The Barber Family

The Barber Family

A Glimpse into the Life and Times of the Barber Family

Of the county of Sussex, England

By Gayle Ellis – 1985

(3rd Great-Granddaughter of Thomas and Sarah Hoad Barber)

The exact beginning of the Barber family in England has yet to be discovered. However, they were well established in the eastern part of the ancient county of Sussex in the 1600’s.

Some historians believe that the name, Barber, had the lofty origin from St. Barbe sur Gaillon which is a local name in Normandy, France, or some other French place name. Others contend that the name had a more down to earth beginning. During the medieval times care of the beards and hair was an important social matter and “barbering” was a respected profession.

Sometime during the long religious turmoil after the Reformation, the ancestors of the Barber family broke away from the established church. They would be ridiculed and persecuted as ‘non-conformist’. This personal courage to break away from tradition to follow after truth in spite of bitter persecution prepared future generations of the family to be ready to accept the Restored Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints many centuries later.

The county of Sussex, where the Barber family lived, was right in the front lines during the religious troubles of the Commnwealth period (1649-1660). During this time the clergy of the Church of England were being replaced by Puritan ministers and when the King was restored, the old vicars were restored too. Some of the vicars would have nothing to do with the ‘heathen’ resisters kept by the Puritans, and sometimes would destroy them in a vindictive spirit. The more conscientious vicars tried to make up the missing years with the help of churchwarden but at best these were incomplete, and at worst only included the gentry and wealthy farmers. Many registers just disappeared from old age and neglect. So, it has been difficult to piece the Barber pedigree together. However, many of them made wills which has helped to extend the pedigree.

Another problem which has hampered research on the Barber family is the earlier families were not members of the Church of England but were “Non Conformists.” They were members of one of the many denominations which sufficed in Sussex after the Reformation. It has been difficult to find their records and many of them didn’t even bother to keep them. It isn’t hard to understand why they didn’t keep any record when they would have to pay stiff fines or lose their jobs or were persecuted in other ways. Many of these denominations would meet in different homes keeping one step ahead of the law.

This history will begin with Thomas and Sarah Hoad Barber. Their parentage will be treated in another history later.

Thomas Barber the 4th son and 6th child of Edward and Ann Geal, was born 21 June 1794, in Firle, Sussex County, England. However, his parents took him back to the Parish of Ripe, where his mother had been born, to be baptized on 10 October 1794. Not much is known about his early life, but one can get a glimpse into what it was like growing up in 17th century Sussex from histories written about his contemporaries. His father, if a farm laborer, would earn about 13 shillings a week. This meager wage would barely purchase the staples of life let along some of the luxuries that make life comfortable. Their home would be nearly empty, except for people, for they tended to have large families. The home or cottage would have a living room with a brick floor, a larder (pantry) and two bedrooms. The boys and girls slept in one room and the parents and baby would sleep in the other. There would be no newspapers, or story books, etc. to read except the Bible. There would not be any toys for the children to play with. They would have to make up games, on of which was called “Hudney” and was played by the hours. A stone would be placed on a brick and had to be knocked off by another stone when it was aimed at it. When the child would run to retrieve the stone another would try and hit the first boy with a ball and if he did he was out of the game. Their food would be apples, potatoes, Swedes and bread, and tea without milk or sugar. Milk even skim milk was a luxury. Their food would be boiled because there weren’t any ovens. No one starved but always would go hungry. To help supplement their father’s income the boys would be put to work as young as 8 years old. And the young girls when they were a little older would work as domestic servants in the homes of the more affluent in the area. Often the local parish would need to mend its own lanes and stones were used for this repair. So, mother would go “stone-Picking” in the fields. She would pick bushels of stones a day to get 2 shillings. The owners of the land the father and sons worked for weren’t know for their Christian attitudes toward their workers. They took all they could from the men and boys who worked their land. They bought their life’s strength for as little as they could. They wore them out without a thought because, with the big families, there was a continuous supply of workers.

This was the world into which Thomas Barber and Sarah Hoad were born. Also, little would transpire to break this cycle of life for their children.

