Joseph Barrell. 253 



him to be a successful teacher, in that he prepares the 

 reader for what is to come and then sets forth the pro- 

 cesses and principles that underlie the results sought 

 for. This is why most of his studies are detailed and 

 lengthy. 



^ Finally, Barrell was above all a staunch American and 

 a believer in American science, as may be seen in his 

 paper on "Sources and Tendencies in American Geol- 

 ogy," in which he expresses the conviction that our 

 country will continue the "place of world leadership in 

 geologic science ' ' which it has maintained since 1890. 



The name Barrell, spelled in many ways, had its origin 

 among the ancient land-holding knights of Normandy, 

 and by them was introduced into England in 1066 at 

 the time of the battle of Hastings and "William the 

 Conqueror. The Barrells used to be numerous through- 

 out the south of England, but are now confined mostly 

 to Suffolk and Herefordshire. The first American of 

 the name was George Barrell, a cooper by trade, 

 who arrived at Boston from St. Michaels, South Elm- 

 ham, Suffolk, in 1637, and died there in 1643. He be- 

 came a freeman of the Boston parish on May 10, 1643, 

 and owned a house on what is now the southeast side of 

 Hanover Street between Elm and Washington. It is 

 interesting to note here that at this time Massachusetts 

 Colony had a population of about 16,000. In November, 

 1638, George Barrell bought his home for £28, and soon 

 added to it about a half acre of land for which he paid 

 £3 more. At this time he was one of the 246 land-owners 

 of Boston. He had but two sons, and one of them, John, 

 also a cooper by trade, married Mary, daughter of Wil- 

 liam Colburn, one of the twelve original founders of 

 the colony. It is from this union that have sprung all 

 of the American Barrells of colonial origin. 



Until recently, the Barrells were in the main sea-going 

 people, ship-owners and merchants. The second John 

 Barrell was a mariner, and we learn that his son John 

 was a well-educated man and a^ successful shipping mer- 

 chant. Professor Barrell in his genealogy says of John 

 III : ' ' The hazards of travel and of residence in tropical 

 lands, however, told severely upon their number, so that 

 notwithstanding several large families of sons, his de- 

 scendants bearing the name have remained few in number 

 and widely scattered. ' ' 



