YOUR SILENT NEIGHBORS
Adelia A. Barbour, Homemaker
by David K. Leff
Town Poet Laureate & Deputy Town Historian  

Described as “a woman of domestic habits, devoted to her home and yet withal one who did much good in the community,” Adelia A. Barbour (1852-1910) was a native of Canton Center, the daughter of Nelson and Zilpha (Case) Barber.  She married Howard C. Barber of Collinsville in 1871 and spent the rest of her life in the village.  Her husband survived her by more than a decade.  The couple had a son and a daughter. 

Barbour was a member of the Collinsville Congregational Church.  She was ill for little more than a week before dying of pneumonia complicated by pleurisy.  The funeral was conducted at her home by Reverend C. E. Coolidge. 

The gravestone Barbour shares with her husband renders her name “Barber,” reverting to her maiden name spelling (not an uncommon practice).  His name is, of course, inscribed “Barbour.”  Because the names are similar and pronounced the same, it creates an intriguing anomaly.

Adelia A. Barbour is buried in the Village Cemetery, Collinsville. 

“Your Silent Neighbors” introduces readers to people out of Canton’s past.  Readers are encouraged to visit these gravesites and pay their respects to the people who have helped make our community what it is today.