Morden J. Barber

Job Title(s)

Carder, Foreman of Spinning Dept

Dates of Employment

c. 1890 – abt 1895

Last Name  Barber 
First Name  Morden 
Middle Initial  J 
Born  Abt 1866 in Canada 
Home Address 

(1890) 

 n s State 2 w 18th 
Died  25 Aug 1906 in Portland, OR 
Place Buried  River View Cemetery in Portland, OR 
Spouse  Linnie R Foss 
Date of Marriage  16 Mar 1892 (later divorced) 
Children  None 
Dates of Employment  1890-abt 1895 
Job(s)  Carder, Foreman of Spinning Dept 
Story  M J Barber worked as a spinner at TKWM when it first opened in 1890 through about 1895. 

Morden (Mydecia) J Barber was born in Canada in February 1866. His mother’s name was Mary, but we do not anything about his father. Morden and apparently his mother left Canada for the U.S. in 1890, the same year Morden started working for TKWM. He was 26 years old. 

His name appears in an 1890 Capital Journal article about TKWM and we find him listed in the 1891 Salem City Directory as a spinner at the mill. In 1893, he appears as a foreman spinner but then leaves the Salem area after 1895. 

We pick up M J’s story again as a barber in Portland, OR in 1897. By 1900, M J is still working as a barber but using the name Mydecia and living with his mother Mary. M J was in an auto accident in Portland and died on 27 Aug 1906. 

In researching the names M J used, we found that Mydecia (my decia) in Latin means my 10th child. Morden is a city in Manitoba, Canada on the U. S. border. There were woolen mills in Morden as early as 1900 and possibly earlier so that M J could have gained some experience as a spinner there.  
References 
Name  Remarks 
Census  1895 Marion County. M J Barber. B abt 1866 in Canada. 5’9” 135#. Barber. Salem. Prot. Voter, Age 29. 

1900 Mydecia J H Barber. Age 34. B Feb 1866 in Canada. Rented house at 307 Clay St, Portland, OR. Immigrated 1890. Divorced HOH. F and M b in England. Occ. Barber. Mydecia J H Barber 34, Maria Barber 74 (mother).  
City Directory (Salem unless otherwise indicated)  1890 No Barber in Salem CD 

1891 M J Barber. Spinner. Salem, OR 

1893 Morden J Barber. Foreman Spinner TKWM. Res n s State 2 w 18th.  

1896 No Barber in CD 

1897 M J Barber. Barber. Res 424 1st. Bus 224 Taylor, Portland, OR.  

1906 Mordan J Barber. Barber. Res 692 1st. Bus 245 Taylor, Portland, OR. 

1907 No M J Barber in Portland CD. 
Find a Grave  Morden J Barber. B 8 Feb 1866 in Canada. D 25 Aug 1906 in Portland, OR. River View Cemetery, Portland, OR.  
Marion County Marriage Records  Mordan Barber over 21 on 16 Mar 1892 married Linnie R Foss over 18.  
Historic Oregonian (Multnomah County Library site)  27 Aug 1908, p. 9 “Ground Under Car Wheels”, Morden J. Barber Killed Near Lents 
WHC Catalog Items  None identified at this time