William Price Barb, youngest son of James and Jemima (Baker) Barb, was born on his father's farm in Scotland county⁽¹⁾, Missouri, on June 19, 1863.  He was only a few months old when the family emigrated to Illinois, owing to the difficult conditions then prevailing in that section of Missouri, where he was born.  At that time the region was overrun with bands of desperadoes who made the civil war an excuse for their crimes of murder and depudations [sic] upon the surrounding country.  The Barb family came to Hancock township, Hancock county.  Here they were welcomed into the home of Charles Parker until the new house could be built.

In this vicinity Mr. Barb grew to manhood and with the exception of a short stay in Oklahoma in early life and two summers spent with a sister and her family in western Kansas several years ago, he lived here all his life.

He grew up a farmer's son and by fruit-farming and bee keeping he industriously applied himself his life long, until old age and failing health robbed him of the ability to do so.

On March 1, 1887, he was married to Miss Jennie Daugherty.  To this union were born several children, four of whom grew to man and womanhood.  Two of these four have also preceded him. The oldest daughter, Mrs. Lottie Harris died in the state of Nebraska in 1919, and the youngest son, John, with the flu in 1918.  A daughter, Mrs. Bessie Weatherington of Burnside, Ill., and a son, Perry, of Brooktondale, New York, mourn the passing of a kind father.

For some time Mr. Barb has been ailing with heart disease and dropsy and for more than a year has been unable to live alone in his little home west of Tennessee, and has been aided by various ones of his neighbors, including Mr. and Mrs. Arda Humphrey, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Morgan.  For the last six months, however, he had employed Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Louderman of Tennessee to care for him and they have done so patiently and well.

In their home Mr. Barb passed away on the 13th of January, being at that time of his death, aged 72 years, 6 months and 25 days.

One grandson and three granddaughters with several nieces and nephews also survive him, but of the six brothers and sisters who grew up in the Barb home, only one, Mrs. Susan Lozy [sic] of Long Beach, Calif., is left to mourn the passing of the youngest brother.  The deceased's sisters and brothers were Miss Miranda Barb, Mrs. Jane Parker, Mrs. Mary Munson, and Benjamin F. Barb.  Three brothers died in infancy.

Funeral services were held at Majorville, at 1:30 on Jan. 15th, Rev. Loveless, of Colchester, officiating.

Mrs. Kate Miller and Mrs. Ruby Hobart sang "In The Garden", "The Old Rugged Cross", "Going Down the Valley", with Mrs. George Latherow accompanist.  Pallbearers were Russell Meyers, Arda Humphrey, Charley Conn, Jesse Louderman, Oscar Steiner, Roy Cuba.

Above snapshot, William and son, John.

⁽¹⁾On the Board of Health document that accompanied his marriage license, Bill Barb stated that he had been born in Kirksville, Missouri.  Maps representing Missouri counties at that time show that Kirksville was in Benton County.

Mrs. Eliza Jane Gustafson, 72, passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. William Weatherington, in Burnside, Ill., Fri AM Aug 31 at 8:50 o'clock, 1939.  She suffered a paralytic stoke in Jan. from which she never regained her strength and a second stroke the past week caused her death.

Eliza Jane Daugherty, oldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Aleshire Daugherty, was born in Ohio, Oct. 17, 1867.  Her mother died when she was 8 years old, after which her father and family come to Ill. where she grew to womanhood.  She was married Mar. 11, 1887, to W. P. Barb of Joetta and they were parents of several children, four of which grew to man and womanhood.  Two of these four preceded her in death, Mrs. Lottie Harris dying in the state of Nebr. in 1919, and the youngest son John dying with flu in 1918.

In later years Mrs. Barb married Tony Gustafson after which she made her home in Burlington, Iowa, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Since Mr. Gustafson's death in 1929, she made her home with her daughter in Burnside.

Mrs. Gustafson was a member of the Burnside Christrian Church.  She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Robert Potter of Cudahy, Wisc, and a brother, William Daugherty of David City, Nebr., a son Perry Barb, Brooktondale, NY, a daughter Bessie Weatherington, Burnside, Ill., four grandchildren, Mrs. E. V. (Lucille) Brown of Los Angeles, Calif, William Barb of Brooktondale, NY, Bonnie and Carmilee Weatherington of Burnside, Ill., and a great grandson, Mickey Brown of Calif, and a number of nurses [sic] and nephews.  Funeral services held at Burnside Christian Church at 2PM Sunday with Rev. Fred Nicholas officiating.  Burial at Majorville Cemetery.

Note the discrepancy between the date of death in the obituary and on the tombstone.  State of Illinois death records indicate Jennie died August 30, 1940.  Those same records indicate that Jennie died in Pilot Grove Township, Hancock County (where William and Bessie Weatherington farmed for many years), rather than in the village of Burnside.

Our community was greatly shocked last Saturday afternoon by the startling announcement that one of our young men had been called from time to eternity.

John Wesley⁽¹⁾ Barbe, son of William and Eliza J. (Dorethy) [sic] Barbe, was born Feb. 9, 1898 [sic], at the old Barbe homestead near Majorville, Hancock county, Illinois, and departed this life Nov. 30, 1918, at the home of his mother in Burlington, Iowa, after only four days' illness of pneumonia, aged 20 years, 9 months and 21 days.

He has spent almost all his life in the community of his birthplace and was a young man highly respected for his kind and manly disposition, which made him a friend of everyone whom he knew. A few years ago, just when life seemed to be unfolding with its brightest prospects for a happy useful career in this world for him, he was suddenly stricken with a severe spell of pnewmonia, from which a complication of diseases took a strong hold upon him and the nature of the malady being such that he never fully recovered from it, thus when the second attack came upon him, it was more than his frail body could withstand.

Some few weeks ago he went to Burlington, Ia., to be with his mother, where he had expected to spend the winter, where he could have the kind, tender, loving care of a dear mother.  But his stay with mother was of short duration, for the pale boatman was beckoning him from the other shore and he caught a glimpse of the bright beyond over the mountain tops of faith and his soul passed to the peaceful home beyond.  The curtain has gone down, the lights are out, and the dream of another life is ended and Johnny, as he was familiarly called, has entered into that beautiful home where there will be no more sickness, pain or sorrow for him.

Those left to mourn his untimely and earthly death are his parents, one brother Perry, two sisters, Mrs. Wm. Harris and Miss Bessie, besides many other relatives and friends.

The body of deceased arrived in Carthage on Tuesday morning, Dec. 3rd, and was brought to Majorville, where a short funeral service was held at the cemetery, conducted by Rev. Mr. Stewart of Fountain Green, at 11 o'clock.

The entire community deeply sympathize with the bereaved relatives.

⁽¹⁾When John registered for Selective Service earlier in the year, the card was prepared showing the middle name Wesson.

Obituaries like this one leave unmindful searchers with the impression that Majorville was a village. It was the neighborhood surrounding Majorville Church, not a physical or geographical entity.