This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: GeorgeBlank Surnames: Barber Rice Classification: biography Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.saintlawrence/5488.5/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I think that Uri Barber was my 4th Great Grandfather, but I am still seeking evidence. Here is my argument: This is a statement of the evidence that the Uri Barber who was the father of Ryan Barber in 1798 was the son of Captain Nathaniel Barber and Mercy Spafford, born June 1, 1769 in Salisbury, Connecticut. 1) The United States was a small nation. The 1800 census recorded 5,308,483 inhabitants. Of those inhabitants, there were only 430 heads of families with the surname Barber. To give an indication of the rarity of names, consider Uri's father. There were only 5 heads of Barber families named Nathaniel and his father was the only one in Connecticut. The others were in NY, NH, RI and SC. There were also four Nathans, in NY, MA, and a father and son in RI. There were no heads of families named Uri Barber or Ryan Barber in that census. I think Uri was not counted in the census because he was in a frontier area of upper New York in 1800. 2) I am assuming that Uri was an unusual enough name that there was no other Uri or Uriah Barber active in the Northeast U.S. at that time. Searching on the name before 1870 really only brought up one distinctly different Uri Barber, Uri M., who was born in Galien, Michigan about 1832, married in Dodge Wisconsin in 1851, enlisted in Company G, Michigan 26th Infantry Regiment in 1862 and died in the Andersonville Prison Camp in 1864. There was a Uri Barber Southwick, born in 1765, but Barber was just his middle name. 3) There are no time and location conflicts identifiable for Uri Barber, who seemed to move consistently north and west from Salisbury, Connecticut. Hartland Vermont is about 160 miles north of Salisbury, Connecticut. Lisbon NY is about 200 miles northwest of Hartland. Kendall NY is about 200 miles southeast of Lisbon. Normal travel in those days was about 17 miles a day for a loaded wagon or walking, perhaps twice that on a horse, so these places are about one to two weeks travel apart. (Distances from Google Maps) 4) Here are the dates and locations. Uri is born in 1769 in Salisbury CT. Then there is a Uri Barber who owns 100 acres of land mentioned on Page 36 of the book, State Papers of Vermont, Volume 11, General Petitions of the State of Vermont, 1778 - 1799: VOLUME XI: GENERAL PETITIONS, 1797-1799, edited by Allen Soule. 494 pp. 1962. Ryan Barber's birth is October 6, 1798 in Vermont. Uri Barber was appointed a Postmaster and a Fence Viewer of the Town of Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, NY in 1801, and a Grand Juror in 1802. When the town of Canton was separated from Lisbon, he was appointed an overseer of highways in Canton, St. Lawrence County, NY on March 4, 1806. These citations are from A History of St. Lawrence County, New York. Finally, his son Ryan settled further West in Kendall, Orleans County, NY. Ryan was a teacher in what was then Murray, and is now Kendall in 1822, and he was the magistrate who presided over the organization of Kendall in May, 1837. From 1839 to 1841! he was the town supervisor. 5) There is one problem with my conjecture. Ryan's wife Roxanne Rice was born in Vermont on October 7, 1801. Her father Elisha Rice was listed as residing in Hartland, Windsor County, Vermont in the 1800 census. Their first child, Melissa, was born in Kendall, NY in 1822. If Uri went to St. Lawrence County, was Ryan left behind to meet and marry Roxanne? Since he was a schoolteacher, he may have been left behind for an education. Or did Roxanne move west and meet Ryan in NY? I would expect that if Uri stayed in Vermont, and had a son in 1798, he would be listed as a head of household in the 1800 census in Vermont, and there is no such record. Note that there was a shortage of women on the frontier, and a corresponding shortage of eligible men in the settled areas. Young men moved west where there was available land because the land in the east was already taken. It is possible that Uri Barber knew Elisha Rice in Vermont and corresponded with him to arrange the marriage ! between Ryan and Roxanna. As they both came from prominent families that might be likely. Ryan was 24 and Roxanna not quite 21 when Melissa was born, which seems appropriate for an arranged marriage, which tend to be later than marriages based on acquaintance. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.