Name/Title
Smith Buel BarkerEntry/Object ID
1989.01.15Description
B/W photo of an unidentified middle-aged man (at left) and an elderly man standing in front of a multi-story brick building. The elderly man is Smith Buel Barker. He is holding a cane and has a bright watch chain handing on his vest. The location is likely the (Old) Michigan Soldiers' Home in Grand Rapids.
Original accession number is 89-1-15.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
Print, photographSubject Person or Organization
Barker, Smith Buel 1847-1931Context
Mr. Barker is the father of Orville Arthur Barker (18 Nov 1884 — 11 April 1959) and Charles Henry Barker (1889-1916) who is buried in the Douglas cemetery along with Mr. Baker's spouse Laura Elizabeth (Hurlburt) Barker (1856-1918). The Barker family has connections to Fennville and Manlius township. In the 1900 and 1910 census, Mr. Barker is listed as residing in Saugatuck. By 1920 he moved to Grand Rapids.
From the Fennville Herald Newspaper, Fennville, Michigan 23 January 1931 page 1.
"Civil War Veteran Dies
Smith B. Barber {Barker}, a former resident of Saugatuck, and a brother of Mrs. Josephine Baker of Fennville, died at the Soldiers Home in Grand Rapids on January 8 at age of 84. He was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in Co. H, 28th Mich., Infantry and after the close of the war enlisted in the regular army. He was married in Sept. 1877 to Laura E. Hurlbut of Fennville, and to this union were born nine children, four of whom survive."Collection
Family HistoryCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
1989.01Acquisition Method
Found in CollectionLocation
Box
031 A+B+C+D Photo FilesCreate Date
February 2, 2026Update Date
February 25, 2026
