John Barton

Obituary: John Barton, a well known resident of this boro, died on Thursday evening at 8 o'clock at the General Hospital in Lancaster. About a year ago Mr. Barton suffered an attack of la grippe from which he never fully recovered. He was a patient at the hospital a week last spring. This fall his ailment developed into Bright's disease and he was admitted to the hospital on December 5. He gradually became weaker until death relieved him of his suffering. John Barton was born in Philadelphia 58 years ago. He was son of the late Henry and Margaretta Barton, of Upper Leacock. The farm on which he spent his boyhood days has been in the Barton name for more than a hundred years. The Bartons come from an old English family and trace their ancestry in America back as far as 1780 when the name appears among the first settlers of Delaware. The subject of this sketch was a man of more than ordinary education which was gained by study and travel. When a young man he taught school a few terms. Later he was a cotton merchant on Front street, Philadelphia. For some years he was in the employe of the Pullman Car Company in St. Louis. He first became prominently known in New Holland late in the 80's and in 1892 he was married to Miss Anna Rutter, a popular teacher in the boro schools. The first five years of their married life was spent on the Barton farm, near Mechanicsburg. In 1897 they moved to their home on Diller avenue, this boro, at which place they have since resided. During the last few years Mr. Barton had been engaged in disposing of thorough bred stock for Dr. Hartman's stock farm, at Columbus, Ohio. In politics he was an ardent supporter of the Democratic party. He was a member of Old Leacock Presbyterian Church since his early youth. He is survived by his wife; a brother, William, and a sister, Elizabeth, both of Mechanicsburg. The funeral will be held from his late home on Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock. Interment in Old Leacock Presbyterian Cemetery. [New Holland Clarion, Lancaster Co, Pa, Saturday, December 23, 1905, pg. 8; www.lancasterhistory.org/]

Information provided by Find A Grave contributor Phyllis