Dr. 'Amos Walker Barber' (
April 26,
1861 –
May 19,
1915) was an
American surgeon and
politician. He was one of the first
Governors of Wyoming after that state joined the Union in
1890.
Amos Barber was born in
Doylestown,
Bucks County, in
Pennsylvania, to Alfred H. Barber and Asenath Walker. He studied
literature and
medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania, then worked as a staff physician at the Pennsylvania Hospital after graduating. In
1885, Barber moved to
Wyoming to take up a position as surgeon in charge of the military hospital at
Fort Fetterman. After resigning from the
United States military, Barber began private practice in
Cheyenne.
In 1890, Barber was elected
Secretary of State for Wyoming as a
Republican. Just eleven months later, however, Governor
Francis E. Warren resigned to take up a
United States Senate seat, and Barber was catapulted to the position of Acting Governor. He served as Governor from
November 24,
1890 until
John E. Osborne was elected in
January 2,
1893. Barber continued on as Secretary of State under Osborne, his term running out in
1895.
Barber rejoined the military in
1898, acting as assistant surgeon for the
Spanish American War. He died in
Rochester,
Minnesota in
1915, and was survived by his wife, Amelia Kent, whom he had married in
1892. Barber was buried in Cheyenne.
References
★
State biography
★
[1],
[2] – University of Wyoming library entries
★
Executive Officers of the States and Territories