Robert Barber^[1]

1815 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	Robert Barber
  Born	CA 1815	of, Waterloo Twp., Region of Waterloo, Ontario
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1839	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	school teacher
  Eby ID Number	00013-1156.1
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I16096	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family	Harriet Bowers,   b. 1819, , Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 18 Jan 1842, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 23 years)
  Married	23 Jan 1839	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Children	1. Isaac Barber,   b. 9 Apr 1840, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F4290	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE An interesting meeting took place the Saturday before last in the old log cabin in Waterloo Park. This house was, of course, the first schoolhouse in this area and stood originally on the school-house square at the corner of King and Church Streets in Waterloo. It was built in 1820 and served its purpose until 1842, when it was torn down and a 1-storey stone house was constructed on the site. The dismantled log house was erected again in Greenbush and served as a residence for a long time for the coloured man, Mr. Carroll and his family. In the course of this year, the Waterloo Park Commissioners purchased the house, moved it to their park and furnished it again as it was when it was a school-house. At this gathering, in addition to many other ladies and gentlemen, the following (male and female) former pupils attended, took their places on the benches, and were called to order by the 82-year-old teacher, Benjamin Burkholder, who held the scepter, or rather, the switch, from 1831 to 1842 in the old log-house: Joel Guth, 80 years old; Abraham Scherk, Blair, 79; Jakob Bricker, Waterloo, 77; Sarah Burkholder, nee Erb, Bridgeport, 75; Amos Weber, Berlin, 73; John C, Bricker, Hawksville, 71; Maria Erb, nee Quickfall, Norwich 69; David B. Eby, Waterloo, 69; Wendel Baumann, Woolwich, 68; Henry Stauffer, Erbsville, 67; Simon Beatty, Elmira, 67; Jakob Ratz, New Hamburg, 67; Israel Baumann, Berlin, 65; George Elbert, Moorefield, 63; George H. Baumann, Elmira, 63; John Devitt, Waterloo, 62; Richard Quickfall, Bridgeport, 62; Isaak Hoffmann, Waterloo, 61; Robert Barkwell, Peel, 60; Diana McMahon, nee Dekay, Berlin, 60; Thomas Quickfall, Floradale, 60; Benjamin Devitt, Waterloo, 60; Isaak Devitt, Floradale, 58; John Longmann, Peel, 57. In addition, to these, the teacher read the names of 25 pupils from the roll; they were, however, absent. Mr. Burkholder gave an interesting talk about the history of the old school-house, and after him, Rev. J.A. MacLachlan, Rev. J. McNair, Mr. J.E. Baumann, M.P., and Mr. Jakob Ratz spoke about the old days which brought many things out of the past to mind again. School was, as a rule, only in session in winter and the costs were borne by the parents of the children. There were few subjects taught, namely: Reading, Writing and Sums. The children heard little about language, and geography; no child had more than 2 or 3 books. The predominant language was German. The pupils learned to read and write English, but didn't understand a word of it. Among the teachers in the old school-house from 1820-1842, with the exception of Mr. Burkholder, were the following whose names are still recognized: Jephtha DeKay, Joseph Guth, John Herringer, Peter Otto, John Dobbin, Elias Eby, Robert Barber, & Joseph Eby. After those present, on hearing the various speeches felt themselves transported back to the past, the school was closed at four o'clock and the pupils were gathered together in front of the school and photographed as a group. On their return into the school, they found it had been transformed into a dining room with heavily-laden tables, which the old-timers thoroughly enjoyed. After everyone had chatted cordially for a while longer, the gathering broke up. The company will not meet again in complete numbers, nor in such a way. Berliner Journal September 26, 1895 Page 4 Column 4

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 292. [S9] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Canada Museum und Allgemeine Zeitung (1835-1840), 23 Feb 1839:9. 23 Jan 1839 Rev Carson m. Robert Barber, schoolteacher, to Spr Harriet Bauer, daughter of Samuel Bauer, all of Waterloo Tp.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - CA 1815 - of, Waterloo Twp., Region of Waterloo, Ontario Occupation - school teacher - 1839 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 23 Jan 1839 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth