Fred Barron, Jefferson County

In 1884 he was assigned to Adolphus Puckett as his guardian and employer in Spring Garden, IL. Fred was content on the Puckett farm and stayed there for ten years. He wrote a letter to the Asylum in 1894 on the occasion of his 21st birthday, thanking them for his family in Illinois. He was prepared to start farming on his own and start a family of his own that year. His letter to the asylum at age 34 has many interesting facts. He stated that his true name was Tierriera but that his mother had him and his siblings adopted out under the name of Barron. (He appeared in the 1875 New York census with his adoptive parents, Lucious and Harriett Barron.) He was anxious to find out where his sisters were living in New York and wanted to receive a copy of the annual report. He had two daughters, but had lost four children at a very young age.

In the census each year after 1920 he indicated that his father was Spanish and his mother was German. When he married, the name of his father was either not included on the certificate or illegible. His mother's name was given as Lilly Barron. Fred Barron married Laura Belle Johnston in 1893. They had five children: Reta, Lacy, Herschal, Frederick and Roy. In 1910 and every year thereafter, Fred and Laura's surname was recorded as Barrow. Fred was working for the railroad during the censuses of 1900 and 1910. They owned their own home in Spring Garden, Illinois, which was fairly rare for OTRs. In 1920 through 1940 Fred owned a grist mill/feed store in Bonnie, IL . He died in 1964 and was survived by his three sons and one daughter, who was misidentified in his obituary as his sister. He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Mount Vernon with his wife.

His brother was John Barrow or Barron and came to Illinois on the same train as Fred. John was assigned to Burgess T. Wright in Frankfort Illinois but was only with him for about four months. The name of his second guardian was not preserved, but he lived near Franklin IL as well. No census records for John Barrow/Barron could be located