand or pocket, ready for immediate use. “It must have been a small gathering for those days, where, if a preacher quoted or misquoted a text, his ear was not saluted by the rustling of a hundred volumes.”[26]

In 1843, at the time appointed, Millerites in the Geneseo and surrounding areas gathered in Springwater at the home of “Captain [Parker H.] Pierce near the center of the town with its huge lawn.” The group there took the name “House of Judgment.” One source estimates that twenty or more attended the gathering, and, considering Barbour’s close association with Henry F. Hill, who was one of the principal speakers, it is likely he attended.

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[1]               The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 76, page xciv.

[2]               “Cayugans Are Interested: Will of Tacoma Man Probated in Rochester,” The Auburn New York Citizen, October 20, 1905.

[3]               John W. Barber and Henry Howe: Historical Collections of the State of New York Containing a General Collection of the Most Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c. Relating to its History and Antiquities, with Geographical Descriptions of Every Township in the State, New York, 1842, page 80

[4]               T. F. Gordon: Gazetteer of the State of New York, Philadelphia, 1836, page 377.

[5]               E. T. Storke: History of Cayuga County, New York, D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, New York, 1879, page 202, 252; T. F. Gordon: Gazetteer of the State of New York, Philadelphia, 1836, page 377. Several membership lists exist noting Barber/Barbour names. Friend Barbour is listed here: https://www.cayugagenealogy.org/church/throop/throopsville_baptist_church_membership_males.htm [Retrieved March 2, 2020]

[6]               Though his death notice in an Auburn, New York, newspaper says he died September 1, 1905, in Tacoma, Washington, the official record gives the date August 30, 1905. He died aged 81 years, 9 days. - “Died,” The Auburn, New York, Bulletin, September 6, 1905, page 8. Register of Deaths, City of Tacoma, 1905.

[7]               A web site that gives her name as Elizabeth is incorrect. Death date: The Auburn, New York, Democrat-Argus, November 26, 1901, page 1. Marriage and birth dates are in the 1900 Census. She and Nelson are both buried in Throopsville Rural Cemetery, Throop, New York, Swift Purchase, Lot S31. This was Emeline’s second marriage.

Also on that lot are graves for Benjamin H. Barbour (1831-1913) and his wife L. A. (1835-1914). They appear to be the same as the Benjamin H. Barber and Lydia A. Barber of the 1880 Census. They were residents of District 41, Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. Benjamin’s father’s birth place is listed as Connecticut, and his mother’s birthplace is listed as Ohio. Benjamin H. Barbour was Barbour’s half-uncle according to an obituary. – Cayugans Are Interested: Will of Tacoma Man Probated in Rochester, The Auburn New York Citizen, October 20, 1905.

[8]               M. F. Eastman: The Biography of Dio Lewis, Fowler & Wells, New York, 1891, pages 19-20

[9]               Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Fifty-Seventh Session, 1834, pages 3-4.

[10]             Collections of Cayuga County Historical Society Number 4, 1887, pages 30-31. Throopsville was three miles from Auburn Prison.

[11]             Description of Barbour’s grandmother: Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York, The Genealogical Publishing Company, Buffalo, 1906, Volume 1, page 107. Description of Friend Barbour: Mary F. Eastman: The Biography of Dio Lewis, A.M, M.D., Fowler & Wells, New York 1891, pages 20-21. On the move: The Rochester, New York, Union and Advertiser, October 5, 1895, page 12.

[12]              Nancy Beadie and Kimberley Tolley: Chartered Schools: Two Hundred Years of Independent Academies in the United States, 1727-1925, Routledge, 2002, page 285. Temple Hill Academy’s name was changed to Geneseo Academy in 1849.

[13]             Cortlandt Van Rensselaer: True Organization of a Christian Institution: An Address Delivered at the Close of the Winter Term of the Geneseo Synodical Academy, N. Y., April 7^th 1853, Philadelphia, 1853, page 21.

[14]             The 57th Installment of the Union’s Series of Saturday Articles on Rochester Pastors is Devoted to the Rev. Nelson H. Barbour, Pastor of the Church of the Strangers, The Rochester, New York, Union and Advertiser, October [?], 1895, page 12.

[15]             1835 New York State Census returns. T. F. Gordon: Gazetteer of the State of New York, Philadelphia, 1836, pages 508, 511.

[16]             Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church: 1839-1845, volume three, page 93.

[17]             E. D. Darrow & Brother, Rochester, New York, 1857.

[18]             William L. Harris, ed: Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1864, page 16.

[19]             William L. Harris, ed: Journal of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Held in Chicago, 1868, page 520.

[20]             There is another and more famous William H. Ferris associated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a different individual.

[21]             Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Genesee College ... for the Academic Year 1857-1858, C. P. Dewey at the Office of the Daily American, Rochester New York, 1857, page 5.

[22]                Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the Years 1839- 1845, Volume Three, pages 189, 288, 521. David Ferris and forty-six others signed an anti-slavery petition in 1860. We do not know his views on slavery as they were in the 1840s.

[23]             Based on Federal Census records, E. A. Hendrick seems to be a woman. Her letter appears in The Signs of the Times[Boston], November 1, 1840, page 119.

[24]             Canandaigua Daily Messenger, Volume 126, Number 126, November 22, 1923, pages 17-24.

[25]             His full name is given in appended to a letter by him in published under the heading The Alarm to Go From This Country in The Voice of Truth and Glad Tidings, April 9, 1845. A brief article in the [issue] of Voice of Truth says his principal labors had been in LeRoy, Dansville, Springwater, Warsaw, “and many other places in those regions.” – See: Br. J. D. Johnson, Voice of Truth, May 21, 1845.

[26]             N. H. Barbour: Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873; Or The Midnight Cry, second edition, Rochester, 1871, page 24.