Missouri State University Libraries
Barrows Family Collection
Volume: 2.5 cubic feet
Dates: 1804-2002 (Bulk 1840-1889)
Provenance
The first accession was acquired in 2007, with numerous additions. It was processed in 2008 by Angela Burroughs Kelly, with assistance from Anne M. Baker and Tracie Gieselman-Holthaus.
Copyright
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).Access
The collection is unrestricted. Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be obtained from the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, Freeman Barrows Family Collection [M031], Department of Special Collections and Archives, Missouri State University.
Biographical/Historical Sketch
Freeman Barrows moved to Missouri in 1838 from Massachusetts and settled in the area that is now known as Bates County, near Papinsville. Barrows became the first county clerk of Bates County and a successful businessman and landowner. He married Asenath Colt Vaill in 1842, whose father, William F. Vaill, helped start Union Mission in Arkansas Territory (now present-day Oklahoma). Barrows eventually became the probate judge of Bates County in 1853. Barrows also was in poor health the majority of his adult life and died in 1861, leaving Asenath a widow to raise the family and endure the Civil War.
The family was displaced around 1863 due to General Ewing’s Order No. 11. The family returned after the Civil War and never fully recovered from its losses due to the war, and they were finally forced to leave the homestead around 1892, which may have been related to the Panic of 1893, a financial depression that has been equated to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Other notes about this family include that John N. Barrows, Freeman and Asenath’s son, married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Badger, a daughter of the prominent physician, Albert M. Badger, of Vernon County.
Freeman Barrows’ correspondence was mainly with his brother, J. N. Barrows, of Massachusetts, from the 1840s to Freeman’s death in 1861. Freeman tried to entice J.N. to move to the frontier by telling him how successful he had been and of all the opportunities awaiting J.N. should he arrive. Furthermore, these letters note how transportation changed from the 1840s to the 1860s, when Freeman says that it would take 20 days just to get to Massachusetts in the early 1840s. However, by the early 1860s, Freeman tells J.N. that it would only take 3 weeks round trip. Other items of discussion in Freeman’s letters include the discussion of the 1849 Gold Rush, and how his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Vaill Waldo’s husband, William Waldo, traveled West with some of the wagon train parties. There is also discussion of the Civil War and Freeman’s thoughts about slavery.
Also in the collection are letters of the William F. Vaill family, mainly between Asenath C. (Vaill) Barrows and her mother when Asenath left Union Mission to attend school in the East. The Union and Harmony Missions were established to educate the Osage Indians. Union Mission opened in 1821 and closed in February 1833; Harmony Mission opened in 1821 and closed around 1835. Other correspondence of Asenath includes a letter to J.N. Barrows telling him of his brother’s death in 1861 and a letter to her children in 1883 describing the financial hardships they faced after the Civil War.
Some of the more light-hearted materials in the collection include courtship letters of Lizzie Badger and J.N. Barrows, as well as letters between Dr. Albert M. Badger and his wife, Sarah Halley Badger. Dr. Badger’s military correspondence is also incorporated into the collection.
Other materials of note are letters and land records that mention the town of Selden, which Freeman Barrows, George Douglass, and William Waldo wanted to develop as the county seat of Bates County. The town was never developed.
Scope and Content
The majority of the collection consists of correspondence of the Freeman Barrows family, the William F. Vaill family, and the Dr. Albert M. Badger family. Other materials in the collection include legal records and historical research such as Robert S. Barrows’ (Freeman Barrows’ great-grandson) correspondence regarding his research about his family. Additional materials include photographs, maps, drawings, and publications. It should be noted that there are numerous original copies of letters, legal records, and some historical research. Additionally, Robert S. Barrows and the Greene County Archives transcribed most of the original letters. Oversized items can be found in the Oversized Materials Box. The collection is divided into three series as listed below.
Series I: Correspondence: This series is arranged chronologically by decade, with some decades broken down into sections, due to the abundance of materials. The series consists of correspondence of the Freeman Barrows family, William F. Vaill family, and the Dr. Albert M. Badger family including Dr. Badger’s military correspondence.
Series II: Legal Records: Arranged chronologically and includes the following materials: receipts, bills, land deeds, certificates, and wills. Please note that land deeds are filed by earliest date.
Series III: Historical Research: Materials in this series include the following: Freeman Barrows’ original ledger and diaries, publications about the Papinsville area and pioneer life, family tree data, family history including reminiscences and obituaries, maps, photographs, drawings, Robert S. Barrows’ correspondence and research, and miscellaneous materials arranged in alphabetical order. Additionally, John N. Barrows’ written account of his honeymoon with Lizzie Badger is in Box 2, Folder 6.
Additional Research Materials:
Robert S. Barrows and his father, Albert Selden Barrows, wrote numerous books about his family and the
settling of Western Missouri and include the following:
Badger, A. M., and Barrows, R. S. (1991). The Albert M. Badger collection: A source book of
letters, documents, and genealogy of the families of Sarah (Halley) and Dr. Albert M Badger of Vernon
County, Missouri. Rochester, New York: R. S. Barrows.
Barrows, A. S. (1965). Westward ho!: With our grandsires. Penney Farms, Florida.
*Please note that there is a copy of this manuscript in the family history under the series of Historical
Research.
Barrows, F. (1837). To the west . . . : The 1837-1838 journal of Freeman Barrows the diary of his journey from Massachusetts to Missouri (Robert S. Barrows, Ed., 1998). Rochester, New York: Robert S. Barrows.
Barrows, R. S. (1996). Descendants of Asenath Colt Vaill and Freeman Barrows. Rochester, New York: R.S. Barrows.
Barrows, R. S. (1971). The descendants of Jonathan and Charlotte Josenhans. Rochester, New York: R. S. Barrows and M.A. Josenhans.
Barrows, R. S. (1972). The descendants of Sarah Halley Badger and Dr. Albert Murray Badger. Rochester, New York: Barrows.
Barrows, R. S. (2002, September). Harmony Mission in Missouri: The First Year, 1821. Rochester, New York: Barrows Press.
*Please note that this book can be found in the collection under publications in the Historical Research series.
Barrows, R. S. (1993). Some families of the Vaill and the Fowler and the Selden lines that
connect to Barrows family, and the Union and Harmony Missions. Rochester, New York: Orland Press.
Scope and Content
The container list for this collection is available in PDF format. Adobe Reader is required to view the container list.
