Yarnall. Lydia - 1881

Barry Township, Schuylkill  County

The settlements in this township, then a part of lower Mahantongo, date back to about 1808, and of the original settlers the names of John Garivy, who settled where William Hoch now lives; John Baily, on the Daniel Smith farm, and the Yarnall family, who came from New Jersey, and settled the place still owned by one of its descendants, Miss Lydia Yarnall, are among the most prominent.

In 1815 the families of Charles Marwine, of Philadelphia, and John Clauntz, John Heter and a man named Shupert, from Berks county, settled in the township and took up farms. Dr. George Long also settled here, and was the first and for many years the only resident physician.

Three thousand acres of land in the township were owned by Joseph Reed at the time of its first settlement, and were sold by him to John S. Heister in 1812, the deed bearing November 5th of that year. It was divided by him into tracts of three hundred acres, and sold to settlers. The tract now contains some twenty farms, and comprises the lands lying between the farms of Elias Kessler and Seth Geer, extending north to the top of Mahantongo mountain, and south to Little Mount.

The first log house was built by John Clauntz, and the first crops were raised by Issac Yarnall. The earliest traveled road was one running from Reading to Sunbury through Taylorsville, and the first bridge was built near where Calvin Reed now lives. The only cut stone dwelling on the township was erected by Israel Reed, in 1848 near the east end of the town, and is now occupied by his sons.

I.D. Rupp, in his history of Schuylkill county, says that in 1840 Barry contained two stores, one forge, three grist-mills, twenty three saw-mills; population in 1830, 443; in 1840, 639; in 1850, 689; in 1860,943; 1870, 950; 1880, 1,587.

~ History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, 1881, Page 156

 You can visit the memorial page for Lydia Yarnall.