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Josiah Barber (1771 – 10 Dec 1842) was the first mayor of Ohio City, Ohio. He was elected in 1836.

Early years

Barber was the son of Captain Stephen and Alice (Cass) Barber.

Development in Ohio

In 1809, Barber received a portion of the last division of Western Reserve lands along with his father-in-law Samuel Lord and his brother-in-law Richard Lord. They received land along the western border of the Cuyahoga River to the lake. They sold the land with Lord & Barber Realty Co. He constructed the first brick house in Cleveland at Pearl (W. 25th) and Franklin. In 1840, he and his partners set aside a portion of land for an open-air market that became the West Side Market. Then, in 1834 he was among the people who incorporated the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company.

Politics

Barber was appointed as a circuit judge in 1834 and then became the first elected mayor of Ohio City. He was the vice-president of the Cuyahoga County Colonization Society and he favored gradual abolition of slavery and colonization of blacks to either Africa or South America.

Personal life

Barber married two times. First, he married Abigail Gilbert and they had a daughter, Abigail G. Later, he married Sophia Lord and they had four children: Epiphras, Harriet, Sophia L., and Jerusha. Barber died in Cleveland.

Barber was initially interred at the Monroe Street Cemetery. He was disinterred in 1882 by his grandson, Josiah Barber, and moved to Riverside Cemetery in Cleveland. The younger Barber had co-founded Riverside.

References

1. "Josiah Barber". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Retrieved on 2009-10-24.
2. "Ohio City". Ohio City. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
3. Dubelko, Jim. "Building the first Urban Community on the West Bank of the Cuyahoga River". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
4. ^ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
5. ^ "Lest We Forget" (PDF). The Tradition. Fall 2003. p. 5. Retrieved July 11, 2022.

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