MARQUIS M. BARKER, son of one of the honored pioneers of Stephenson County, is an enterprising young farmer of Oneco Township, located on section 34, on his father’s old homestead, and where he has just fairly started about the more serious business of life and his establishment as a responsible citizen. He was married on the 7th of April, 1886, and has every prospect of a successful future, as he is equipped with an intelligent mind, a healthy frame, and the disposition to become a praiseworthy and valued member of society.

The first representatives of this branch of the Barker family in America located in the State of Vermont, over 100 years ago. Gerard Barker, the father of our subject, was born in the Green Mountain State March 12, 1812. His father was also a native of Vermont, and his grandfather was born in Canada, from whence he migrated to Vermont and his sons located. They were men of good stature and strong frames, mostly engaged in agricultural pursuits, and distinguished for longevity. The paternal grandfather of our subject lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years, retaining to the last his natural energy and a year previous had fed and fattened ninety head of hogs, husking the corn for them with his own hands.

Gerard Barker remained under the parental roof until the fall of 1846, after he had passed his thirty-fourth year, and then with a team of horses started on the long journey from Vermont to some point in the fertile West, the exact location of which he had by no means determined. He was bent upon seeing the country, and probably was fully satisfied in this respect by the time he had reached the end of his journey. Upon reaching the present site of Chicago, which was then an unpretending hamlet of three or four stores and a few other rude buildings designated as houses, he was offered 100 acres of the land which now comprises the heart of the city for one of his horses, which offer he rejected with disdain. After viewing the town sufficiently, and refreshed by a brief rest and a sojourn of a night or so, he harnessed his team but was yet undecided upon the direction he should pursue. He accordingly set a rail upright and determined to follow the point of the compass toward which it fell, and after a few days accordingly landed in the neighborhood of Campbell, in Coles County. The locality, however, did not exactly suit him, and not long afterward he made his way eastward into Rock Grove Township, this county.

The father of our subject now possessed a cash capital of fifty cents, but borrowed enough money to carry out his original intention of entering a tract of land. He selected 160 acres of land, where he put up a log cabin which he occupied with his family some years, and in the meantime brought his land to a good state of cultivation, and was then enabled to sell out at reasonable profit. His next purchase was 400 acres in Oneco Township. He now began to rise in the world and enjoy the reward of his industry and perseverance. In due time his farm was equipped with handsome and substantial buildings, and all the machinery required by the progressive agriculturist. His enterprise and his value accordingly were duly recognized by the people around him, and he was called upon to till the various local offices, and became prominent in matters pertaining to the progress and development of that section of country. Formerly a Whig, he had cordially endorsed Republican principles upon the abandonment of the old party, and upheld these ever afterward.

The mother of our subject before her marriage was Miss Hannah E. Goodrich, and she was born Aug. 30, 1815. The male members of the Goodrich family were distinguished for their skill as natural mechanics, and one brother especially became one of the most expert machinists in that section of county, although never having served an apprenticeship at the trade. He, like the others, however, was fond of farm life and its pursuits, and they were mostly members of the rural community. Mrs. Hannah Barker departed this life at her home in Oneco Township, in February, 1884, when sixty-nine years of age. Of the seven children included in the parental household two are deceased: Dudley A., the eldest son, who was born May 12, 1844, was a youth of seventeen at the breaking out of the late war, and consequently had to forego for a time his desire to become a soldier. In 1864, however, he enlisted in an Illinois regiment, and after having participated in various engagements with the enemy was wounded, although not seriously. Afterward he was confined by sickness in the hospital at Shreveport, La., but although urged by his friends and family to return home he refused, thinking he would recover and be able to rejoin his regiment. His hopes, however, were destined to disappointment, as he expired on the 17th of June, 1865; his remains now fill a soldier’s grave in the cemetery at Spring Grove. Charles M. Barker is engaged at farming in Minnesota; Arba F. is a resident of Orangeville; Alida F. is the wife of Charles Fields, of Pipe Stone, Minn.; Lemuel G. died in Rock Grove, Jan. 17, 1852, when about two years of age; Nancy L. is the wife of Charles Pratt, of Edgerton, Minn.; Marquis M., our subject, the youngest of the family.

Mr. Barker remained with his parents until 1881, and then crossed the Mississippi into Wyoming, where he engaged as a stock-dealer two years. Afterward he spent one year in Minnesota, Dakota and Iowa, traveling over the country, and then returned home and rented the old homestead where he has since remained. He was united in marriage with Miss Sarah C. Periott April 7, 1886, and brought his bride to a comfortable and handsome home, where they are surrounded by all the comforts of life, and have begun their journey together in marked contrast to the early life of his parents in this township. Mrs. Barker is the daughter of Richard Periott, of Virginia, and was born Sept. 28, 1861. Her father is one of the most successful farmers and highly respected citizens of Stephenson County. Our subject adheres to the Republican principals taught him by his father, and keeps posted upon all matters of general interest.

Contributed by Carol Parrish from Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (1888), p. 292