Thomas Barber worked as an agricultural laborer all his life. Apparently, his father, Edward, didn’t have the means to have his son apprenticed to a man to learn a trade or skill which might have helped to raise him above the life described above.

It was Providence that his work brought him to Chiddingly from Firle for it was there that he met, courted, and won the heart of Sarah Hoad. She had come from Heathfield to find work as a servant in the home of one of the well to do families of Chiddingley. Thomas and Sarah were married 14 November 1815, in the parish church of Chiddingley. Sarah’s parents gave their consent for she was just 17 years old. William Frost and Mary Erry were witnesses to their wedding. Their relationship to Thomas and Sarah isn’t known. Perhaps William Frost was an uncle to Thomas because a Hannah Frost married Thomas’s uncle, John Barber.

Sarah’s maiden name, Hoad, is commonly found in the Sussex area. She was the first daughter and second child of Thomas and Sarah Gasson Hoad. Her parents were living in Heatfield when she was born and had her baptized in the Heathfield Independent Chapel on 8 January 1799, her date of birth being given as 6 December 1798.

Thomas and Sarah Gasson Hoad were staunch members of the Independent Chapel (Baptist) during the whole course of their recorded lives. However, Thomas and Sarah Barber did not attend church themselves in the earlier years of their marriage. Thomas and Sarah Barber didn’t baptize at the Heathfield Chapel for the first ten years of their marriage, and this is explicable in view of the circumstances in the history of the Chapel (from Strict and Primitive Witness Baptist faith in Sussex).

The founding pastor of the Heathfield Chapel, the Rev. George Gilbert, was very aged, and retired from active work. His two assistants disagreed violently on religious dogma and forms of worship, and split the congregation from top to bottom. At least six break chapels or groups were formed, some Strict Baptist or Primitive Baptist instead of Independent. Only one at Shovers Green, apparently kept a register. There was a flourishing chapel in Waldrom which had no register at all.

The Hoad parents remained loyal at Heathfield all the time. But Thomas and Sarah Barber didn’t baptize their children until the appointment of a new minister at Heathfield in 1824. This was when they chose to baptize two of their children, Eleanor and Benjamin. By 1831 they had joined the Parish Church of Chiddingley (Church of England) with the baptism of Charlotte (b. 1829) on 18 September 1831.

Thomas and Sarah Barber’s family began in 1817 with the birth of a daughter named Mary Ann. Another daughter followed in 1819, whom they named Ruth, after Sarah’s sister. A third daughter was born in 1820. Again, Mother Sarah prevailed in naming her Martha after her sister Martha Hoad.

Martha Barber third daughter of Thomas and Sarah Barber, grew up in Chiddingley. At the age of 20 she met Jesse Funnell, son of Willaim Funnell. He was pursuing the career of a shoemaker and living at Prices Farm. Christopher Cottingham and Ellen Eason were witnesses to their marriage in the Parish Church of Chiddingley on 28 June 1938. They were the parents of William Henry born 1839, Roland (b. 1843) and Mary Ann (b. 1846). She was buried in Chiddingley Church 1850. Eight years later Martha (Barber) Funnel died on 24 July 1858.

The fourth child of Thomas and Sarah Barber was born 5 March 1821. This child was another girl whom they named Hannah. She was named for her Aunt Hannah Hoad. When she was 19 she gave her heart to John Edward Ellis, son of Edward and Martha Burgess Ellis. Like her sister, Martha, Hannah chose a husband who was a shoemaker. Hannah and John Edward Ellis were married in the Parish Church of Chiddingley on 30 October 1841. Hannah’s father, Thomas Barber was a witness to their wedding along with Frances Margaret Christmas. The rest of Hannah’s story can be read in “John Edward Ellis Biography” by Elwin D. Ellis – 1965.

