The Biographical Dictionary of America/Barr, Amelia Edith

​BARR, Amelia Edith, author, was born at Ulverton, Lancashire, Eng., March 29, 1831, daughter of the Rev. William Huddleston. She was married in 1850 to Robert Barr, a Scotchman, and in 1854 immigrated to America, settling at Galveston, Texas. Her husband and three sons were victims of the yellow fever in 1867, leaving her to support three daughters. She removed to New York city, in 1809; became a contributor to the New York Ledger, Christian Union, and other papers, and also taught school. Henry Ward Beecher became interested in her efforts to keep her family together, and helped her in many ways. In 1884 an accident confined her to her room for some weeks, and during this enforced leisure she wrote "Jan Vedder's Wife," her first novel, which was published in 1885. Its immediate popularity decided her to devote herself exclusively to novel writing. Her books include: "The Young People of Shakespeare's Dramas" (1882): "Scottish Sketches" (1883); "Cluny MacPherson" (1883); "The Lost Silver of Briffault" (1885); "The Hallam Succession" (1885); "Between Two Loves," The Bow of Orange Ribbon," "A Daughter of Fife," and "The Last of the Maccallisters," published in 1886; "Paul and Christina," "The Squire of Sandal-side," in 1887; "Master of his Fate," "Remember the Alamo." "A Border Shepherdess," "Christopher and Other Stories," in 1888; "Feet of Clay," in 1889; "Friend Olivia," in 1890; "The Beads of Tasmer," "Love for an Hour is Love Forever," "A Sister to Esau," "A Rose of a Hundred Leaves," and "She Loved a Sailor," in 1891; "Michael and Theodora," and "The Preacher's Daughter," in 1892; "The Lone House," "Girls of a Feather," "The Mate of the 'Easter Bell' and other Stories," and "A Singer from the Sea," in 1893; "Bernicia," in 1895, and "A Knight of the Nets" (1896); "Prisoners of Conscience" (1897); "The King's Highway" (1898); and magazine serials.