OBIT: Samuel W. BARR, 1911, Tyrone, Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by P Barr 10.emlet@telus.net November 21, 2009, 6:30 pm Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ A NOBLE LIFE ENDED Samuel W. Barr, an Estimable Citizen of Tyrone, Passes Away. In the passing away of Samuel W. Barr, exemplary citizen, father in Israel, beloved of the home, record that may be made here but feebly expresses the distinct loss that the community, the visible church and a devoted family have sustained. Mr. Barr was the sincere friend of all humankind, and the tender esteem in which he was held was richly manifest in the general sympathetic feelings and the anxious inquiry throughout the brief illness which culminated in the call to that celestial height for which he was so beautifully prepared. Mr. Barr became alarmingly ill from heart trouble following kidney ailment, last Wednesday night, the attack being sudden, as he had been at his usual vocation throughout the day. The illness proved serious from the very start and on Thursday his life was despaired of. He rallied somewhat, however, but not with any hope to the anxious ones about his bedside nor to himself, for he realized the approaching dissolution and contemplated it with a calm resignation that was simply characteristic of his noble life. The end came on the eve of the Sabbath which he had ever remembered to keep holy, and at 9 o'clock Saturday night the good man was gathered to his fathers. Samuel Wilson Barr was born near Lewistown, April 25, 1834. His age at death was therefore 77 years, 3 months and 11 days. His early life was spent in the vicinity of the place of his birth, but as a young man he went to McVeytown where he held a clerkship in the general store of Macklin Brothers for about three years. He then went to Williamsport where he was connected with the hardware business for a time, but he soon returned to Lewistown to take up a clerkship in the office of his father, who had been elected register and recorder of Mifflin county. His father died during the term and the son was appointed to fill the vacancy, later being elected to the office himself, so that the subject of this present sketch served the people of Mifflin county in his official capacity during most of the time of the Civil War. In 1866 Mr. Barr came to Tyrone and he has been a resident of this place ever since. He first entered the hardware business as a member of the firm of Crawford & Barr, continuing that relation until 1872 when he accepted the position of bookkeeper at the planing mill of McCamant & Harper, later S. McCamant & Co., and he continued in this responsible capacity throughout the nearly two score years until his final illness. Mr. Barr was the son of Samuel and Sibella Barr of whose eleven children he was the last to pass away. One of his brothers, Rev. J. C. Barr, and two of his sisters, Mrs. J. M. Harper and Miss Sibella Barr, all deceased, were formerly residents of Tyrone. It was on November 28, 1867, that Mr. Barr was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Stiver, of Potter's Mills, Centre county, at that place, by Rev. William H. Groh. To this union were born three children, one of whom, Ralph, died in 1879, aged six years. The surviving son and daughter are William C. Barr and Miss Elsie S. Barr, of Tyrone. Those who know how beautiful was the home life of this good family can well understand the poignant grief that has come to them, and the sympathy that goes out to the bereaved wife and children is heartfelt, and personal to the extent of feeling a share in their irreparable loss. The deceased was mostly highly respected as a citizen of Tyrone. He had no aspirations for public place, but at the call of his fellow townsmen he served them at times in local offices, having been a member of council for several years and also burgess of the borough. Mr. Barr's chief activity, however, was given to the First Presbyterian church of Tyrone, in which he was a veritable pillar. By transfer from the Lewistown congregation Mr. Barr was enrolled as a member of the Tyrone Presbyterian church April 18, 1867. Soon Thereafter, on September 29, 1867, he was ordained an elder and was also chosen clerk of the Session, an office of dignity and responsibility which he filled faithfully and capably until his death. During these many years, too, he was a steadfast friend of the Sunday school, serving as a teacher with boundless influence for good over the young lives which his personality touched. Mr. Barr was honored in the church of his choice, frequently representing it at the meetings of presbytery and synod, and at one time serving as a delegate from the presbytery to the General Assembly. As a pattern of consecrated Christian manhood Mr. Barr's life stands out preeminently. Of supremely kindly nature, with a tenderness that embraced all people in his brotherly love, he seemed never to have had an enemy. Forgetful of self, he was constant in the effort to make others happy, and he was always ready to shoulder the burdens that fell to the lot of others to bear. Even in his last illness, on the bed of suffering, his thought was almost entirely for the loving ones about him, in appreciation of their ministrations. He had no dread of the future. He knew that all was well with his soul. His noble life and his peaceful transition beyond are a memory that will always be cherished by those bereft. The funeral took place Tuesday afternoon, services being conducted at the First Presbyterian church at 3 o'clock. A number of the ministers of Huntingdon presbytery were present to take part in the final tribute. Tyrone Herald, Tyrone, Pa., August 10, 1911 __________________ "When a young man he taught school near Linden Hall, Centre county, and later followed clerking in a general store in McVeytown." Daily Sentinel, Lewistown, Pa., August 7, 1911 __________________ "When the Civil war broke out he enlisted and served until its close when he returned to Centre county and lived at various places until 1868 when he went to Tyrone and went into the hardware business with James A. Crawford." Democratic Watchman, Bellefonte, Pa., August 11, 1911 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/