Barris family papers

Willis Hervey Barris, born 9 July 1820 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, was a notable scholar, theologian, paleontologist, and active community member until his death at the age of 80 on 10 June 1901 in his home in Davenport, Iowa. Barris was known for his intelligence even at a young age; he entered Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania when he was only 14 years old. He received his A.B. degree in 1839, obtained a post-graduate degree in civil engineering in 1841, and received an A.M. from Allegheny College in 1854. Barris married Caroline M. Harrison 7 October 1840.

Barris started his theological study in 1842 and graduated from General Theological Seminary in New York City eight years later. He became the rector of parishes including St. Luke's of Brockport, NY (1852), Trinity Church in Iowa City and Christ Church of Bullington, Iowa (1859). He soon moved to Davenport, Iowa, and became a professor of ecclesiastical history at Griswold College. In 1873 he was elected Chair of Geology at Iowa State University, and though he was an active member of the scientific community, he said that "paleontology is my play, theology is my work." He contributed many papers to the Geological Survey of Illinois and Proceedings of Davenport Academy of Sciences. His eyesight bothered him greatly, and by 1890 he finished his theological work but continued on with the Academy until his death. He is most known for discovering and describing a new species of crinoids. He was friends with Louis Agassiz, a well-known professor of natural history at Harvard University.

Barris' daughter, Mary Elizabeth Barris, married Dr. Samuel Roosevelt Johnson Hoyt in 1869. Hoyt was born in Meriden, Connecticut, 9 December 1839. He was a private in Company I of the 40th Iowa infantry during the Civil War and chaplain of the 50th Iowa infantry during the Spanish-American War. He was later stationed as a missionary in Wuchang, China from 1869 to 1877, and upon his return to the United States, served as rector at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Waverly, Iowa. He took a leave of absence from his new position to travel back to China in 1878, returning to Waverly in 1880. He brought so much success for the parish there that the bishop appointed him Archdeacon of Davenport in 1891. When he was elected Bishop of China a year later, he declined due to his wife's poor health. He later served as a priest at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Hoyt died 5 May 1909 of heart failure in his home in Harlan, Iowa.

Carrie Hoyt was one of Hoyt's four daughters and worked as a grade-school teacher. She taught seventh and eighth grade in the Harlan public school system through 1906 and then worked as choir director and voice instructor at St. Katharine's Hall, an Episcopal school, for the next 25 years. She left due to declining enrollment.