He graded six miles of the first railroad built out of Chicago.
Illinois Public Land Purchase Records about Barnum Truman. Name: Barnum Truman; Section: NE; Price per Acre: $125; Total: $20,000; Date: 27 Jun 1835; Volume: 687; Page: 262; Type: FD; Sect: 21; Township: 38N; Range: 14E; Meridian: 3; Acres: 160.00; Corr-Tag: 0; ID: 005960; Reside: 000.
U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 about Truman Barnum. Name: Truman Barnum; Issue Date: 1 Oct 1839; State of Record: Illinois; Acres: 160; Accession Number: IL0750__.424; Metes and Bounds: No; Land Office: Chicago; Canceled: No; US Reservations: No; Mineral Reservations: No; Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566); Document Number: 2523; Legal Land Description: Section Twp Range Meridian Counties; 21 38-N 14-E 3rd PM Cook.
He and his brother Cyrus died of cholera within a few days of each other.