Biographical Sketches
H. A. BARBER, M. D.
Was born in Fulton county, Illinois, November 23, 1841, and is a son of Austin J. and Mary E. (Stillman) Barber, natives of New York. On the mother's side he traces his ancestry back to Revolutionary heroes, and members of the family also served in the Indian wars. At a very early day the Stillmans removed from New York to Illinois and sold the first goods ever purchased by the Indians in Fulton county. For a few years they engaged in trading with the Indians, then took up land from the government, on which they lived until called from this life. Isaish Stillman was a general in the Indian war. Throughout his life the father of our subject was connected with educational work and was principal of various colleges and academies in Illinois. His ability as an inspector won him a wide reputation. He died at a comparatively early age, and his widow afterward married N. S. Barber, a brother of her first husband.
The Doctor is the only survivor in the family of 4 children. He was reared in his native state and educated at Knox College in Galesburg, leaving school in his junior year to enlist in the army as a defender of the union cause. In the summer of 1862 he joined Company A., 77th Illinois infantry, and served until the war happily ended with the restoration of the union. He entered the army as a private but served as corporal a part of that time. He enlisted with a company of college boys when but 20 years of age, and for 3 years carried a musket on southern battle-fields, participating in all the principal engagements of the western army. He was taken prisoner at Sabine Cross Roads, or Mansfield, Louisiana, and sent to Tyler, Texas, where he was held in captivity for about 8 months, and then paroled. After the close of hostilities he returned home and began preparations for the practice of medicine.
Dr. Barber pursued a course in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was graduated with the class of 1868, and then began practice in Fairbury, Illinois. After a few months he went to Tecumseh, Illinois, remaining 3 years, after which he returned to Galesburg and practiced for 6 years. He next removed to western Kansas, where he continued for 2 years, and in 1880 came to Kansas City. He has built up an excellent practice, his skill and ability being evidenced by the success that has attended his efforts. Some years ago he studied homeopathy and has since been a practitioner of that school. For 2 years he held the chair of the diseases of children in the Homeopathic Medical College of Kansas City, and in 1895 was elected to the chair of obstetrics in the same college, which position he now occupies. He is a member of the Missouri Institute of Homeopathy, the Missouri Valley Medical Society, and the local Homeopathic Club, and is one of the leading homeopathic physicians of the city. His high reputation is justly deserved, for it would be difficult to find a more careful and painstaking physician, while his studies and his researches have given him standing among the more learned representatives of the calling.
Dr. Barber was married in 1868, the lady of his choice being Miss Clementine Russell, of Peoria county, Illinois, by whom he has 5 children living, namely: Henry A., Frank S., Arthur R., Oliver S., and Edwin L.
This page was last updated August 2, 2006.