The next child born to Thomas and Sarah was a boy. At last, Thomas had a son whom he named Thomas, Jr. He was born 1823 in Chiddingley. He remained in Chiddingley to work as a farm laborer. He fell in love with a local girls and they were married in the same church as his sisters before him on 4 October 1842. The marriage certificate gave her name as Mary Apps, daughter of George Apps. However, in the censuses she gave her name as Mercy. Thomas’ brother-in-law, Jesse Funnell, and Mary Jane Southern were witnesses to their marriage. Thomas Barber, Jr. and his wife, Mercy baptized their first child, Thomas (III), in Chiddingley Parish in 1843. Then they moved to Little Horsted, four or five miles away, just south of Uckfield. The village center is very small, but the parish covers a number of isolated farms, spread over quite a wide area. In 1847, Thomas, Jr. and Mercy baptized their second child, a son named Henry (a Hoad family name) and then a daughter, Ann, followed in 1849. A few years later Thomas Barber, Jr. became the clerk of the Parish of Little Horsted. Thomas lived until 1906 and passed away at the age of 83.

By 15 February 1825, Mother Sarah Barber gave birth to their sixth child, she was named Eleanor. Eleanor was born in Chiddingly but her parents took her to Heathfield to be baptized 5 April 1825. By 1841, she had left home in Chiddingley and moved to the village of East Hothly, perhaps she went there to work. While living in East Hothly she met Jesse Carley, son of Joseph Carley. At age 18 she married Jesse on 25 April 1841, in the parish church of East Hothly. Brother-in-law, Jesse Funnell, and sister, Hannah Barber (Ellis) witnessed the wedding. At the time of his marriage to Eleanor, Jesse was working as a servant but later changed to a farm laborer. Their first baby was a girl born 1841. They named her Mary. Eleanor wanted to remember her older sister, Mary Ann, who had died the year before. A second daughter, Sarah (no doubt named for her Grandmother Sarah Barber) was born 1841. Uncle Henry Barber was remembered with their nest child, a boy, whom they named Henry. He was born 1846. Another son followed in 1848 and was named Alfred. This name probably came from the Carley side. Eleanor died at the age 42 on 23 May 1867.

Thomas and Sarah Barber’s second son and seventh child arrived 26 January, 1827. He was named Henry. Again Mother Sarah Barber prevailed in choosing a name from her side of the family. Thomas and Sarah Barber take little Henry to Heathfield to be baptized 15 April 1827. When Henry was old enough he left home like Eleanor to find work elsewhere. He settled in Arlington some 8 or 9 miles south of Chiddingley to begin work as an agricultural laborer. While there he won the hand of Martha Geal, daughter of Jasper and Elizabeth Oxley Geal. She had come from the town of Ripe. Henry takes Martha back to Ripe to be married in the Parish Church 6 October 1849. His brother, Benjamin Barber and sister, Charlotte (Barber) Jeffrey witnessed the wedding. The young couple remained in Ripe to wait for the arrival of their first baby. He was born in 1849. Henry and Martha named him Charles. By 1851, Henry’s work as a farm laborer brought him back to Arlington to Upper Dicker. Economic conditions must have been favorable for them there for they remained in Arlington about 18 years. All their children except Charles were born in Arlington: Ruth Geal (b. 1851), Margaret (b. 1853), David (b. 1856), james b. 1859) died as a child, Esther (b. 1961), Amos (b. 1863), Martha (b. 1865), and Harry (b. 1869). In 1861, Henry changed his occupation to carter (a man whose work is driving a cart).

Child number 8 for Thams and Sarah Barber was another girl born 8 August, 1829. She was named Charlotte. When she was 18 years old, she moved further away from home then her brother and sister. She went to Lewes some 9 or 10 miles southwest of Chiddingley. It isn’t known why she would go to Lewes but perhaps a better position in a wealthy home was secured for her. Charlotte was living on Westgate Lane in the Parish of St. Michael, the same street her future husband was living on. She married john Jeffrey in the parish in Lewes 4 September 1847, with Cordelia Houd and Walter Haffenden as witnesses. By 1851, John Jeffrey and Charlotte with two little girls, Mary Ann, age 3 and Jane age 1 moved into the home of her widower father, Thomas, It isn’t know if John was out of work as a brickmaker and his family needed a home or if it was to help her father. However, ten years later in 1861, Father Barber was a boarder with his daughter, Charlotte and her husband, John Jeffrey at Hellingly Dicker in Chiddingly. The Jeffrey children by then were Mary Ann (15), Jan3 (12), John Reuben (9), David (6), Mercy (3), and William, (5 months). All these children were born in Chiddingley. Charlotte died 3 months before her sister, Eleanor, on 21 February 1867.

