Bedford County PA Archives Biographies.....Barkman, Hezekiah
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Judy Banja jbanja@msn.com May 2003

HEZEKIAH BARKMAN, a well-known and highly respected citizen 
of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, was born on April 11, 1828, 
not far from his present home in Monroe township.  He is the 
representative of an old and honored family of this part of 
the county, being a son of the late Joseph Barkman, who died 
in 1861 in Monroe, where his entire life had been spent.
  Joseph Barkman was a man of some prominence in his day, a 
firm advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and 
for a time a Constable of the township.  Of the children 
born of his union with Elizabeth Fletcher, the 
following-named are now living: Hezekiah, the special 
subject of this sketch; Jacob, of Monroe; Susan, widow of 
the late Daniel Fletcher, of Monroe; Philip, of Monroe; and 
David, who resides in Iowa.
  Hezekiah Barkman in his boyhood was at first a pupil in 
the subscription schools of his day.  He afterward attended 
the public schools until old enough to earn his own living.  
Having a natural inclination for mechanical employment, when 
a youth of sixteen years he began learning the trade of 
carpenter and joiner, at which he served an apprenticeship 
of three years in Cumberland, Md.  This trade he afterward 
followed as journeyman or contractor for a number of years, 
at first in Cumberland, Md., where he resided eight years, 
and later in Washington County, Iowa, where he was employed 
a short time.  Leaving that section of the Union, Mr. 
Barkman returned to Monroe township, where he has made his 
permanent home.  He has since devoted more of his time to 
agricultural pursuits than to carpentering, having 
successfully carried on his finely-appointed farm of 
ninety-six acres.
  He is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted August 
17, 1862, in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was attached to the 
Army of the Potomac.  Under Generals Meade and Grant he 
participated in several engagements, among them being the 
battle of Cold Harbor, where he was so seriously wounded in 
the left hand that the usefulness of that member of the body 
was destroyed.  He was sent from the field to the hospital, 
and as soon as convalescent was honorably discharged, having 
been in service a little less than three years.
  True to the political faith in which he was reared, Mr. 
Barkman has always supported the Democratic party.  For 
three years he served as Commissioner of Bedford County, an 
office which he filled with credit to himself and to the 
satisfaction of his constituents.



Source: Bedford Biographical Review, 1899, Bedford Co., Pa