was already a middle aged man with six children, three of whom were already
grown to adulthood with families of their own.Tilson Barker (b. Sep 1818 in
Bethel) had married Catherine Howe and was working as a blacksmith in
Marlborough, Ma. in 1850. Daniel J Barker,(b. 1820) was likewise a
blacksmith and lived in Weston, Aroostook Maine with his wife.
Alexander Augustus Barker was living in Massachusetts and became
a Supervisor at Mt Auburn Cemetery. Only two younger sons, Nathaniel S.
and Amos Hastings Barker, and a daughter, Mary, were still living in Albany,
Maine.
I mentioned the 1850 Federal Census Non Population Agricultural Schedule
in the previous post. From it I learned the following:
Nathaniel had a total of 135 acres of land in August, 1850, 100 acres of which
were "Unimproved". His real estate was worth $600 and farm tools and
machinery were worth $20.
He owned one horse, two "milch cows", two working oxen, one "other
cattle" (possibly a bull?), and one pig. Total value of the livestock was $150
dollars.
In the year ending June1, 1950, he'd produced 50 bushels of Indian Corn,
50 bushels of Irish Potatoes, 200 pounds of butter, and 6 tons of hay.
On the same page the farm of Wesley Coburn is listed, significant because
the Coburn and Barker families would soon be untied by two marriages.
Overall, compared to the other farmers in Albany, Nathaniel was neither the
most nor the least prosperous in the community. He was 56 years old by 1850
and I have no way of knowing as yet if the information on the Schedule represented
an inprovement or reversal of fortune for him.
Then Nathaniel received the second Bounty Land Grant in 1855 and we'll see what
if anything changed after that.
To be continued.
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