Taken from a
manuscript by Samuel G Barter written in 1930.
Sam Barter was born in Avondale NB
on October 3rd 1871 [d1963], the son of James A and Trecia H M (Orser)
Barter.
No doctor was
present at birth but Mrs Soloman Tracey, midwife, acted. I weighed 12
pounds at birth -- black, curly hair, lusty and strong, healthy
-- but at the age of five I had diphtheria very bad leaving the throat
tender. At age 8, I began doing barn chores, brother James (age 10)
taking care of horses, I the cows, and became very proficient in
tending also doctoring cattle even at 12 and 13 years of age. I worked
on the farm until I was 9 years old and then until I was 16, I went to
school in the winter and worked at home the rest of the year.
I began hauling milk
to the Barter cheese factory at 14 years of age and began making cheese
when I was 16. A year later, 1889, I took charge of the Avondale Cheese
Company with a man under my control. In 1890, I went to Blaine ME and
made cheese for S H Hussey & Sons for $50 a month.
On December 31st,
1890, I was married to Laura B B McLean of Woodstock, daughter of Allan
and Hannah McLean. Began work on the Woodstock stand-pipe in January
1891 for the month; drove mail over the Woodstock to Pioneer route,
going up the 4th Tier, leaving mail at Upper Woodstock, Jacksonville,
Jacksontown, Farmerston, Lakeville, Williamstown and Pioneer then
coming back to Avondale, Waterville and on into Woodstock by way of the
3rd Tier.
Storekeeper and Cheesemaker
The last of February
1891, I bought the stock of a small store at Avondale from S W Sherwood
and began to keep store on March 2nd, 1891 and moved into rooms over
the store in May. Went up and made cheese at Blaine again and smuggled
in a load in an old single wagon each weekend. Came home in September
and kept store through the Winter -- Laura tending days that I could
get work in the sawmill at $1 a day.
Jennie
Laura [Jane] my first baby [1892-1983] born on a fine June day
while I was away with a team and double wagon bringing my first load of
crockery and dishes out to the store. We had moved back into the upper
house for the Summer [at his father's farm]. June 24th, 1892 was her
birthday and soon after I joined the Independent Order of Foresters at
Bristol so to have insurance to protect my family should I die.
After Jennie was
born I bought the store from Mr Sherwood on a promise to move it off
his land inside a year and in July 1893, I moved it down on a corner of
the upper farm my father had given to brother Jim. I added to the
building making two rooms downstairs and three upstairs. We moved in
September 1893 and on a mild day in November there was born us another
little girl, Florence Nightingale.
I built a cheese
factory in 1894, the Avondale Cheese Factory having burned [the same
year] and they were not going to rebuild. It was the only such factory
warmed entirely by steam in the province.
My wife, Laura,
always had weak lungs and now she began to show signs of failing. In
1896, as we were preparing to build us a real house, she got worse. I
had bought 80 acres of woodland on the Wilmot Road but traded with my
father for 4 acres to make my field 5 acres and he gave me the balance
in money. I also bought the 4 acre field where the Baptist church now
is and had a drain dug from the little lake back of Brad Delong's place
to the Little Presque Isle River behind the church.
On a windy, dusty,
sunshiny day little Lottie Beatrice was born -- June 27th, 1897 -- a
bright-eyed baby, the born image of her mother. My trading with the
Woodstock and Centreville Railway ended badly for the company failed to
complete the road and bills were not paid. I lost eleven or twelve
hundred dollars. On July 7th, 1897, the cheese factory burned -- loss
$1700 or more. Then on August 20th, Laura, my wife, died.
I rebuilt the
factory during May 1898 and bought the place across the stream, "The
Maples", and continued my store and factory work unbroken. I married
Lottie C Wallace, daughter of Mr and Mrs Charles Wallace of Cloverdale,
on January 3rd, 1900 and we moved over to "The Maples" on October 31st.
I had sold my stock and rented the store and dwelling to Carey Shaw in
September 1900 and began work as an organizer for the Canadian Order of
Foresters. My first Court was organized at Avondale in November;
subsequently I organized at Haynesville, Cloverdale, Lakeville... 27
places in all.
