Sylvester "Bess" Kellogg Barclay
(1861-1939)
Sylvester "Bess" Kellogg Barclay was the 7th child of Derret Hubbard Barclay and Lucretia (Davidson) Barclay.
He was born in Buffalo, Missouri in 1861.
Bess mastered several trades during in his life. He was a blacksmith
who also drilled water wells in southern Missouri during the early years of his marriage to Minnie Dewhirst. Later, they moved
to Elkland, Missouri, where they bought a farm. In 1907, Bess traded his farm for a furniture store in Carney,
Oklahoma.
A year later, he bought a blacksmith shop in Tryon, Oklahoma, where he expanded the product line and services of the shop
and named it "S. Barclay and Sons -- Furniture and Undertaking". Many years later, when he could no longer
handle the physical demands of the smithy shop, he and Minnie focused their efforts on the furniture store....
This photo was taken in Tryon, OK in 1998. It is the original site of Bess' blacksmith/furniture/
undertaking business,
later turned into the "Barclay Garage".
But Bess wasn't done yet! In addition to running the furniture store, Bess began hauling mail from the Post Office to the train depot each morning until he retired! Finally, when their health became frail, Bess and Minnie moved in with their daughter Ethel in another part of Tryon, where they lived out the remainder of their lives.
In 1885, Bess married Mary Elizabeth "Minnie" Dewhirst in Douglas County, Missouri.
.
Bess & Minnie had 5 children:
Arthur Barclay (1887-1964),
Leona Ethel Barclay (Powers) (1889-1980),
William Hubbard Barclay (1892-1976),
Guy Everett Barclay (1894-1975),
Loyd Barclay (1898-1989).
Back row: William, Loyd, Arthur, and Guy Barclay.
Front row: Ethel, Bess, and Minnie.
They also raised a foster child, Marguerite,
born around 1910, until she graduated high school.
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Bess and Minnie both passed away in Tryon, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, where they are buried at the Tryon Cemetery.
All photos on this page taken or scanned in 1998 and 2001 by Marilyn Montgomery
from originals provided by
Emma Jean (Barclay) Montgomery,
and from
Clemmie (Little) Barclay's photo albums.
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