The Barnard family papers consist of correspondence, financial records, legal documents, and maps related to the family of John G. Barnard of Auburn, Massachusetts.
The Correspondence series contains 2 copies of a letter from John G. Barnard to Andrew Sigourney relating to a dispute over payments on a mortgage Sigourney granted to Barnard (August 20, 1830). Additional letters addressed to John G. Barnard represent his other financial interests and concern his debts. Later items are addressed to Betsey Dodge Barnard from her son Charles and his family, who wrote of their lives in Prescott, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Charles and Emma's provided news about their farm and about family health, and their daughter Hattie wrote a letter about her experiences at school (December 6, 1868).
The Documents series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, has two subseries: Financial records and Legal Documents. John G. Barnard's financial records include receipts and IOUs for various services; several of the receipts pertain to Barnard's tax payments. Most of the legal documents are indentures concerning property in Worcester County, Massachusetts, such as the holdings of Barnard's father-in-law, Daniel Dodge. Several items are signed by John Prentice, a justice of the peace. Manuscript maps illustrate property lines around Auburn, Massachusetts. Many refer to land owned by John G. Barnard.
Among the collection's Ephemera items are three medicinal cures, a calling card, and financial notes.
John G. Barnard was born in Boylston, Massachusetts, in 1779, and lived in Auburn, Massachusetts, where he was a farmer. On January 8, 1810, he married Betsey Dodge, the daughter of Daniel Dodge. They had several children, including Charles Porter Barnard. John G. Barnard died on March 26, 1862.
Charles Porter Barnard was born in the late 1820s and moved with his wife Emma to a farm in Prescott, Wisconsin, sometime before 1859. They later lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, with their four children: Hattie, Charles P., William F., and Robert O.
