He was admitted to the bar in 1833[4] in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he was teaching school, and commenced practice in Fairfield, Vermont.

Barber moved to the Wisconsin Territory in 1837, settling in Lancaster, in Grant County, where he continued to practice law.

[4] Barber was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1852, 1853, as a Whig, in 1863 as a Republican, and, 1864, on the National Union ticket.

While Barber was serving in Congress, George Clementson conducted the legal work of their firm.

Barber died in Lancaster, Wisconsin, June 28, 1881,[4] following an attack of peritonitis[5] and was interred in Hillside Cemetery.