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the Barber & Lacey families of Kirkman, Iowa...
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Portrait of the John K. Barber family, 1910
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On this page is the "mysterious" Barber family portrait. We had never been able to establish when the photograph
was taken, and had only tentatively identified the subjects. Now the mystery may have been solved, thanks
to some detective work... or has it?
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After some study, it dawned on us it was the J.K. Barber family. For more than a year, we wondered when
and where the photograph was taken, and could only tentatively identify the people, except for CW Barber. We guessed
on who the other siblings were, primarily by inference from their apparent ages.
Then: breakthroughs -- when we connected with cousin Tharon Peterson in South Dakota, we were pleased
to discover that he had the same picture but no identifications, either, except that he felt certain the gentleman on the
left in the back row is his grandfather, James Douglas Barber. Then cousin Jergen Barber confirmed the one on our
right in the back row is his grandfather, Joseph Lutz Barber. Finally, cousin Ina Oerlline had talked with
her uncle Verle Barber and he had identified everyone in the photo. These were different than some of our guesses, but
lacking any other facts, we have revised the caption accordingly.
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Identifications provided by Verle Barber:
(1st row) Effie, 1882; Arabelle, 1866; Maggie Alice, 1872; and Chestie
Ann, 1857. (2nd row) Carrie Minerva, 1863; John K., 1838; Sarah Harter Barber, 1839;
and Mary Catherine ("Katie"), 1860.
(3rd row) James Douglas, 1858; Charles William, 1870; John Franklin, 1871; and Joseph Lutz, 1868.
Portrait believed to have been taken in October 1910 during a family reunion;
see newspaper article. Revised August, 2004 based on identifications provided by Verle Barber to Ina
Oerlline.
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Tharon's family lore had it that the portrait had been "doctored." That is, the story went that at least one of
the persons pictured was not present when the photograph was taken -- that she had died, and an image of her had
been skillfully added to the composite later.
Then recently information came to light from cousin Phyllis Heller's discovery of the 1910 Shelby County Republican
newspaper article, detailing a Barber family reunion (see below). Careful analysis of the story of who attended the
reunion and who did not, coupled with Tharon's story, leads us to believe that the photo was taken in 1910, and that
three missing siblings were later pasted in. It's much easier to see where this was done in Tharon's copy
of the photograph than in ours, which was a poor photocopy. Maggie Alice, J. Frank, and Arabelle all appear to have
different levels of contrast, different angles of lighting, and different dress. Moreover, Joseph L.'s left shoulder
is missing! Look carefully at an enlargement, and you'll see a sharp cut lines around J. Frank and Katie. And
Effie's arm appears at an odd angle -- another clue. But it was Frank, Belle, and Alice who (according to
the news article) were not at the reunion.
In the Summer of 2004, we thought we'd be able to "nail down" the anomaly. Cousin Ina Oerlline had a good copy
of the photograph, AND she had conversed with her uncle, Verle Barber about the identities, though she noted that "his eyesight
wasn't all that good, so he could have made a mistake." Verle's identifications differed from the list of attendees
and absentees at the 1910 reunion.
So the mystery continues: how was this photo created? Why does it appear to have been "doctored?" Or
was it taken at an entirely different place and time?
P.S. We're still not 100% certain of the identities, and we hope some family member can positively identify the
sisters...
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(c) Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 the Barber and Lacey
families. Family members are welcome to download copies of the materials for their own personal use. No commercial
uses are authorized.
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