Barker was the manager of the Merchant, which had a circulation of 1,000 in the townships of Darlington, Clarke and Cartwright, publishing on Fridays with a 75 cent per annum fee for subscription.
Trebilcock continued to operate as a book and recreation goods seller with ads in the succeeding publication to the Merchant, the Canadian Statesman.
The paper itself did not have specific columns reporting on the events of other communities, but is an excellent source of examples for advertising, goods and services, and illustrated classifieds of the time.
As well as running the West Durham Steam Printing House, Barker sold books and goods from his King Street office.
Barker’s own funeral took place on November 16, 1881, in London, Ontario, and was attended by many of his fellow Bible Christians, five years after the Merchant had been absorbed by the Canadian Statesman.