Joseph M. Barlow

Joseph M. Barlow, farmer and stock raiser, came from Illinois to the State of Arkansas in the fall of 1879. His occupation on his arrival was simply farming until the year 1888, when he moved to his present place, known as the Cross Roads farm, which consists of 342 acres of land, with about 140 acres under cultivation, and now has a good frame residence, a cotton-gin, gristmill and blacksmith shop, besides his interests in stock raising. Mr. Barlow also owns a farm near by, which he rents out. This place consists of 120 acres, of which forty acres are under cultivation, and contains a fine orchard of about 100 peach and apple trees, besides a great number of small fruits. There are also a good frame and a log house on the land, which is situated one mile southeast of Portia.

Mr. Barlow is a son of John and Sinah 'Finley' Barlow, of Illinois, and was born in Montgomery County, Illinois, July 14, 1841. His father died while still a young man, in 1854, and he remained with his mother until his nineteenth year, when he married and commenced farming on his own account.

In the spring of 1861 he enlisted in the army and served until expiration of enlistment, and in July 1862, he once more enlisted, in the Third Illinois Cavalry, and was discharged shortly afterward on account of general disability contracted in service. In June, 1864, he entered the army again for the third time, and served until he was mustered out, October 19, 1865. Mr. Barlow first entered the ranks as a private but soon afterward was promoted to be a sergeant and his record through the war is one that can be placed among the best of that period. He took part in the battles at Haines' Bluff, Arkansas Post, and a hot scrim- mage at Memphis, in 1865. He was also in the campaign against Hood at Nashville and in the fight at that place.

Mr. Barlow was married November 17, 1859, to Miss Catherine Chapman, of Montgomery Co Illinois, who died in that locality in 1868. The children by this wife are Dora A., wife of John Davenport, and a son, who lived until his seventeenth year.

He was again married on February 18, 1869, to Mrs. Nancy L. Klutts, a widow lady, of Montgomery County, and this union has given them two children: Sinah J. and Clara E..

Mr. and Mrs. Barlow are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the former is district steward, and Mr. Barlow is a member of G. A. R., Lawrence Post No. 8, and is adjutant of that post. He is also a Master Mason and senior deacon of his lodge, and belongs to the Knights of Honor.

In politics he is a Republican, and was elected justice of the peace for his township, and at the expiration of his term was elected county coroner. At the end of that term he was nominated for county and probate judge by the Wheel, and endorsed by the Republicans, as the latter made no nominations.

Mr. Barlow has adopted Arkansas as his future residence, and expects to live and die in Lawrence County.