The third son and ninth child of Thonmas and Sarah Barber arrived 24 April 1830. He was named Benjamin. When he was a small boy he met with an accident. His hip was crushed and this left him lame the rest of his life. But this handicap didn’t prevent him from working hard in everything he undertook. When he was 23 years old (1851) he was employed by Edward Canes on his 480 acre farm in Burghill. This seems to be adjacent to Pound House where his father, Thomas Barber, was lving with his youngest children, David age 17, Harriet ag 15 and the Jeffrey family. In this same year of 1851 a young woman by the name of Olive Crowhurst, daughter of James and Harriet Burgess Crowhurst, from Arlington worked as a general servant in the home of Walter Funnell owner of Park Farm. By December of 1851 Benjamin married Olive in the Chiddingley Parish Church. His brother, David Barber and sister, Martha (Barber) Funnell witnessed their marriage on 31 December 1851. Some ten years later (1861) Benjamin and Olive with four children, Caroline (8), Benjamin Thomas (5), Ruth (3) and Julia (1), were living in the Baliff’s house and he was working as a carter. The owner of the Baliff’s house, Vallance Elam, lived next door. Since Benjamin was living in Mr. Elam’s house, he must have been employed by him. Benjamin and Olive have another son born to them in Chiddingley in 1863. He was named Charles. Then there was a period when Benjamin and Olive seem to be moving back and forth. It isn’t known why the family was on the move but Benjamin took his family to Ripe where Frederick was born in 1865. Little Frederick did in 1866. Two years later Benjamin and family went back to Chiddingly where James Arthur was born in 1867. Within two years the Barber family had moved back to Ripe,=. Sarah Ann was born to Benjamin and Olive in Ripe in 1867. By 1872, the Barber family had moved again this time to Folkington to Sussex county. Their last child was born 1872 and they named her Harriet Kate.

On September 1833 David Barber was born to Thomas and Sarah Barber. He was their tenth child and 4th son. In 1851 David was 17 and was working on a local farm in chiddintly. By 1861 he had learned the trade of shoemaker. He had hoped that this profession would earn him a better living than that of a farm laborer. While working in Chiddingley he courted and won a young woman by the name of Sarah French as his bride. They wer married in the Parish church of Chiddingley 4 August 1855. She was the daughter of john and Phillis Pennels French. Robert French and Benjamin’s sister, harriet Barber witnessed their marriage. In 1861, David and his family were still living in Chiddingley. He was working as a cordwainer, archaic word for a leatherworker who made things of cordovan – certain kind of leather, a shoemaker. Living with Savid and Sarah was there sons, Frederick William (b. 1850), John Thomas (b. 1857), and Raguel (6 months). Also living with David was his father-in-law, John French and his two children, George French and Esther French, age 8. Two more children were born to David and Sarah in Chiddingley, Eva (b. 1862, died 1873), Horace David (b. 1864), who was named after his sister, husband and baby son who had died 1864 and 1863. The town of Pembury in the county Kent, adjacent to the Sussex County, offered a better living for David and his family. By 1866 he had moved his family there. Four more children are born to them, Gift Grace (b. 1866), Mary Ann (b. 1869), George (b. 1872), and Ruth (b.1873).

Mother Sarah Barber had her 11th child, a girl, whom she named Harriet after her Aunt Harriet (Barber) Goldsmith. Little Harriet was born 12 May 1836, in Chiddingley. After she became an adult, she followed her brother, Henry, to Arlington to find work. Perhaps Henry told her about a position in a wealthy home or even had secured the position for her. At least she was living in Arlington when she met Horace Crowhurst through her brother, Henry. Horace

