Information
Sheet
R Barr, Thomas Akers, 1841‑1903.
270 Papers, 1861‑1919.
Sixty-three
items.
MICROFILM
This collection consists of
correspondence and papers of a native of Illinois
and physician who began practice in Lebanon,
Laclede County, Missouri, about 1869. Included are letters from Illinois soldiers
serving in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina, 1861‑1865, from physicians
in Illinois and Missouri, and from Harry Woodson Barr at Camp Bowie, Texas,
1918‑1919.
Thomas Akers Barr (1841‑1903) was
born and reared in Salem, Illinois.
His father was Isaac Greenfield Barr, a Methodist circuit rider who died
in 1845. Thomas became interested in
medicine and attended the Cincinnati
Eclectic College,
graduating in 1864. First practicing in
Hutsonville, Illinois, he moved to Lebanon, Missouri,
to establish practice in 1869. There in
1871 he married Nancy Ann Frances Johnson (1856‑1930) of Fulton, Missouri. Thirteen children were born of the union. Dr. Barr was well‑known in Lebanon
as a physician and as a member of fraternal organizations, among them the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Masonic Lodge. He practiced medicine in Lebanon until
his death in 1903.
The Barr collection has been assembled
from a much larger collection of family papers. Most of the material selected consists of
correspondence addressed to Dr. Barr, although a few miscellaneous business
papers are included. The correspondence
includes Civil War letters to Barr from friends serving in several Illinois infantry
units. There are letters from soldiers
in the 62nd regiment at Camp Kenton, Tennessee, the 111th regiment at Columbus,
Kentucky, and the 31st regiment at Goldsboro and Raleigh,
North Carolina. The letters from George W. Hand of the 31st Illinois contain comments on the surrender of the
Confederate army in North Carolina
and the assassination of President Lincoln.
Before his graduation from medical school
in 1864, Barr began corresponding with Dr. Lyman Pike, an eclectic physician
in Onarga, Iroquois County,
Illinois. Pike was seeking a partner in his practice,
and Barr’s eclectic credentials suited him.
He wrote often to Barr from 1863 to 1866, commenting on the philosophy
of eclectic medicine, listing the works in his medical library, and describing
the increasing rivalry between himself and allopathic and homeopathic
practitioners in Onarga. Although Barr
visited Pike and evidently considered working with him, he ultimately declined
to do so. Their correspondence ended in
1867 after a dispute involving a small business matter. In Missouri,
Barr corresponded with Dr. T. H. Jones, of Newtonia, whose practice included
patients from the lead mines around Granby.
The remainder of the Barr collection
consists of letters written by Harry Woodson Barr (1897‑ ), Dr. Barr’s youngest son, during his
service in the U. S. Army in World War One.
A regimental clerk, Barr spent nearly his entire term of service
stationed at Camp Bowie, Texas.
His letters note details of his training, life at Camp Bowie,
and demobilization after the end of the war.
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