Their Man in Omaha, The Barker Letters, Volume 1: 1860 to 1868

From 1860 to 1871 Joseph Barker Jr. wrote nearly 200 letters home from the pioneer settlement of Omaha. It was a time of explosive growth coupled with business and political turmoil. The letters went to his family in England, whose investments in Omaha were extensive. Barker acted as the family's agent, charged with overseeing and reporting every aspect of politics, commerce, immigration, railroad building and even social life on the frontier. He approached his job with dedication, the eye of an expert observer and the articulate pen of an educated Englishman -- if not the spelling. Altogether his correspondence totaled more than 500,000 words. The letters provide a study, in unparalleled detail, of the lives and problems of people from all walks of life, many states and a few countries whowere building and American frontier community in the middle of the 19th century. The publication of the letters represents the first complete edition of this unique collection. Volume I carries the reader through 1868. This first volume includes an extensive appendix to help explain the context of Barker's subjects, as well as photographs and maps. A removable large scale map of 1866 Omaha is included. (The second volume will carry the correspondence from 1869 to 1871.)