"The Maples"
Avondale NB about 1920.
Other images (will open in
new window): c1940
| 1941
| 1963
| 2003
On October 14th,
1901, there was born to us another little girl: grey-blue eyes and fair
hair, light for a Barter. We named her Susie Hill Barter. Two years
rolled by and on December 7th, 1903, another little girl came to us: my
brown-eyed Bessie May, named by Jennie and Florence. I was still
working for the Foresters and have omitted that I was made a Constable
in 1892, postmaster of Avondale in 1895 and Magistrate in 1902. [According
to government records, Sam was the Avondale Postmaster from 1 June 1895
to 15 December 1916 when the office was closed.]
July 2nd of 1906 was
a day of remembrance for that day there was born to us a son, Charles
James, a slight little curly-haired fellow, dark-eyed and light for a
baby boy. On the last of October I resigned working for the Foresters
but retained my insurance of $2000, and before November was gone I was
organizing for the Canadian Order of Chosen Friends in the Maritimes.
Over nine years, I organized 63 Councils.
On June 23rd, 1908,
there came our black-eyed baby girl, Trecia Catherine named for her
Grandma Trecia Barter and her own mother, Catherine. She was my darkest
baby, Barter in looks. I sold my place where the church is, and the
balance of land to Joseph Grant, and gave my wife a deed of the lot
where Harry DeLong now lives.
At 15 years [1907],
Jennie went to Woodstock NB and boarded with my sister, Lottie Kyle,
and took a course at the Woodstock School of Music under Mrs Tappan
Adney. At 15 years [1908], Florence took a course at the Fredericton
Business College as stenographer and typist. [Florence transcribed
all of Sam's writings that have been used on this site.] Jennie was
married October 1st, 1913 and a little girl, my
first grandchild, was born June 15th, 1914 [in Moncton NB]--
just a month and a half before the Great War started. She was named
Margaret Norene [my mother, d 1997] -- to me, "Wee Norene".
Off to War
View Sam's inscription form (place of
birth, oath, etc) in a new window (99K)
View reverse of Sam's inscription
form (physical description, etc) in a new window (56K)
On December 1st,
1914, I resigned from the Chosen Friends and in February 1916, I
enlisted in the Saint John Tigers, the 140th Battalion for Overseas. I
was placed in No
1 Platoon, Company "A", but transferred in April to No 9 Platoon, Company "C" in
Fredericton so as to be with Jennie who was running a rooming house in
that city.
In August 1916, I
was sent to Valcartier Camp and went overseas September 27th, landing
October 5th at Liverpool and trained in England until February 1917. I
was given second place in Rifle Shooting in the Battalion and was put
into the band of 40 men picked as sharpshooters (or Zeppelin Guard) to
help repel bombing at Folkestone, England. I was on duty to Edinburgh
and Boness, Scotland; camped at Folkestone, Seaford and Bramshott,
England.
I embarked from
Southampton for France and landed at Le Harve on February 25th, 1917
and was added to the "Fighting 26th". I went next to Rouen and was on
the battlefield for the first time March 5th at or near
Hersin-Compeigny and was in the Battles of Vimy, Arleau, Fresnoy and
Lens. Wounded in the right side by a shell fragment in the Lens battle
on July 4th, I went on into the front trench and served until July 10th
when I came out a wreck and was sent to a hospital at Bruay. After
several transfers over three and a half months, I was sent back to the
Canadian base at Eataples where I was declared B-2, not fit for the
trenches and put in the Labour Battalion, later in the Divisional
Stores.
During the great
German drive of 1918, I volunteered to go back to the line as I had
four brothers up there (James, Will, John and Percy). I was put in
charge of the canteen in Brundlesands Hut for 30 days and then added to
a draft of men going up with the line in the Front Ambulance to handle
YMCA goods for the wounded. I served five more battles doing this --
helping with the wounded and giving them food, drink and smokes -- at
Amiens, Cambrai Road, Breaking the Hindenburg Line, Drury Corner and
Nord Canal. Was sent down the line a Corporal on November 5th and
Armistice came the 11th.
