"The Barber boys were fine young men who lived in the neighborhood and had worked for a farmer who, on more than one occasion, had told them that 'If you ever want to go to town, just take the horses and go.' And so, one lovely summer evening they decided to go to Waverly, a distance of many miles away. So they took the horses as the man had told them to do. And just as it so happened that a man had recently moved into the neighborhood who saw this incident and not knowing any of the circumstances, mounted his own horse and circulated the neighborhood. Up and down he went proclaiming that Mr. So & So's horses had been stolen. The men all gathered together and wanted to see justice done. The Barber boys were apprehended just at the edge of Waverly. And without giving any notice or chance to explain their side of the case, they were lynched to trees in the edge of town."
From Bremer County History 1985:29. Taylor Publishing Bo., Dallas Texas:
"One of the most tragic incidents in the history of Bremer County was the lynching of [Ike and Bill Barber] on June 8, 1883... The boys' farm income was not enough to satisfy their needs, so they turned to drinking, gambling, and another diversion which proved to be more lucrative--horse stealing. They became notorious in northeastern Iowa and Illinois. After numerous robberies, murders, and with a $5,000 reward on their heads... [t]hey were apprehended by a posse in the vicinity of Wilson's Grove... and
