Joseph Barker (October 19, 1751 – July 5, 1815) was an American Congregationalist minister who represented

Massachusetts's 7th congressional district Massachusetts's 7th congressional district is a congressional district located in eastern Massachusetts, including roughly three-fourths of the city of Boston and a few of its northern and southern suburbs. The seat is currently held by Democrat ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from March 1805 to March 1809. Born in Branford in the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, Barker attended the common schools in Branford, studied for two years at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, and was graduated (with a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

) from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1771. He was licensed to preach on January 3, 1775, ordained to the ministry on December 5, 1781, and subsequently installed as pastor of the First Congregational Church of

Middleboro, Massachusetts Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 census. History The town was first settled by Europeans in 1661 as Nemasket, later changed to M ...

. Barker was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and Tenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1805 to March 3, 1809. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1808, but four years later served as a member of the state's House of Representatives in 1812 and 1813. Joseph Barker continued in the ministry at

until his death at the age of 63. Interment was in Cemetery at The Green.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Joseph 18th-century Congregationalist ministers 19th-century Congregationalist ministers American Congregationalist ministers Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from Branford, Connecticut People from Middleborough, Massachusetts Yale Divinity School alumni 1751 births 1815 deaths Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Yale College alumni 19th-century American clergy 18th-century American clergy