And Henry were in the same occupation – carter. Harriet and Horace were married in Arlignton 30 July, 1859. Harriet must hav been filled with the great expectations of the future like all young brides are at this time. She and Horace settled in Arlington. In 1861 they were living about a mile away from her brother, henry Barber at the Upper Dicker with her 8 month old son, David. Also, living with them were Horaces’ brother and sister, david and Ellen Crowhurst. The future must have seemed promising for Harriet in 1863 with her husband now working as a farm laborer and a new baby to tend and care for but tragedy was to cast its black shadow over her bright dreams. Harriet nd Horace lost their baby boy to pneumonia at age 2 years and 8 months on the 22 March 1863. They had nursed him for ten days but without the medical care that is available today they were unable to save him. Then Harriet lost her love, Horace, a year later. After several months of suffering from consumption, he succumbed to the disease on 24 May 1864, and was buried near little David there in Arlington. Only those who experience such devastation can know how Harriet felt. There is always a pain in the heart that eases with time but never really goes away. After the loss of her loved ones, Harriet moved to Ripe. It isn’t known why she made this move to Ripe. But on 4 December 1865, she died there from the effects of tuberculosis at the age of 29.

By 1838, Mother Sarah gave birth to her 12th and last child, a little boy. They named him Samuel. It isn’t known in what month he was born for he died within that same year. Mother Sarah finally finds eternal rest from the struggles of mortality, she died on 23 July, 1838 at the age of 39. Most likely from the effects of childbirth. She was buried in the Parish Church of Chiddingley. This was a most difficult time for Father Thomas Barber for he lost his daughter, Ruth, at the age 18 in the fall 1837. Then lost his baby boy, Samuel, during the year 1838 and then watched his beloved wife of 23 years slip from his arms through the veil of life. His oldest daughter, Mary Ann, died at the age of 23 in January of 1840. He must have wondered about this frail existence and the purpose of it. Thomas Barber wasn’t able, if he had been looking, to find another beloved companion comparable to his sweetheart, Sarah, for he remained a widower the rest of his life.

For the present, Father Barber was too busy being a father and mother to nine children. His oldest surviving daughter, Martha, had already married and was making a home of her own. Hannah, his next daughter, would be 17 years old in 1838 and was able to assume some of the household chores for her father.

During the middle 1850’s the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were active in the Sussex area. When the Barber families heard the restored gospel preached, the scales of darkness fell from their eyes and they beheld the truth. The truth their ancestors had been searching for centuries earlier. They were baptized into the church: Hannah and John Edward Ellis were the first while living at Cross-in-Hand in 1854, Father Barber and John and Charlotte Jeffrey in 1855, David and Sarah Barber at Mayfield in 1856, Henry and Martha Barber at Chiddingly in 1856, Benjamin and Olive at Chiddingley in 1856, Harriet Barber in 1855, and Horace Crowhurst in 1856. It isn’t known if any of the other sisters joined the church.

Now as a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ, Father Barber learned the purpose of this life and the spirit would fill his heart with the hope of being reunited with sweetheart, Sarah, someday.

During this time the Saints were encouraged to immigrate to Utah for Zion was to grow in power and in strength. But there another important reason to go to Zion and that was to obtain the greater blessings the Lord had in store for his children which could only be received in His Holy house and that sacred House was over three thousand miles away in the Territory of Utah.

There must have been many family meetings held to discuss the pros and cons of going to Utah – the cost, the hardships of crossing the ocean, leaving loved ones behind, etc. It would be a decision not easily made even though conditions were made difficult for the “Mormons.”

Gertrude Barber Thurgood, granddaughter of Benjamin Barber, wrote in 1959, the following in her “Short Sketch of the Life of Benjamin Thomas Barber”:

Some of the elders who visited them (Benjamin Barber and family) were Lorenzo Young, son of Brigham Young, Elder Udall Treese and John Cook of Mill Creek ward, who was Presiding Elder.

“The minister came and labored with Grandfather and tried to show him that he was wrong in joining the Mormon Church. But it had no effect on him or his family. Grandfather quoted scripture that the minister did not know was in the Bible.

“After it was known that the Barber family was leaving for Utah, they were ridiculed and called “Little Mormonites.” They were told that when they arrived in Utah, Brigham Young would shut the gate and they couldn’t get out. They remained in England ten years after they accepted the gospel.

