David Francis Barry
David Francis Barry (March 6, 1854 – March 6, 1934) was a 19th-century photographer of the American West.
Also recorded as D. F. Barry · David F. Barry
David Francis Barry

David F. Barry, 1900 · postcard collection, Daniel Guggisberg · Public domain
- Name
- David Francis Barry
- Born
- 6 March 1854
- Birthplace
- Honeoye Falls, New York, United States
- Died
- 6 March 1934
- Place of death
- Superior, Wisconsin, United States
- Occupation
- photographer
- Spouse
- Margaret "Patty" Young
- Nationality
- United States
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Documentary summary
David Francis Barry (March 6, 1854 – March 6, 1934) was a 19th-century photographer of the American West.
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Note VALÉORINE
David Francis Barry (1854–1934) was a photographer, of American nationality. The photographer was born in Honeoye Falls and died in Superior. Works are held at Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of World Cultures and Photography Collection.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q29860806 · wikipedia · David Francis Barry
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — David Francis Barry • Born — 6 March 1854 • Birthplace — Honeoye Falls, New York, United States • Died — 6 March 1934 • Place of death — Superior, Wisconsin, United States • Occupation — photographer • Notable Works — portraits of Sitting Bull, Gall (Phizi), Rain-in-the-Face • Spouse — Margaret "Patty" Young
Early life
Early life
Barry was born in Honeoye Falls, New York. In 1861, his family moved west to Otsego, Wisconsin and the following year to nearby Columbus. While growing up in Columbus, Wisconsin David F. Barry landed odd jobs assisting an itinerant photographer named Orlando Scott Goff who had maintained a small gallery in that city.
Career
Career
In 1871, Orlando Scott Goff moved to Yankton, Dakota Territory opening up the first photographer's studio in that settlement and two years later relocated to Bismarck. Goff sent for Barry to join him in 1878, his former young helper, taking him under his wings as an apprentice to assist him at his new Bismarck gallery. Over time their friendship grew to prompt Goff to make Barry his business partner. Between 1878 and 1883, utilizing a portable photographic studio, Barry traveled throughout the Plains, to Fort Buford and Fort Yates in the Dakotas and Fort Assiniboine in Montana taking photographs as he went. Having taken over Goff's business interests he eventually set up his own studio at Fort Yates and later in Bismarck. Barry made his name photographing Lakota people notables such as Sitting Bull, Rain-in-the-Face, Gall (Phizi), John Grass and others. The Lakota people nicknamed him "Little Shadow Catcher." Barry returned in 1890 to Wisconsin, where he operated a successful gallery in the city of Superior until his death in 1934.
Personal life
Personal life
Barry was married in Chicago on March 27, 1884, to Margaret "Patty" Young of Quincy, Illinois. The marriage remained childless. She died on August 20, 1932. The following year, in 1933 Barry sustained a serious leg injury while stepping off a street car in Duluth, Minnesota from which he never entirely recovered. He died on his 80th birthday at his Superior, Wisconsin home on March 6, 1934.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1854
David Francis Barry was born on 6 March 1854.
1934
David Francis Barry died on 6 March 1934.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Honeoye Falls.
Birth place
Superior.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q29860806: David Francis Barry
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “David Francis Barry”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Noted Shadow Catcher Is Dead at Superior. The Oshkosh Northwestern. 4. March 7, 1934.
- 2.Student of Indian Lore and Former Portage Man Dies. Wisconsin State Journal. 7. March 9, 1934.
- 3.Heski, Thomas M. The Little Shadow Catcher: The Story of D.F. Barry. Superior Publishing Company. 1978. 9780875648088.
- 4.Harbaugh, Paul. Plains Warriors, Chiefs, Scouts, and Frontier Personalities. Denver Public Library. Western History Division. David Francis Barry Negative Collection. 1982.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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