View
reverse of this postcard in a new window
A Veteran's Life Is Not All That It Might Be
I was sent to
Seaford England and on to Witley Camp in May 1919 but got two leaves to
visit London and our old Barter homeland in Totnes, Deveonshire. I
arrived home on July 5th, 1919 and went to Hartland.
I was Liberal party
organizer for a while and moved back to Avondale. In 1920, I was
nominated as the Soldier's candidate for the NB Legislature and
defeated by the United Farmers. Opened the store again in Avondale
until 1923 when we moved to Fredericton so that Lottie could be near
Trecia and Charlie while they were at College and Normal School.
Then I managed the
Farmer's Store at Bath NB for seven months, bought Christmas trees in
the Fall, and went West on a Harvest [working] Excursion on the CNR to
Calgary. Bessie and Trecia came two weeks after and we rented a shack,
stooked grain and helped thresh. After the harvest work, I went to
Vancouver by cattle car, and then we came home to Avondale on December
29th, 1925.
In August 1926, we
three went back to the same ranch in Alberta then I went to Vancouver
with two cars of hogs and back home. The girls stayed where I became an
agent for the Fire Insurance Company and also sold Nu-Gloss Furniture
Polish for which we had the right to manufacture under royalty.
In 1929, I went and
made cheese at Penobsquis, Kings County NB -- made 1302 cheese, all
graded No 1 in
a competition at Sussex for NB cheese and I took two first prizes that
summer.
Now here I am at
Lakeville, acting postmaster since December 2nd, 1929.
Barter Dismissal Comes Under Fire
Taken from a Toronto
Globe wire service story datelined Ottawa, May 18, printed in a NB
newspaper sometime in 1931.
Another returned
soldier has been beheaded to satisfy the patronage-hungry politicians.
This time it is S G Barter, who, with four brothers, served his King
and country in France. He is a married man with eight children, and was
Postmaster at Lakeville, Carleton County, NB until Premier Bennett
assumed office. Then the Conservative member for Victoria-Carleton, B F
Smith, prepared the guillotine. Mr Smith was formerly Minister of
Public Works in NB, and he believes in looking after the "faithful."
Now Hon Peter J
Veniot, former Postmaster-General and the only Liberal member from NB,
is on the trail, demanding justice for the returned soldier. He is
going to make things hot for Mr Smith, who demanded Barter's dismissal
simply because he was not a Conservative.
The official excuse
for "firing" Barter is that his post office was not conveniently
located to serve the people of Lakeville. The office was not on the
main highway, but just around the corner on a street leading to the
Canadian National station...
The district
Superintendent was instructed by the Deputy Postmaster-General on March
31 [1931] that "the Postmaster-General has authorized the removal of
the office to the main road, where it was located some years ago.
Please place office in temporary charge of Miss Hilda Wilson, pending
permanent appointment by the Commission."
Not until April 12
was Samuel Barter, the returned soldier Postmaster, heard from. On that
date he telegraphed Hon Arthur Sauve, Postmaster General saying: "I
received a letter April 11 notifying me I was dismissed... I protest
earnestly, as I have taken no part in politics since my appointment
last June, and I demand an investigation. I am a returned soldier of
three years' overseas service..."
Mr Barter, the
discharged Postmaster, then writes to the Postmaster General: "Letter
received regarding my dismissal... No notice of the wish of the
department to change the site of the post office was ever received.
This is only an excuse... Had I received an order to move the post
office I would have done so..."
There is no record
of any reply to this reasonable appeal from the soldier. The axe duly
fell, and the closing epistle is a letter from District Superintendent
Peck, stating that the office "was duly transferred to the charge of
the incoming Acting Postmistress" on April 22, 1931.
[According to government records, Sam was the Lakeville Postmaster
from 26 June 1930 through 2 April 1931 when he was dismissed. His case
must have been viewed sympathetically, however, because he replaced
Hilda Wilson about five years later on 8 July 1936. He resigned in
September 1945.]
Correction: This photo was actually taken at a family reunion in July
1940.
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