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[Identification of item], Hiram Barker Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Hiram Barker Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1983.
Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, 1984
Encoded by Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, December 2011
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 1983
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Hiram Barker was a prominent businessman and banker from Farmington, New Hampshire. He established and managed multiple business investments in New Hampshire, the Dakota Territory, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Minnesota in the late 19th century.
Collection consists chiefly of business correspondence dating from circa 1871-1886, almost all directed to Hiram Barker in New Hampshire, although in some cases Barker was the author. Correspondents include managers of Barker's businesses and investments in the Western territories and states of Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Minnesota, and other firms with whom Barker did business. Topics revolve around business matters and trends in New Hampshire, the Western states and territories, including but not limited to real estate loans and investments, land investments, banking and loans, financial difficulties such as loan defaults, and ranching or farming in the Western states listed above. Businesses mentioned include the Central Bank of Kansas, the Citizens Bank in Iowa, Topeka Loan and Investment Company in Kansas, and the Eclipse Milling Company in Minnesota. There are also business papers relating to Florida, including land investments in 1885, some of which involve the governor of Florida and New Hampshire native George Franklin Drew, who may have also witnessed the will of Reuben Hayes for which Barker was an executor. A small group of letters concern personal and family matters of both the Barker and Hayes family, into which Barker had married. A set of folders marked in the last box marked Miscellany contain chiefly business receipts and unidentified letters dating from 1857-1895. Arranged by state in alphabetical order.
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
Arranged in alphabetical order by state name. The last set of folders contains miscellaneous business receipts and unidentified or illegible correspondence from various locations.
Detailed descriptions related to largest groups of correspondence, including extracts transcribed from letters, details on family history, and comments on highlights and on the correspondents.
Chiefly business receipts, and several pieces of unidentified or illegible pieces of correspondence. Includes receipts and bills of sale from the late 1850s and 1860s, but the majority are in the latter part of the 19th century.