Contra Costa-El Dorado-Alameda County CA Archives Biographies.....Barber, Mathew Root 1815 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 25, 2005, 12:26 am Author: W. A. & Slocum & Co. (1882) MATHEW ROOT BARBER.—This old and respected pioneer of Contra Costa county, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Delaware county, Ohio, August 7,1815. When two years of age he was taken by his parents to Bond county, Illinois, where they engaged in farming and stock-raising, but losing his father at an early age, he went to live in the family of Hon. Elam Brown of Lafayette, but then of Morgan county, Illinois. Here Mr. Barber attended the common schools and resided, until he attained the age of twenty-one years, when he started to face the world. In 1837 he took unto himself the faithful partner who still shares his home, and followed farming, together with wagon-making, his trade, until the ever memorable "days of '49." March 15th of that year he joined a train on the point of crossing the plains to the Land of Gold, which they reached after a weary journey of six months. The first place stopped at in California was Hangtown, now known by the less unpleasant name of Placerville, where they arrived in September. Here Mr. Barber betook himself to the mines for a spell, and afterwards engaged in the lumber trade in the redwoods, near San Antonio, then in Contra Costa county. While in the redwoods he wrote tickets for the first election of officers of Contra Costa county, which then consisted of the present Contra Costa and Alameda. After that he worked at the carpenter's trade, building several of the first houses in Martinez, some of them now standing. February 14, 1851, he sailed from San Francisco via Panama and New Orleans, to Illinois, and after a sojourn of a year—this time with his wife and family—drove a band of stock across the plains into California, ultimately arriving at Martinez, August 22, 1852. In the Fall of 1852 he purchased his present beautiful location, then consisting of unbroken plain and hill, with no improvements, two miles from Martinez, consisting of four hundred and forty-three acres, where he is engaged in general farming and fruit culture, his orchard and vineyard alone covering an extent of forty acres. Mr. Barber was elected to the office of Public Administrator for four successive terms, as will be gathered from our table of County Officers. He married in Pike county, Illinois, November 14, 1837, Orpha Bean, by whom he has had the following family: Maria B. (now Mrs. Lander), William H. (deceased), Daniel N. (deceased), Elam B., and Clara E. (now Mrs. Goodall). Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION; TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE; ALSO, Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN; AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC. ILLUSTRATED. SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS 1882. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/contracosta/bios/barber12bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 3.8 Kb