Born in Michigan, our nineteenth Lucas County Prosecutor moved to northwest Ohio as a boy. He was an excellent student and graduated from Oberlin College in 1877, after which he embarked on a career in educational administration, first as a superintendent and then in Toledo as Principal of its High School. He simultaneously read the law and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1882. In 1890, he was elected Lucas County Prosecutor and was re-elected in 1893.

Barber was quite popular and held in great esteem. Following two terms as Lucas County Prosecutor, he was elected to the Common Pleas bench. He and his wife Ida Hull, were the parents of five children.