A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
From: A history of Texas and Texans by Francis White Johnson, 1914: Roy D. Barnum. County auditor of El Paso, Roy D. Barnum first became identified with El Paso about twenty-four years ago, and after a short experience was so injured that he was incapacitated for severe manual labor for a number of years. For several years before his election to his present office he was chief clerk in the El Paso offices of the G. H. & S. A. Railway. Roy D. Barnum was born in Cassville, (Oneida County) New York, January 7, 1875, a son of Herbert H. and Emma (Matthews) Barnum, natives respectively of New York and Ohio. The father was of English descent and his family early settlers in Connecticut. The Barnums came to America before the Revolution, and members of the family have fought in every war of the nation. Herbert H. Barnum, the father, moved to Oberlin, Ohio, in 1878, where he was in the hardware business for a number of years. He was also a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Seventeenth New York Infantry, enlisting during the early months of the war and being wounded in one of the first battles. He suffered from the wounds then received all the rest of his life. He died in 1894 at Oberlin, Ohio, at the age of forty-nine. During his residence at Oberlin, besides his business activities, he was city treasurer for eight years and held the office of county treasurer of Lorain County for four years. He always took an active part in political and civic matters. He was a Republican, and his first church connection was with the Baptist and later with the Congregational Society, his wife being a member of the latter. The mother was also of English descent, and her ancestors were among the pioneers of Vermont, subsequently locating among the first settlers in the Western Reserve. Mrs. Barnum now resides with her son in El Paso. There were four children in the family, one being deceased, and the other two being Maude, wife of Edwin Benner, who lives at Honolulu, Hawaii; and Narine Barnum, of El Paso. Roy D. Barnum, up to the age of fourteen, attended the public schools of Oberlin, Ohio. At that age he came to El Paso to make his home with an uncle in his city. He got work in the planing mill of Buchanan and Powers, and in the spring of 1893 was injured by the machinery of the mill, both legs being broken and his wrists fractured. On recovering from these severe injuries he returned to his home in Oberlin and entered Oberlin College, where he pursued his studies for one year. Then going out to Colorado, he secured employment in a clerical capacity with the Midland Railroad, while it was being constructed into Cripple Creek, and he was engaged in railroading service from the winter of 1894 until the fall of 1912. For a number of years until the winter of 1906, he was clerk in various offices with the Vanderbilt Lines, running out of Chicago, and in 1906 was given the place of chief clerk for the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad at El Paso. He continued in that position until elected in the fall of 1912 on the Democratic ticket for county auditor for El Paso County. Mr. Barnum is one of the active Democrats of El Paso. He holds the chair of Loyal Knight of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the various bodies of Masonry.
[Note: In 1920, Roy D. Barnum and wife Gladys were living in California; in 1930 they were living in Hawaii, where his sister Maud also lived.
He is Find A Grave memorial #117753708.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
©1998, 2022. The format of this website and all original statements and narrative included on it are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Factual information may be freely quoted for use in private genealogical research when accompanied by a full source citation, including the date of acquisition. Click here to view the format of a citation for an Internet resource. The publication of large extracts from this site in any form requires prior written consent.
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 21 November 2024