“James Barber, my father’s youngest brother, told how they were baptized at night so the neighbors might not know what had been done, for they would cause them trouble. He explained that they had a deep sheep vat with ropes to guide the sheep through, in order to clean the sheep. Grandfather (Benjamin Barber) would clean this out very good, put clean water in for the next day. No one knowing but him that, on these occasions someone of the family would be baptized in the night. Uncle David Barber traveling a long distance to help with the baptizing and confirming.”

Father Barber wasn’t to realize his dream of coming to Utah and receiving the sacred ordinances in the temple for he passed from this life on 31 October 1862, at age 68. One can only imagine the reunion that took place beyond the veil between Thomas and Sarah.

John Edward and Hannah Barber Ellis were the first to make the decision to go to Utah. On 3 June 1964, they sailed from London Harbor on the ship “Hudson” with the company of 863 saints.

The Ellis family arrived in New York, July 19th and traveled by train to Wyomin, Nebraska where they joined the William Hyde Ox Team Company. The family made it as far as the banks as the Green River in the state of Wyoming when Hannah Barber Ellis died. She had given birth to a baby girl in London before they left England. The baby died and Hannah didn’t get her strength back and the hardships during the long journey drained her life away. She was buried somewhere on the banks of the Green River on 24 October 1864. He bereaved husband and family continued on and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 26 October 1864. John Edward Ellis and his family made their home in the Mill Creek area.

The next of the Barber family to decide to leave England was David and Sarah French Barber. However Sarah died before she could go. She died 14 September 1875 in Pembury, Kent, England leaving 8 children. The following is quoted from “The Sketch of the Life of George Barber (son of David Barber)”:

“Grandfather and Grandmother (David and Sarah Barber) heard and accepted the gospel in Chiddingley, Sussex, England. When the children were very young their mother died, 13 September 1875, and in June of 1877, Grandfather prepared to bring his family to Zion. With the help of Grandmother’s sister, Esther, he boarded the steamship “Wyoming” of the White Star Line, at Liverpool, England, and set sail for America, in the company of David K. Udall, a returning missionary. They were on the water 3 weeks and landed in the New York harbor late in June of 1877. They crossed the continent by train and arrived in Utah on 8 July, 1877.

“Grandfather settled in Centerville, Utah and rented an adobe house located one block east of the Centerville Coop on the corner now owned by Bishop Wesley Tingey. Esther Jane French, his sister-in-law kept house for Grandfather and his family and on 4 June 1879 they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah.”

Benjamin and his brother, Henry made preparations to immigrate that same year David and his family left in 1877.

Gertrude Barber Thurgood wrote further in her short sketch of Benjamin Thomas Barber:

“After they (Benjamin and Olive Barber) decided to come to Utah they sold what they could, gave some away, and just left the rest behind. Grandmother was very sick and the doctors told them she couldn’t live, but she was carried to the ship and lived a good life here, after arriving in Utah.

The year before the family came to Utah, father (Benjamin Thomas) and his older sister Caroline came ahead and worked to earn passage for the rest of the family. The family came in the year 1878, and Grandpa and Grandma were sealed to each other in the Logan temple. Grandfather was 55 and Grandmother was 47 years old at that time. They had their children sealed to them in the Salt Lake temple 10 June 1893.”

Henry Barber died suddenly on 26 January 1878, leaving his widow, Martha, to follow through with the preparations to immigrate with her brother-in-law, Benjamin. No doubt she received help and support from him. Martha’s two older children, Ruth and Margaret had already gone to Utah before 1874.

One can’t help but wonder what thoughts went through the minds of the Barber brothers as their trains crossed the Green River in Wyoming. “Had the Transcontinental Railroad been completed in 1864 instead of 1869 and Hannah Ellis could have gone by train, would she had lived?” “Had the elements erased all the evidence of her final resting place in the ten years since her death?” As the train rolled further west, did their thoughts wander back to England and to the loved ones left behind?

Martha (Geal) Barber lived the rest of her life in Centerville, Utah in the Farmington area. Benjamin died 27 May 1899 and was buried in Farmington. His widow, Olive, survived him four years and then she left mortality 30 May 1903.

The rest of this history can be found in the lives of their descendants. Whether the Barber family had their beginnings from some important place name or an important ancient profession, the ones who bear the name as well as the numerous descendants can be proud of the Barber “roots!”