Ohio Columbus Barber
1841-1920
![O. C. Barber, from fifty years and over, by S. Lane.](../album/pics/_ocbarber.jpg)
![The Diamond Rubber Company, which eventually became B.F. Goodrich (1912).](../album/pics/_dimond-rubber.jpg)
![O. C. Barber Residence, Barberton Ohio. Constructed by the firm of Harpster and Bliss of Akron, finished in 1910, demolished in 1965.](../album/pics/_barber1.jpg)
OHIO C. BARBER, president of the First National Bank of Akron, was born at Akron, April 20, 1841. and is a son of George and Eliza (Smith) Barber.
On October 10, 1865, Mr. Barber was married to Laura L. Brown (1846 - 1894) of Akron, and they have had two children, Anna Laura and Charles H., of whom, Anna Laura, was still surviving in 1908.1
Founded Barberton, 1892. His father (George Barber) actually founded the Barber Match Company which he ran. This became the Diamond Match Company. Also, took over Diamond Rubber in Akron which eventually became B.F. Goodrich (1912).
In 1896, Anna Barber wed Arthur Dean Bevan in Chicago in accordance with Illinois law which required residents to be married within the state. A second weadding was held at the Barberton Inn which was chosen by town founder and part owner O.C. Barber as the location for his daughter Anna’s wedding.
From the 1903 edition of the Barberton Leader Industrial Supplement:
"He located, organized and equipped the immense plant of the Diamond Match Company and developed its foreign business, locating plants in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Peru, Chili, Brazil and Manilla, controlling a large portion of the match business of the world."
After being a widower for twenty years, Barber remarried in 1915 to his secretary Mary Orr. (b. 1874 d. Dec., 1946)
Barber died a multi-millionaire on February 4, 1920 and was buried in Glendale Cemetery in Akron, Ohio. GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.08470, Longitude: -81.52830.
- CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
EDITED AND COMPILED BY: WILLIAM B. DOYLE,
PUBLISHED BY: BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO, ILL. 1908
P. 765
Summit County OHGenWeb Page
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